Description
B Stock: See Condition tab for more information on this item
Sold as seen, no returns on B Stock items
Symetrix is an American company producing outboard gear. Though not that well known in the UK, they have a good reputation in America, and their products are cost-effective and well-engineered
The 425 is a straightforward 2-channel VCA compressor. Each channel has an expander, compressor & limiter and the sidechain for each channel has an insert via a TRS jack. This enables the sidechain to be EQd, or otherwise modified, to change the response of the dynamic control
Attack times are program-dependent and release times are variable via the front-panel controls. Compression ratio and threshold are variable and the expander and limiter both have a variable threshold. The expander is a true downward expander, not a noise gate, so is suitable for all signals
Typically, with low-cost compressors, the noise gate is essentially useless (see Behringer, dbx 266XL, etc, etc) so the presence of a useable expander is a bonus
The 425 is built in a substantial steel chassis and the controls have a quality feel. It has both balanced and unbalanced connections so it’ll be equally at home in a studio rack or a home setup
In my tests I found the 425 to work well and to be very transparent. The controls are quite well-judged so setting thresholds is easy & accurate. Stereo mode links the two channels accurately. I found the limiter to be quite a decent addition and it holds the output level without the massive distortion found in some low-end compressors. The expander is effective and far more useful than a poorly-executed noise gate
