TL's most famous compressor with low-noise solid state preamp followed by two tube stages per channel.

The TL Audio C-1 compressor maintains its position among the most flexible, polished-sounding high-end compressors on the market today. Featuring a spectacular raven blue 6mm milled aluminum front panel, General Electric US military-specification valves, high retention gold-plated ceramic valve bases and circular back-lit VU meters, the C-1 is even fatter-sounding and more rugged than its legendary predecessor.

All controls are continuously variable (unlike some other compressors with switched parameters) and high-quality onboard mic preamps allow direct-to-tape recording of microphone sources. Stereo front panel instrument inputs mean a keyboard or guitar can feed straight into the C-1 and down to tape with a minimum of fuss. Whether the C-1 compressor is tracking vocals and instruments or adding roundness and warmth to a complete mix, it will become an indispensable part of your signal path within hours.

The TL Audio C-1 features a low-noise solid state preamp followed by two valve stages per channel. The valves are General Electric ECC83/12AX7A types, run from a stabilized 250v DC power supply. The first valve stage acts as a voltage amplifier, with the second stage forming part of the gain control element. The gain control is performed by TL Audio's own unique transconductance stage that avoids the use of VCAs, thus improving transparency and minimizing distortion, which is virtually constant at 0.05% over the full bandwidth. The frequency response of the C-1 compressor is virtually flat between 20Hz and 40kHz, and measured between -3dB points, the C-1's bandwidth is a staggering 5Hz to 70kHz.

About TL Audio TL Audio began manufacturing audio products in 1990, when the company - founded by Tony Larking - was largely involved in the restoration and reselling of vintage equipment such as Neve and Trident recording consoles. The first TL Audio products were original Neve EQ modules, which were taken principally from broadcast consoles and repackaged to make them suitable for music production studios. A little later, Tony Larking joined forces with David Kempson, a leading designer at Neve for nine years.

By 1993 the demand for used valve outboard equipment had become very strong but most models such as the original Pultec and Fairchild valve devices were already extremely rare and expensive. There appeared an obvious gap in the market for brand new affordable valve products and the result was TL Audio's first valve product - the EQ-1 Dual Valve Equalizer. This product revolutionized the studio market by offering reliable, flexible, great sounding valve processing that was within the budget of most studios. The EQ-1 quickly attracted the interest of mainstream engineer/producers, with the first two production models going to Roy Thomas Baker (who had produced many of Queen and Foreigner's early recordings) and Chris Porter (who was working with George Michael and Take That).

The EQ-1 was the first of what became known as the 'Classic' range, and was followed by what has become possibly TL Audio's best known product - the C-1 Dual Valve Compressor, which shot to stardom as Chris Fogel's mixdown compressor on Alanis Morissette's multi-million selling Jagged Little Pill album.

Today, TL Audio has become one of the most respected names currently manufacturing Pro Audio equipment. According to designer David Kempson, "Our hybrid design approach was not chosen to cut costs: we created it because we genuinely believe it is a better way of producing valve processors. It makes them consistent, reliable, quiet, and - best of all - it means that by gearing ourselves up for large-scale production we can make the products affordable as well. Every studio deserves to benefit from the advantages of valve signal processing - with our products, we make that possible." TL Audio — Plug in the real thing.

TL Audio C-1 2-Channel Valve Tube Compressor Features:

• 2-channels of soft knee, variable-ratio compression
• Balanced mic and line level inputs
• Balanced line outputs, switchable for -10dB or +4dB operation
• Unbalanced jack I/O connections
• Stereo front panel instrument inputs with gain control and sensitivity switch (for guitar or keyboards etc.)
• Sidechain insert points for frequency conscious compression
• 48V phantom power
• 90Hz high-pass filter switch (12dB / octave), applies to all inputs
• Continuously variable Input Gain, Threshold, Attack/Release times, Compression Ratio, and Gain Make Up
• Program-dependent compression characteristic: attack and release times automatically adjust in response to program material
• Stereo Link mode: gangs Threshold, Attack, Release and Ratio controls for processing stereo signal sources
• Back-lit circular VU meters allow monitoring of either output level or gain reduction
• Bypass switch with LED
• Frequency response 20Hz to 40kHz +0 / -1dB

A steady diet of TL Audio will make your music fat — and that's a very good thing. Order yours today!

TL Audio C-1 2-Channel Valve Tube Compressor Specifications:

• Mic Input: Impedance: > 10k
• Gain range: +16 to +60dB
• Input noise (EIN): -126 dBu (22Hz-22kHz)
• Max input level: +10dBu
• Balanced XLR connector
• Line Input: (Balanced) Impedance: > 5k
• Gain range: -10dB to +35dB
• Max input level: +30dBu
• XLR connector
• (Unbalanced) Impedance: > 5k
• Gain range: -10dB to +35dB
• Max input level: +24dBu
• Jack connector
• Auxiliary input: Two unbalanced jack connectors for stereo operation, or Input A may be used to drive both channels
• Max input level: +10dBu
• Switchable sensitivity for guitar or keyboards
• Output: Balanced output impedance: < 10
• Max level: +22dBu into 600
• Unbalanced output impedance: 47
• Max level: +20dBu into 10k
• Sidechain insert point: stereo jack, tip=send, ring=return
• Nominal level: -2dBu
• Output impedance: 47, Return input impedance: 10k
  
  Compressor Functions (all continuously variable):
• Threshold: -20dBu to +20dBu
• Attack: 0.5mS to 50mS
• Release: 40mS to 4S
• Ratio: 1:1.5 to 1:30
• Gain Make Up: 0dB to +20dB
• Frequency response: 20Hz to 40kHz +0 / -1dB
• Distortion: 0.05% (10Hz-40kHz)
• Dynamic Range: 100dB
  
  Power supply: 110-120v or 220-240v AC
• Power consumption: 30VA typical
• Dimensions: 483 x 205 x 88mm (19" 2U)
• Weight: 5kg. Shipping Weight: 6kg.