Optical-Based Compressor
Audiophile gain control
Optical compression has a special sonic character that audiophiles can truly appreciate. The technology behind its behavior and the way it achieves gain reduction is so ingenious and at the same time quite simple: the core of the circuit is an electro-optical attenuator, whose light source intensity is directly proportional to the level of the incoming signal. The second part of the gain reduction circuit is a photoconductive cell, which reads the light's intensity and in turn adjusts its resistance being applied to the signal. As a result, the output amplifier follows by adjusting its gain, thereby creating the compression.
This analog-modeled module faithfully recreates that particular (and extremely musical) "movement" that characterizes only the best opto compressors.
An important characteristic of optical compression is the total absence of distortion and coloration during gain reduction, and you can expect the same character and performance from this digital recreation.
Given these features, vocals are one of the most common applications for this module, but the quality of the compression is so gentle, yet very effective that the Opto-Compressor can be used on any source where clean, steady but distortion-free gain reduction is required.
System Requirements
Mac (64-bits)
- Minimal: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo, 4 GB of RAM (8 GB suggested), macOS 10.10 or newer.
- Supported Plug-in formats (64-bit): Audio Units, VST 2, VST 3, AAX.
Windows® (64-bits)
- Minimal: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2, 4 GB of RAM (8 GB suggested), Windows® 7 or newer. Requires an ASIO compatible sound card.
- Supported Plug-in formats (64-bit): VST 2, VST 3, AAX.
Please note: EQual processor requires an OpenGL 2 compatible graphics adapter.
Important note: Internet connection is required as all of the Custom Shop operations are web based.
Any references to any brands on this site/page, including reference to brands and instruments, are provided for description purposes only. For example references to instrument brands are provided to describe the sound of the instrument and/or the instrument used in the sample. Plugin Boutique do not have (nor do they claim) any association with or endorsement by these brands. Any goodwill attached to those brands rest with the brand owner. Plugin Boutique or its Suppliers do not accept any liability in relation to the content of the product or the accuracy of the description. "RHODES" is a registered trademark of Joseph A Brandstetter.