500-Series Enhanced 1176-Style Compressor

US Black Lion Audio announces availability of Seventeen 500 17/05/23

Black Lion Audio has announced availability of Seventeen 500. They say that it's their 500-series spin on what the classic '76 compressor could have been -- benefitting from today's technology to feature a redesigned and improved IC-based front end effectively rendering incredible detail and nuance not normally possible with a '76-style compressor, yet taking things further still by bringing some features unavailable on original '76s to the production party, packaged conveniently in a space-saving standardized format for modular signal processing. Here's the details direct from the company...

Duly differentiating it from the classic '76 compressor to which it owes its inspiration, Seventeen 500's updated front-end circuit is coupled with Black Lion Audio's custom-designed output transformer to achieve a huge bottom end that balances out its open top end nicely. Needless to say, that new IC-based front end furnishes Seventeen 500 with a clean, punchy, modern sound under light compression and a more colorful vintage character when pushed.

By bringing a proprietary power decoupling to the production party -- providing an incredibly low noise floor, while also using high-grade Nichicon signal capacitors considered to be some of the best quality caps available, the boutique audio company concerned could easily have stopped there. But Black Lion Audio being Black Lion Audio, Seventeen 500 instead includes some significant additions and upgrades, such as a frequency-adjustable side-chain for preventing unwanted over- compression triggered by big low-frequency signals (such as kick drums) and a COMP MIX (wet/dry mix) knob for blending the dry signal with the compressed signal. But beyond offering a palette of tones unavailable anywhere else on the market, Seventeen 500 also includes all-important stereo LINK functionality.

Finally, Seventeen 500 allows for an 'all-buttons-in' mode, making it much easier to simultaneously engage multiple RATIO controls than on classic '76 compressors, for instance. Indeed, Seventeen 500 makes use of modern buttons that are actually intended to be simultaneously depressed. After all, push-buttons styled on vintage automobile radios are arguably well past their sell-by date... unlike Black Lion Audio's 500-series spin on what the classic '76 compressor could have been.

Pricing and Availability:
Seventeen 500 is available to purchase via Black Lion Audio's global network of dealers/distributors with a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) of $499.00 USD and an SRP (Suggested Retail Price) of €665.00 EUR (including VAT).

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