HÖF Dynamic Master Stereo Compressor Limiter Expander.
The HÖF Dynamic Master review
The HÖF Dynamic Master is a very unusual piece of kit, not just for its Ö. How it works is kept deliberately vague, as the designers even scrape off the Integrated Circuit numbers in order to keep its secrets. I have got two Dynamic Master, which I use a lot for parallel compression and because of the stereo linking I had to get another one for two mono signals.
I can create a great density in the sound using this machine without destroying any of the lively attacks, which are so important to the mix. It works really well in conjunction with other gear in the chain, which results in a lot of control over the dynamics. Again, I use a mastering equipment in a different way to mix. I realize now that I seem to do that a lot!
Paul White reviewed the Dynamic Master in a SOS article in 1997. “The Dynamic Master is essentially a full-band compressor, but it also includes a circuit for keeping the long-term signal level constant, a soft-knee limiter, and a fast peak limiter to prevent the output from exceeding a set maximum level. As I understand it, the limiter includes a clipper, which permits very short spikes to be clipped rather than subjected to overall gain reduction, and this is a principle that Aphex have used and refined in their Compellor.
Experiments show that the human ear is incapable of registering very short periods of clipping, so by allowing up to, say, 1ms of clipping (the actual duration used here is not divulged) before the limiter brings in gain reduction, you can achieve much greater perceived loudness while still preventing overshoots. A further stage of processing comprises a 1:2 expander to keep the noise down during signal pauses.
The three-coloured metering makes it a lot easier to understand what’s going on, and because you can juggle the amount of limiter action against the compressor/leveller action, it’s possible to achieve audible compression for use as an effect, if you run the limiter harder than you might do normally. However, the real strength of the Dynamic Master is its ability to control levels without displaying obvious side-effects.”
Links
- SOS review of the HOF Dynamic Master
Recommended books … Additional reading
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