AEA are well-known name in the world of ribbon mics, and as their range has expanded over the years they’ve also introduced a number of preamps designed to pair perfectly with their high-end mics — or indeed, any ribbon mic! Their latest release is a first for the company, though, and sees them turn their attention to compression.
The AEA 1029 is an all-analogue, stereo VCA compressor housed in a half-rack chassis, making it a great option for those looking for a desktop unit, or hoping to save some space in their rack. As you’d expect from AEA, high-quality components are used throughout, with a proprietary discrete op-amp design by Fred Forssell joined by a pair of THAT 4305 VCA chips that share a single RMS detector fed by the summed input signals.
The company say that the result is a versatile compressor that boasts a clear, balanced sound that excels at everything from taming vocals to squashing drum overheads. It’s been designed to pair perfectly with AEA’s TRP- and RPQ-series preamps, and is ideal for recording or mixing stereo mic arrays.
Despite its compact design, the AEA 1029 promises to pack plenty of punch. A three-way selector switch offers Peak Fast, RMS and Peak Slow time-sensing options, and the compressor’s Threshold and Ratio controls are continuously variable from -20 to +20dBu and 1:1 to limiting, respectively. Up to 20dB of make-up gain is available, and there’s a Dry/Wet blend control that makes quick work of dialling in some parallel compression.
Pricing & Availability
The AEA 1029 is available now, priced at $£1499 including VAT.