DBX 286 S

I use voice recording in an office/studio which operates a lot of electrical equipment and and having a hardware sound chain and preamp in one channel strip like the dbx 286 S Microphone Processor helps me cope with white noise and outside traffic noise while coping with anything from Office 365 Teams telephony and professional voice production.

Packaged in a 19" rackmount form factor may terrify those who are new to audio production, but the unit enjoys plenty of professional YouTube commentary to help understand the learning curve and configure this workhorse. The unit is excellent for those moving up from entry level microphones to prosumer and professional tools. Also, a hardware sound chain like the dbx 286 S may be quicker to get to grips with than learning audio processing software to achieve the same results in tools like Audacity, Reaper, and other post processing apps.

I can disable the sound processing chain and record raw mic input for post processing, and I can always fall back to preconfigured settings for telephony/rush recordings, casting etc. In this respect the High Pass filters and Expander/Gate really help cope with outside neighbourhood noise and suppressing electronics fans etc.

I marked down the the "Features" by one star because the unit does not have a power on/off button. This means having to unplug the unit from my rackmount power strip, and it is a feature I would be very pleased to see included in future iterations.

Having seen some negative reviews on this unit in recent years I was slightly dubious, but having taken the plunge I have to say that I’m highly impressed, the dbx 286s is well presented and well assembled, all the knobs and switches are well fitting, and the dials have a nice granular ‘clicking’ to help set levels with finer precision. Once you learn how to set this up it becomes a very powerful tool for any live audio or recording setup. I’ve been most impressed by the expander/gate in this unit, it’s extremely responsive and effective when set properly. The only slightly negative thing I noticed was that the unit emits a slight continuous buzzing noise because the transformer in it is directly bolted to the housing without any rubber washers or anything to insulate it from the housing. The noise is definitely not a deal breaker, but it is noticeable if the unit is sitting on the desk next to you. Note that it does not come through in the audio, and it’s better that the unit has a proper transformer instead of a switch mode power supply.

Years ago I decided I wanted this pre, but through unforeseen circumstances I never got to buy it. Since then, I have upgraded my signal chain from a 1st gen Scarlett 2i2 to a Clarett. As I am starting a new production I thought: what the hell, just buy it. At this price you really can't go wrong.

And you can't. I have been using it for two day now and I must say: I'm very impressed. We use it for the vocal tracks on singer/songwriter music and the artist is so much more comfortable using this then going 'dry' into he Clarett (using the Rode NT1000 or the Audio Technica AT 2035). It eliminates background hum, airplanes and other stuff. The compressor tightens the vocals in a very musical way. I give his voice a very subtle boost in the lows, which brings his 'chest' sound up just a notch - brilliant.

Don't overdo it as driving this unit too high gives strange effects.

In conclusion: I always thought that the way to get a better sound is through better microphones and/or AD conversion. This is true, but the power of this nifty unit made me overthink this. So, if your vocals sound too thin or dull to your ears, you might stick to your present signal chain and invest in this DBX thingy instead of buying other mics.

4 instead of 5 stars for the hum the transformer in the unit produces. I have the same thing with my Kawai piano. I'll have to live with that. And the expander/gates filters it out anyway.

I bought the DBX during the COVID lockdown primarily for video meetings, because I wanted to have a better audio when using my Rode NT1A microphone.

At first I tried various digital workarounds (microphone routed through DAW with noise reduction/gate plugins, compressor, EQ, and looped back) but I had loads of problems that way. Sometimes it worked perfectly, other times my coworkers complained about all sorts of problems that I didn’t hear on my end, not to mention the extra latency.
Eventually I gave up and started looking at hardware options. After watching loads of reviews online I decided on the DBX and it worked great! The compressor and noise gate were especially helpful.

I think that for video meetings/calls or for streaming the DBX is the best choice for this price. However for the usual audio recordings (vocals or voice over) I use it only as a preamp with processing bypassed and then do all the post processing in my DAW afterwards, because that gives me more wiggle room to process the recordings anyway I want.

