DBX 160A vs DBX 560A | Hardware Shoot Out

In this video, we compare two versions of the same compressor, the full rack DBX160A vs the 500 series modules DBX 560A.
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[@Rhuggins]

This comparison is interesting - but my comment isn't specific to this test. I think what you are doing on this chanel is my most favorite thing on KZbin, quite possibly. Between this and Dan Worrall's videos (which are brilliant) it feels like you designed this with me in mind specifically. Love the flow, the style, and your commentary. quick moving - but with attention to detail. Absolutely love it. Y'all know what you're doing

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for the kind words and for your support. I am glad you are enjoying the videos

[@JasonBuffin]

The revive mod upgrades the VCA to a THAT 2180A and it's so apparent. They're so much more open and clear. The 500 series sounds a little bit muffled. I have a dual channel 166 with the 2180 mod and it's the same thing. Love it on drum bus. Great video!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

The Revive audio mods really seem to open up things for sure. I need to see what other gear they have to offer

[@SkynetRecordings]

Nice test. 160A sound bigger on the bottom end and more open than the 560a. Interesting for sure. Both sound good though. Cheers!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks 👍

[@TheRpblct]

Great comparison! Maybe add non compressed signal so we can hear what the source sounds like before the compressor? That way we can hear what tonal character they are adding. Both sound like a DBX compressor!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

maybe on the next one I will do that

[@MixedByDotRob]

Thanks for doing the comparison! Very interesting! Both sound good! The 160 seems to even out the transients a little better and obviously doesn't choke the low end too much. But they sound much closer than I would have expected! 😃

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching! They are pretty close

[@AdamGotheridge]

I have a 160a, 160x, 160xt, and 560a. They all sound a little different, but in general I feel the 560a is the most "obvious" and least music sounding of the bunch. Could be all in my head, but don't think so. Was also wondering if you linked them stereo or just went dual mono (I've gone dual mono on all stereo compressors, a Daking, a couple Drawmers, a 166a). The 166a sounds quite a bit like the 160 btw. In general, I think they work great on kick and snare and whatever tone they impart works well with those instruments (to my ears anyway). Cool video. Would have like to see some stuff like 4x1 and a couple db compression comparison, then maybe a lot more reduction at say 1.5 x 1, but only so many hours in a day.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

I have them in dual mono myself

[@michaeltablet8577]

Great test. These are so helpful! Thanks again for all your videos! Happy Holidays to you all!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Same to you! Happy holidays!

[@Folk661]

Cool. Love those compressors. I’d love to hear the 166xs and xl versus the 160a models. They are all over the place for dirt cheap and nobody has ever done it on KZbin yet.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

I would like to try a 160 X as well at one point

[@Folk661]

@@MixingMusicAnalog Yeah. People always rant that the older X and XT sound better than the A for some reason. Be interesting to hear. I had a 266 and I thought it did that punchy sound pretty well. And I had a 160S for a short time, but it was a little unruly for my taste. So many models to test… so little time.

[@HarleyBob957]

Definitely the 160A sounds bigger and more clear..to my ears.. thanks for the demo..

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

You bet!

[@aleksamrkela831]

Awesome! They sound 'almost' identical, and anybody who buys the 500-series version would be making a clever investment. For the price, it's impossible to beat!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Couldn't agree more!

[@thadirtyabbott33]

This is a win, win comparison for sure! It'll definitely just come down to preference and choice for appropriate application... Dave and Dave for the win on this one....👍🏾

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thank you very much for checking out the video!

[@kelleykelley3153]

Great comparison. I am always keeping my eyes peeled for a pair of 160a’s. But I may jump on a pair of 560a’ and start a 500 rack. Thanks 👊🏽💜👍🏽

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Go for it!

[@simonnoble974]

😂😂😂 I laughed out loud at 10:00min . It’s true though, we all perceive differently. Love it.

[@simonnoble974]

I will add that I agree with man with the spectacles on 😂

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks!

[@joemae416]

Can a dbx 160A be hooked up to a home hifi system with other DBX components such as: 10/20, 224x, 4bx, 120x for home recording from albums to cassettes and reel to reel?… Thanks, and great video….

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Unfortunately not

[@nashvillelicks5247]

You guys kill me. Dave and Dave I gave you some other tunes to use as well if you want! haha

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Funny you say that because I was thinking the same thing. I said to myself "we have another 5-6 Barry tunes, we should try another one for a bit. LOL....I will soon! Thank you for allowing us to use your music. I added your links in the description.

[@nashvillelicks5247]

That's funny. You are so welcome. Check out that link I sent you to Mike's songs. You can use them for your courses

[@garyshirinian]

Thx for sharing. People say 160A is not for vocal. Why is that. Thx

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

No idea! The DBX is great on almost everything!

[@garyshirinian]

@@MixingMusicAnalog thx for replying

[@garyshirinian]

@MixingMusicAnalog a question to you. What do you think of the FMR RNC Compressor. Thx.

[@kaisersoze9488]

They're both freaking awesome at some instances I liked the 160a and at other instances I liked the 560's but in the whole mix the 160a were my prefer choice would love to see a comparison of the unmoded version in the future thanks for sharing 👍

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

We did a un-modded version video already

[@kaisersoze9488]

@@MixingMusicAnalog I'm going to check it out!

