However, as with all things audio, what it comes down to is personal taste. Therefore I must conclude that the winner of this shootout is Waves CLA-2A. I did a couple more tests on different vocal tracks (male other recording equipment) and observed the same results. Personally, in this example I’d go with Waves.

Waves CLA-2A: pleasing fullness in the lows and smooth presence.

Logic Compressor: the sharpest tone (~3-4kHz).

IKM T-RackS White 2A: reduced presence (~1kHz range).

Waves CLA-2A My observations & conclusion: Alternatively, click here to download all the files as a zip archive.ĥ.

Just click on the download icon on Soundcloud and you'll get a full quality. I recommend downloading the files, as Soundcloud transcodes to 128 kbps mp3 for streaming playback which isn't sufficient for this purpose. Don’t get me wrong, the differences are slight and they require a trained ear, but in my side-by-side tests I did notice some.įor this test I’ve chosen a vocal track since that’s what the LA-2A is known for. Native Instruments VC 2A: €120/$135/£90Īnother is the way they sound.One point of difference is their price tags: Now that Logic has updated its Compressor in 10.1, all of them are visually reminiscent of the original. IK Multimedia, Apple Logic, Native Instruments and Waves each have their solutions for getting the LA-2A in-the-box. Other options include getting one of these. A side-by-side test of optical compressor plugins: IK Multimedia’s T-RackS White 2A, Logic’s Compressor in Vintage Opto Mode, Native Instruments’ VC 2A and Waves’ CLA-2A.

Waves cla 2a compressor requirements