Great looking device with well thought out features.
Very easy to use.

The low and high frequency detail (which isn't "just" EQ) sounds nice as long as you don't pump it all the way up.
It can just add that tad which is missing especially when you are using the 80hz cut off.
The De-esser does it job, similar to the compressor.
It's not too fast, not too slow. So perfect for controlling rather than removing peaks.

Tho for non-sensitive mics, beware for the noisy preamp.
I originally bought it thinking it would probably be less noisy than my Audient iD14 preamps but I was wrong.
From 30dB you start to hear the hiss.
Since you have to drive the compressor, it only amplifies it.
Not an issue for the majority of condenser mics since you will stay under 35dB anyways.

If you are buying it mostly for the effects section, it might be better to use the insert with another preamp if you are going to use gain hungry mics and especially if you are going into another (multiband)compressor/broadcast processor.

It's certainly a decent product for the price.

I bought the dbx 286s for multiple reasons.
I wanted to record vocals with compression on the way in. Many of the vocal performances I had to capture in my studio were very dynamic, and in order to avoid the risk of clipping I decided to go with a hardware compressor.
Also the fact that the dbs 286s acts as a preamp is a great addition to anyone who uses microphones such as the Shure SM7B.
The channel strip can add gain, compress the signal and especially add a gate to eliminate the noise.
I must stay, I am not such a fan of the compression. For vocals it's fine if you can keep it relatively low, as the attack is not adjustable and pretty slow. So if you compress it too hard you will have a lot of plosives. The compression itself also is quite unpleasant compared to other units, but as mentioned before, if you don't overdo it then it sounds great. Use it for light dynamic control and then compress the vocals in your DAW, it makes it A LOT easier.
I used it as an outboard for snare compression too, and it worked surprisingly well.
HOWEVER, after a few year the unit started to malfunction. The unit would spontaneously distort and lower its volume. I have sent my unit back for repair, and am very curious if the problem can be fixed. I have read that this is a recurring issue with the unit.

SO IF YOU PLAN ON GETTING ONE, be aware that after a few year this well performing channel strip might die on you.

A radio station I worked at before had one of these, but, I always felt it was under-utilized as it had very subtle settings dialed in for the processing. And now, I finally got around to investing in one for myself to improve my home studio output, and I couldn't be happier to maximize it for my particular voice.

I plugged this into my signal chain as soon as I got it out of the box, and used it right away to record a commercial VO. It sounded like I was finally maximizing my mic's potential, and I enjoyed the "fuzzy" analog tone I was getting from it.

Up until today, I was relying on plug-ins in post to "mold" the right tone in for my VO work. The 286s now helps me do that as I record, saving me time and effort.

It can get a little tricky trying to find the "right" processor settings for your voice, but a little Googling brings up useful tips on better understanding of what each dial actually does and some good baseline settings. The only drawback is that you can't make presets for different mics. I guess taking a picture of your best settings for each mic would help.

Oh yeah, like a lot of folks, I also wish it had an actual power switch. I would recommend hooking it up to an automatic voltage regulator to keep it from ever getting fried by electrical spikes.

Overall, it's a really great add-on to your gear if you've been hooking your mic up directly to a USB interface. And you won't have to break the bank to get it.

P.S. The folks at Thomann give awesome customer service. They shipped it well and fast, and their chat support is very friendly and helpful.

One of the top two or three most significant pieces of gear I've ever purchased. It made such an immediate and profound difference in the sound I was getting from our microphones that I've been kicking myself for not buying one sooner. In addition to being incredibly easy to use and sounding terrific (on both male and female voices, in our case), it has paid for itself many times over because of the time saved manually editing audio tracks which are now recorded with such an optimal dynamic range and noise already gated out - especially impactful when you're using a condensor mic that picks up absolutely everything.

Speaking of picking up everything... for anyone who is working in a small space or who might not have the luxury of a recording booth completely isolated from the control room: this unit does produce a hum that condensor mics will pick up very clearly in a quiet room. (I have two of them, and they produce an identical hum, so it's a feature... not a bug.)