Extensive compressor reviews and FAQ

dbx 160A: This one is an "industry standard", one of the units most widely used in professional PA racks. It's a one-channel, line-level only, one-rack-space unit. It will not work well with your guitar/bass plugged straight in. To my ears, honestly, it doesn't sound that much better than the old 163X. It's not bad at all- the noise level is low, and the compression is quite smooth and free of unpleasant artifacts. It's got a very punchy action, great for rock and any sort of aggressive music. But the lows are not as full sounding as I'd like, and there is a little rolloff of the highs, especially at stronger amounts of compression. The controls are quite easy to use, while still offering a decent range of comp action.
 
I can totally understand why this model is so widely used: it sounds good enough for general purposes, it's built tough, and even a monkey could find decent settings on it. I would recommend it to somebody who wants a rackmount that is very simple, clean, and reliable. But it doesn't quite measure up if you want to hear huge-sounding low frequencies or bright clear highs. In my opinion the older 160 XT is a bit better sounding overall. See this article for an explanation of dbx's product-numbering system.
 

 
 
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