DBX 286 S

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.

Served me very well for years.
+ led indicators for functions are useful and clear
+ solidly built
+ excellent value
+ noise gate effective and configurable
+ simple LF/HF dials for EQ quick and relatively effective (exercise restraint with them though)
+ compressor does a good job and is quick to configure
+ de-esser
+ up to 60db of gain on input
+ great straightforward way to quickly shape up a spoken word signal for broadcast before it gets to any hardware

- pre-amp does get noisy after about 45db of gain or so
- constant buzz from the transformer inside the unit, if only they'd damped it some
- no power switch so you'll need to add an in-line one or use the wall switch
- noise gate coming last always felt a bit odd
- you'll still need a separate interface to get the signal to a PC (though again, at this price hard to complain!)

Pros:
- The preamp has most of the features one would want in an all-in-one mic processor. Maximum gain (60dB) is almost enough to drive Shure SM7, if you have a loud voice/other loud source. But I use it with a FetHead and dial gain down to 40dB for a total of around 67.
- Sounds decent and is easy to use.

Cons:
- One unfortunate thing is that after a prolonged period of silence in signal (several minutes) sometimes gate would not fully open by medium-level signal and would produce crackling noise. Maybe my exact unit is defective.
- Does not have a power switch

This is a very sturdy machine, that's rackable and comes in an all metal casing.

The preamp on this DBX has up to +60dB gain that should be enough for even more gain hungry microphones.

This units compressor controls are a bit limited and tricky to figure out, as threshold, attack, release and ratio are all controlled by two buttons (drive and density). The gain reduction meter is helpful for understanding the compression system.

Not much to say about the de-esser, it does it's job nicely and has a wide frequency range on which it can be applied.

The enhancer section provides low and high frequency detail that should be good for voice-overs and other live applications where it's not possible to tweak the details in your DAW.

Don't really use the expander/gate section so much, but it works as intended.

I really like how the knobs feel on this device, they have little steps instead of smooth gliding action.

I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a power-off switch and that I have to unplug it every time after using.

The overall sound quality is decent, but it is not ultra low-noise.

Was interested in getting this as it fit my purposes for killing two birds with one stone - a pre amp and a compressor.. However in future I would get seperate units. This is a wonderful device - it does exactly what it says it will.. however having studied a little more I think I would transfer the pre amplified signal into an EQ before putting into a compressor. If you have the money then I recommend doing this as I think you would achieve a better sound. On the other hand I was trying to save money and still, the audio out of the box is of undoubtable quality. If you're looking to save money, or especially for voiceovers I think this is a great cheap alternative, however if you're looking to make a more serious long term investment I would go with seperate units.

I initially bought this unit to help with recording vocals (which it is superb for) but now use it for post-production on just about everything (guitars, bass, piano, strings - everything). If you are not a professional engineer with years of experience and full understanding of compression and EQ settings, then a few days with this machine and you'll be able to add clarity and fullness to your music. It doesn't use the standard naming conventions but you will soon understand how to use the features. Its cheap but far from nasty. Definitely recommend for all home studios. Great product.