[@quiquepuche6393]

Great content as always guys! I have two 160XTs, one 160A and recently got the Audioscape 260VU. I have not done a comparison between the Audioscape and the DBX units but I can tell you that there is a difference between the XTs and the A. I have the XTs wired in the patchbay with both the balanced and unbalanced outs. I understand the unbalanced is supposed to be exactly like the X version and it sounds bigger on the low end and it shaves a little bit of the highs whereas the balanced out sounds more polished and closer to the A. All sounds are usable depending on what you are looking after. If you ever run into the Klark Teknik DN series compressors (DN-500 or DN-504), I would love to see a comparison and hear your opinions. I understand they also have a DBX or THAT vca and are supposed to sound very similar to the DBX units.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

I have the 260 as well and it sounds pretty different,

[@Folk661]

I’ve got a Klark dn504+. Could lend for such a comparison. Love that compressor, it sounds smashing on snares and kicks.

[@AKMacintyre]

Snare is finer/Silkier on the 19" Revive Audio, but the kick is killer on the 560A - reminiscent of a Rich Costey feel

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching!

[@jimchism6653]

I picked a pair up for just under $500. You really get more than what you paid at that price. I think the price per unit went up recently to $275 .

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Yea! they are now $275 on Sweetwater! everything is going up!

[@ScanVoice]

On the full mix the 560A sounded slightly more pumping to me beside the mid differences.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for checking out the video!

[@woodendoors9532]

I put my rack 160x comps on snare and 500 series on acoustic guitar where it adds a high pass on the boomy frequencies. What happened to most of your SSL 500 series comps?

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

I sold some of them as I was not using all of them .I wanted to added some different colors to the rack

[@woodendoors9532]

@@MixingMusicAnalog makes sense with all the audioscape stuff

[@pietro5456]

Dave(s) I got a question regarding the 500 SSL Dynamics, the brushed steel finish ones are now made in China, since you had both the Uk Blackfaces and the brushed steels, have you noticed any difference in sound? Just asking cause I've stumbled on a video in which the Uk Blackface 500 G Comp utterly destroyed the new Bus+ which is made in China, hence why I was wondering, thanks!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

They sounded exactly the same to my ears.I ended up selling off a few of them because I I wanted to have some different flavors of compressors. I kept 5 of them and that is plenty for me

[@pietro5456]

@@MixingMusicAnalog That's all I wanted to hear, thanks a lot man, have a great Christmas!

[@louderthangod]

Looks like Revive also mods these 560A’s

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

They do, pretty pricey

[@TBURNATV]

wow i think 4 Vocals the 560A can be really nice

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

they are great compressors for the $$$

[@DALAprodukte]

Got two 165, a 162, a 160X and two 560A's. Use 'em all, maybe the 162 a bit less than the others.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

I would like to try a 160X at one point.

[@robertkerr8601]

Both sound great! Yep, mod version is for sure warmer. DBX is known for that spank on the snare, and is often used with the DBX for tracking. The 500 series has that spankiness, whereas the revive has some of that stuff but a little more warmer sounding. The revive is amazing, but so is the 500 series. Its two nice flavours! So it depends what you are going for. I would use the 560a for snare and kick in for tracking, some nice spanky sound, and I would happily use those revives on acoustic stuff like guitar and even vocals! Either way...both are awesome and great value for either price!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Good points! For the money both these compressors are an amazing value and both sound really great! I was really surprised how much I liked the 160A when I first got it. I liked it so much I instantly bought a 2nd one from Revive

[@AndrewCCM]

To me, honestly sounds like an EQ curve shift. The 560 is a bit to the right and the 160 is left a bit. Either could easily be adjusted to sound like each other. Just my take.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

yea, they can be EQ to make them sound pretty much the same if you wanted for sure

[@Sagerydian]

I am completely confused. On the mix the 160 sounds way better, on guitar the 560 sounds better, on bass the 160 sounds better and on drums I don't hear a difference between the two. Great comparison though. Thanks guys!

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

They are pretty subtle differences and depending on your playback system, you may not hear the difference over youtube

[@braxal6983]

To me I do not like the low mids in the 560A. The 160A sound better! Of course it is just my opinion for what it is worth. You can really hear it on the acoustic guitar. It is like the 560A put a blanket over the sound.

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching. I tend to like the 160A myself. So much so I purchased a 2nd one!!

[@timeiseverything4]

560a i had i sold. inexpensive but totally overrated. So many better VCA compressors out there

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Great! Name somer that are better for less than $500

[@serioushobbies9682]

160a mod bigger and tight

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching!

[@JSSTUDIO-wr2jq]

👍

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching!

[@angelbeast8863]

Slightly different but not day and night

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching!

[@gutekzpoligonu]

Is it just me or the 500 series 560 has more top, more glass sort to speak?

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

They sound pretty darn close to each other

[@kingdumb4]

560 muddier for sure

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

Thanks for watching

[@jeromelester8]

Bread and butter compression for bass and drums.🥁🛢🪘

[@MixingMusicAnalog]

can beat them for the money, thats for sure