Ecler ECLERNET MANAGER - Manual (Page 75)

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7.5.5. COMPRESSOR
The compressor section offers a processing of the input signal dynamic
behaviour, allowing you to modify the level differences between high and low level
passages of the signal, thereby obtaining a resultant signal with a controlled
dynamic margin. Available settings are:
 ENABLE/DISABLE: enables/disables the compressor (green button/grey
button). When in DISABLE mode, the rest of the section controls are
disabled.
 THRESHOLD: compression threshold. Specifies the input signal level at
which compression begins to occur. This parameter ranges from +18 dB
to –36 dB.
 RATIO: compression ratio. This parameter specifies how much the
compressor reduces the level of an input signal exceeding the
compression threshold. With a 1:1 value, the signal level remains
unchanged, while with the extreme value of inf: 1, the compressor
performs as a signal limiter, preventing the input signal to exceed the level
defined by the compression threshold
 GR (Gain Reduction): VU meter-like indicator of the compression applied
to the signal, displaying in decibels the reduction of the compressor output
signal compared to the input signal
 KNEE: bend of the compression curve. Allows you to select a progressive
(SOFT) or sharp (HARD) compressor response when the signal level is
near the compression threshold, i.e. to let the transients pass through or
not before the compressor starts operating
 ATTACK: attack time. Determines the time the compressor takes to
respond when the input level rises above the threshold. The range covers from 0.1 ms to 500 ms
 RELEASE: determines how quickly the compressor stops acting once the signal input level falls
back below the threshold. In this case, the range covers from 10 ms to 1 s.
 MAKE-UP: Additional gain for the signal after compression, from 0 to +10 dB. The audible effect
of compression is usually a more uniform signal but a lower average intensity (volume). The
additional MAKE-UP gain allows you to increase the average level or volume of the signal after it
has been compressed, recovering presence and intensity
Correctly setting compressors' ATTACK and RELEASE times is not an easy task: too short release or
attack times result in excessive and perceptible low frequencies distortion; on the other hand, too long
times could make a compressor useless since it would act too late, letting high intensity signal peaks
pass through without applying any compression.