Technical data

31
Ratio Feedback
The alpha compressor works with a soft knee characteristic and increasing Ratios at rising Gain re-
duction values. The scale on the front panel is based on a measured Gain reduction of 6dB. Strictly
speaking, the Ratio values become noticeably higher on stronger reductions: When there is 17dB
of Gain reduction the ratio value shifts from the printed 1:2,5 to 1:4,5 after all. Anyhow, the scale
is optimized to the lower Gain reduction settings as these are the ones most frequently used in
mastering applications.
Ratio Feed Forward
In Feed Forward mode the Ratio characteristics dier strongly from those in Feedback mode. Al-
though they remain quite comparable up to a value of 1:1,5, the dierences become extremely
obvious at higher settings. The lower curve shows the radical eects: An input level of 0dBu is re-
duced to -8,3dBu, and an input level of +10dBu is reduced to -15dBu (!) after processing. Extreme
settings like these can only be achieved with a Feed Forward compressor, and they can result in
very freaky eects.
REFERENCE - Ratio Feedback & Ratio Feed Forward
+20-17.5 -15 -12.5 -10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 +0 +2.5 +5 +7.5 +10 +12.5 +15 +17.5
-20
+20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
-0
+2
+4
+6
+8
+10
+12
+14
+16
+18
dBu
dBu
-20
+20-17.5 -15 -12.5 -10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 +0 +2.5 +5 +7.5 +10 +12.5 +15 +17.5
-20
+20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
-0
+2
+4
+6
+8
+10
+12
+14
+16
+18
dBu
dBu
-20