dbx 286A

Simple. Does what it portends to do - very effectively. Though some of the parameters may not be be self-explanatory to the first time user, the details are mapped out in the manual. Would be more convenient to power up with a front panel switch.

Sound is strong and clean for this price range, especially with the preamp. The compressor is subtle and transparent if used conservitavely. The enhancer may come in handy for subtle touch up as well, but I would stay on the conservative side here as well. The de-esser and expander are very smooth and make it nice for getting a good professional sounding vocal track.

Seems quite solid like all of the gear I've used from them. No problems with hum, intermittent line noise, etc.

What I like most about this unit is that it cranks out a good strong clean signal for vocal tracks, while pretty much staying out of the way in terms of coloration. There are times where I desire that "musical warmth" that other vocal channels (flooding the market) profess to achieve, but I prefer to either dial it in the mix or use an additional processor on during tracking. This unit is a great bang for the buck when it comes to a good solid mic pre with a few extras. Definitely not a "cure-all," but a wise choice for both the enginner and musician.

With the exception of the compressor's labels (Drive and Density), the unit behaves predictably. The knobs "click" into these little grooves -- they're not quite fluid when you turn them. Sometimes, especially in terms of the expander/gate, the settings I want are subtle enough to fall between these grooves. One minor thing- but certainly annoying -- this unit has no power switch. You turn it off by unplugging it, or switching off the power conditioner.

This unit can create lots of noise if you're not careful, especially with the enhancers. I also wish the de-esser could get a real handle on explosive sibilance. It does not compromise the EQ much, thankfully, but just seems futile with some condenser mics. Not much happened, even when you adjust the knobs to remove a maximum amount sibilance. However, DBX has reputable compressors, and this one is no exception. If you're patient, you can really get a pristine tone out of this thing.

Not a problem yet. I do admire that.

I would likely suggest buying a BBE Sonic Maximizer, if you want a clean enhancer. It is nice to have all these features in one unit however.

very easy to set the preamp up, 1 knob. 1 switch for phantom power. 1 switch for 80 Hz highpass. 1 switch for bypass.
The terms drive and density on the 2 knobs of the compressor section confused me. I thought they might be something different than just threshold and ratio like any other compressor , forcing me to actually read the very long winded manual just to find out that's all they really are. Nice metering though.
Then, 2 knobs each for de-esser(frequency & threshold). enhancer ,witch is just a shelving type EQ (low detail & hi detail).and expander (threshold & ratio).
and 1 out put level knob
would have had a 10 here except for the inital confusion with the compressor knobs

its a world class dbx its great as everyone els siad it is

it fell from off a top shelf on to a concrete floor. the output side of the front panel is all squished in. works perfectly still.
I would have given it a 10 here if it hadn't dented so bad when it fell. but maybe thats was what absorbed the shock to keep it from breaking? I know I would have been in serious pain if I fell on my face from that shelf

ive never delt with them . really i dont know ?

i use this unit for vocals in my studio both naration and singing. sort of a set and forget piece that only get adjusted when a new person needs to use it for the first time. I did a lot of research and tried a lot of more expensive similar kinds of processors not only was this one of the few that had every thing I needed in 1 rack space but it was also the best sounding (I can't here it at all actually, but isn't that what you want in this type of effect ? I love that!) and it was the least expensive. I would get it again in a second unless they put out a stereo version maybe call it a 286S ((hint hint if your looking dbx if you get me a dual mono in 1 rack space and keep everything else the same you'll get a 10 from me for sure maybe call it a 286D hint hint ))

This unit is VERY beginner friendly, and unlike most multi-proccessor units, it's controls don't go from a trickle to "someone just ran over a fire hydrant" with a tenth of a turn on the knobs.

I'm using this unit with a Rode NT2, for a pre-production studio. However, just because you're doing pre-pro, doesn't necessarily mean you can't come out with "world class", very usuable album tracks.This unit is capable of it, if used correctly.

I've never known any DBX equiptment to be inherently unreliable.

No dealings yet,(perhaps a testimony to quality and useability.)

Pop,rock,r&b production mostly.
Over 20 years as a musician.
I would buy it again if I couldn't afford a Focusrite Red 7 =)
I'd say most similar products in this price range don't compete.
I Love the fact that the pre-amp section has some considerable & clean gain.I hate the fact that they didn't accidentally put a 286a case on one of their smoking tube models =P

This is a mic preamp, which can be used sepatately, or in combination with the compressor, expander/gate, and other features such as De-esser, high pass filter and High and Low frequency boosts. It is fairly easy to set up but requires some careful listening and experimentation with the controls to get good results. The manual is fairly simple and straight forward, with some examples of settings for various situations - but only experimentation will get you what you want.

