Description
The list of dedicated hardware de-essers is a short one, making a Top Five list hard to assess. The SPL 9629, though, definitely features in any such list
SPL has a great reputation for sound quality and their electronic design & build quality are second-to-none. Their grasp of the subtleties of dynamic processors is proven – the Transient Designer and Dynamaxx are cutting-edge – so it’s no surprise the SPL De-Esser works as well as it does
With settings for male & female voices the 9629 gives smooth, effective reduction of sibilants with minimal side-effects. It sounds great and is a world away from early de-essers which mangled the sound
The 9629 uses a phase-cancellation circuit to detect & eradicate sibilants. Detector settings of 6 kHz for male and 7 kHz for female voices target the peak frequencies for each type of voice and the S-Reduction control allows the depth of de-essing to be controlled
“If I need a De-Esser I’ll insert my SPL outboard. Works great on both male and female sources. A little bit goes a long way”
“If ease of use is your primary concern, the SPL Auto Dynamic De-Esser is hard to beat. I would especially recommend this unit for live-sound applications, as it truly does have “Auto” as its copilot”
“If you want analogue I always liked the SPL de-essers”
This 9629 is in fine, used condition with minimal rack rash. It’s tested & working 100%. Photos show a unit sold previously
