Hey Labfans! Have happy new month!
Lets get into analysing the T-Racks white 2a today!
If you are new to the lab posts ,read this https://www.gearevu.littlefishaudio.com/must-read-welcome-to-my-lab-updated/
(Measurement settings above)
FR
We can see some minimal FR content, there is no noise either. I would have expected a more intricate FR, but its not linear either.
Phase
Phase is minimal aswell
THD/THD+N
(measured with input gain* steps)
We can definitely see that the modeling is there, not sure about those harmonics before the fundamental though…
Its quite a generous THD with quite rich character and a smoothness due to the increased even order harmonics. It also has an ‘bite’ feel on the lower steps.
DSC
Here we can see something quite interesting… The envelope knee tends to a hard bend, which is something contrasting to the opto designs that are well known for their knee super softness. The operation though of the gain reduction in general is and can be considered subtle.
DSC (limit)
Well not much of a difference, almost none. My best bet is this might be a software bug.
Q: If I don’t compress can I use this unit as a saturator ?
A: Yes,definitely you can use this unit as a saturator, by increasing/decreasing the input gain knob to taste. but please be cautious and use a trim plugin after the 2a, lowering the overall gain before you start playing with the input gain.
Consensus
Well the modeling is there.
Personal Quote: The downside for me is the knee hardness , making it really not an opto design. Ofcourse the way the reduction is implemented tends to ”compensate” for the knee but well , but…
None the less, the work is there!
Fab