286 S : Solid unit for price

This is a very sturdy machine, that's rackable and comes in an all metal casing.

The preamp on this DBX has up to +60dB gain that should be enough for even more gain hungry microphones.

This units compressor controls are a bit limited and tricky to figure out, as threshold, attack, release and ratio are all controlled by two buttons (drive and density). The gain reduction meter is helpful for understanding the compression system.

Not much to say about the de-esser, it does it's job nicely and has a wide frequency range on which it can be applied.

The enhancer section provides low and high frequency detail that should be good for voice-overs and other live applications where it's not possible to tweak the details in your DAW.

Don't really use the expander/gate section so much, but it works as intended.

I really like how the knobs feel on this device, they have little steps instead of smooth gliding action.

I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a power-off switch and that I have to unplug it every time after using.

The overall sound quality is decent, but it is not ultra low-noise.