I bought this unit mainly for speech recording and video voiceovers - mainly to blank out extraneous background noise (birds and traffic !) when recording scripts in my home 'studio'. The downward expander and gate does this very well with a Threshhold noise level set at -30db and the Ratio control at 2:1 (not what the Manual suggests!).

I have also found the De-esser useful - but it is quite difficult to tune in to the correct sibilance frequency without cutting the level of normal speech - until you get used to catching the 'esses' and watching the LED's light at the right moment. Mine seems to occur at about 5.5k, which I attenuate with a Threshhold setting of about 4. (There are 2 LEDs showing 1db and 6db cut in sibilance level).

The High Pass filter switch is useful for cutting bass rumble if your mic does not have a bass cut switch. I'm not used to using compressors. They amplify the incoming sound level so that the lower level sounds are raised - then they compress the higher level sounds to stop distortion. This reduces the difference between the loud and softer sounds - but at the risk of amplifying hiss from your mic or ambient room noise. It is ok when you have a very clean - or loud - signal and use the controls sensibly. Otherwise hiss can be a problem. This can be Gated out with the expander/gate control on quieter passages - but it takes some sensitive adjustment to stop the two features fighting each outher audibly.

I find that the input gain control has to be turned almost to full to get speech levels to trigger the second (-10db) LED when reading scripts - and you have to speak quite loudly to get the peak (0db) orange LED to light momentarily. The same is true for the line input from my TEAC TASCAM mixer - except when it is fed from a CD player. Having said that, the Mic (and line) peramp is very quiet, (silent for up to 95% gain (which is more than +50db gain).

The Low frequency boost produces a nice rounded sound to the spoken male voice when given about a quarter of a turn. The High frequency boost is usefull for picking percussion and flute out of a dull mix to give more presence on videos which are likely to be heard through small TV speakers.

Overall, the sound path is transparent throughout the unit unless too much boost is applied on Compression and High frequency. In fact I normally have to turn the output gain control well down (to about -10db) to avoid overloading my mxer and recorder - even without the compressor activated.

I have only had the unit for a short time. Physically it is very well made and finished, with a thick steel front panel for bolting to a 19" rack. The control knobs are excellent - they have 20 gentle 'click stop' positions so you can recreate previous settings easily - and count how many clicks you turn when doing fine adjustments. This is very useful since one click position can make all the difference between silencing background noise and clipping your signal. I can't give a score for reliability yet.

Fortunately no experience of this yet. However, I did find the store (Academy of Sound, Nottingham) very helpful when buying this unit. They had a number of diferent compressors/expanders wired up and they left me in the sound booth for well over an hour so that I could try things out.

I am very pleased with this unit so far, but I bought it for recording the spoken word, so I can't comment on use for music. I have, however, experimented with the controls using CD acoustic guitar music and - with care, you can kill background noise and compress without clipping the fading chords.

The main negative points are
1. The internal power supply causes some audible buzz which can be picked up on the mic if it is very close. Fortunately this does not interfere with the internal sound path - so if your mic is beyond the audible sound travel the signal is clean. I prefer to have the PSU built in and suffer the buzz than to contend with a remote adapter.
2. The Mic gain has to be turned almost full up to get peak signal level for narration - but the pre amp is so clean that this does not cause a problem in practice. Vocalists should have no problem.
3. If you leave the mic plugged in and feed in a line signal you have two problems: the mic is still live and there is substantial signal drain from the line level. A Mic/Line switch is needed on the front panel to overcome this problem.

All in all this is a useful piece of kit for my purposes, and so far it seems to be doing what I want without problems - but I am not a musician. By the way, it does not have a SideChain Insert - so you can't use it to cause a second signal to duck or autofade music under a voiceover - for this you would need the line level compressor/expander such as the 266XL or similar unit by Behringer or Alesis. It does, though, have a 'send and return' jack so that the mic signal can be routed out at line level to an effects unit, such as an equaliser and then returned to this unit for compression, gating etc.

Yes, if it were stolen I would replace it. No doubt there is better stuff on the market, but for the price it is a useful and robust piece of kit that does what I want. I hope it is as reliable as it feels.