DBX 286 S Reviews

It does what it should…

Works well both with condenser and dynamic mics (Rode nt1 and Shure PGA58). The only thing - it has no power button, so have to be unplugged when not used.

It Does the Thing

It's rugged and produces great results.

Good for podcast and voice over

for the price you can't complain at all. it comes with very useful futures, such as the gate/expandors ..ect. is not that good for professional vocal recording, the drive and compressor can't handle load vocal performance. but for podcast or a voiceover it will work fine. the Nosie cancelation is very effective. and the price is very tempting for it. lastly you should know that the output comes only with jack not XLR. overall is a very helpful for clean light recording.

Super mic processor

Great for streaming and live singing. I now have 2 of these, so that I can do live streaming with a friend.

Bang for the bucks

I use this as a vocal processor when recording. Compared to when only plugging the condenser mic directly into the sound card with Midas pre-amps, it brings a boost and clarity that is hard to believe for this money. After starting using the DBX 286 S with humble settings, I've started to save a lot of post-production time making the vocals sound pristine.

A very nice first step

I got the 286 to get better voice recordings and to improve my sound during video meetings. I vas not happy with the weak pre-amp in my audio interface and this gave me even more! It’s lovely to have physical controls for all the steps in the process chain when you’re not able to route your audio through a DAW during Zoom meetings (and the compressor makes hilarious d&d sessions a little more bearable for my party members during fits of laughter)

A solid recommendation both for recording and online meetings!

It’s legendary

I’m inlove in it before then I get it

Great beginner hardware compressor

I bought the dbx 286s for multiple reasons.

I wanted to record vocals with compression on the way in. Many of the vocal performances I had to capture in my studio were very dynamic, and in order to avoid the risk of clipping I decided to go with a hardware compressor.

Also the fact that the dbs 286s acts as a preamp is a great addition to anyone who uses microphones such as the Shure SM7B.

The channel strip can add gain, compress the signal and especially add a gate to eliminate the noise.

I must stay, I am not such a fan of the compression. For vocals it's fine if you can keep it relatively low, as the attack is not adjustable and pretty slow. So if you compress it too hard you will have a lot of plosives. The compression itself also is quite unpleasant compared to other units, but as mentioned before, if you don't overdo it then it sounds great. Use it for light dynamic control and then compress the vocals in your DAW, it makes it A LOT easier.

I used it as an outboard for snare compression too, and it worked surprisingly well.

HOWEVER, after a few year the unit started to malfunction. The unit would spontaneously distort and lower its volume. I have sent my unit back for repair, and am very curious if the problem can be fixed. I have read that this is a recurring issue with the unit.

SO IF YOU PLAN ON GETTING ONE, be aware that after a few year this well performing channel strip might die on you.

Perfect for pairing with Shure Sm7B

Mainly used together with Shure Sm7B and it gives perfect processed sound when streaming. For recordings, it requires minimal post-processing. I'm super happy with it.

Great For Beginners

My first time ever, using an analog compressor and preamp. So far I have been very satisfied with its performance and sound quality. The preamp works great with my Shure Sm7b and the compression effects are incredibly useful. Whether you use it for singing or for podcasts, it offers great background noise reduction and vocal compression to make you sound like a true radio host. Combined with a good quality mic, it allows clean and direct vocals, with no background noise if adjusted correctly.

The de-esser function works great, and really helps when preserving your sanity buy reducing the sharp Ssss sound. Along with its compression and eq abilities, it offers a clean, detailed and up-close sound, that requires very little post production to sound good.

For the price, its definitely one of the best options for beginner and intermediate pod-casters and vocalists to get the most out of their desired sound.

Dix 286 s

Makes my mic sound fantastic. An excellent product. Comes with full instructions

Pros and cons

Served me very well for years.

+ led indicators for functions are useful and clear

+ solidly built

+ excellent value

+ noise gate effective and configurable

+ simple LF/HF dials for EQ quick and relatively effective (exercise restraint with them though)

+ compressor does a good job and is quick to configure

+ de-esser

+ up to 60db of gain on input

+ great straightforward way to quickly shape up a spoken word signal for broadcast before it gets to any hardware

- pre-amp does get noisy after about 45db of gain or so

- constant buzz from the transformer inside the unit, if only they'd damped it some

- no power switch so you'll need to add an in-line one or use the wall switch

- noise gate coming last always felt a bit odd

- you'll still need a separate interface to get the signal to a PC (though again, at this price hard to complain!)

Vocal processor

Used as front-vocal processor in home-studio and for small gigs. Good sound, easy to set up, the needed features (except EQ. - that easily can be inserted), transparent sound. Only small irritation is that my voice is not good with the HI-enhance function, it brings out artificial sounding sybils.. But turn it off, and all is good. Recommended

Solid preamp

Versatile, quiet, lots of gain.

Noise gate is ok, nothing more.

Low/high boosting section is more "podcast sound" oriented, rather vocal recording.

I'm very happy with my purchase.

Really good

Really good unit. Sounds really nice. Everything works nicely.

I like this processor

I'll say, I do really like this processor. It sounds good, and has all the features you need to handle vocals. When I talk to clients, I definitely sound like a radio broadcast host now.

My only complaint is that I would have liked a bit more of a finer control on the gate / expander behavior.

Very impressed

Used it with cheap and high-end microphone and it delivers all the way. Also love the line in which you can use for post processing as well. Very happy with it. And I as a rack user I really admire that It works without a power switch.

A game changer

One of the top two or three most significant pieces of gear I've ever purchased. It made such an immediate and profound difference in the sound I was getting from our microphones that I've been kicking myself for not buying one sooner. In addition to being incredibly easy to use and sounding terrific (on both male and female voices, in our case), it has paid for itself many times over because of the time saved manually editing audio tracks which are now recorded with such an optimal dynamic range and noise already gated out - especially impactful when you're using a condensor mic that picks up absolutely everything.

Speaking of picking up everything... for anyone who is working in a small space or who might not have the luxury of a recording booth completely isolated from the control room: this unit does produce a hum that condensor mics will pick up very clearly in a quiet room. (I have two of them, and they produce an identical hum, so it's a feature... not a bug.)

Great mic processor with unreliable gate

Pros:

- The preamp has most of the features one would want in an all-in-one mic processor. Maximum gain (60dB) is almost enough to drive Shure SM7, if you have a loud voice/other loud source. But I use it with a FetHead and dial gain down to 40dB for a total of around 67.

- Sounds decent and is easy to use.

Cons:

- One unfortunate thing is that after a prolonged period of silence in signal (several minutes) sometimes gate would not fully open by medium-level signal and would produce crackling noise. Maybe my exact unit is defective.

- Does not have a power switch

Worth buying just for the gate

Having seen some negative reviews on this unit in recent years I was slightly dubious, but having taken the plunge I have to say that I’m highly impressed, the dbx 286s is well presented and well assembled, all the knobs and switches are well fitting, and the dials have a nice granular ‘clicking’ to help set levels with finer precision. Once you learn how to set this up it becomes a very powerful tool for any live audio or recording setup. I’ve been most impressed by the expander/gate in this unit, it’s extremely responsive and effective when set properly. The only slightly negative thing I noticed was that the unit emits a slight continuous buzzing noise because the transformer in it is directly bolted to the housing without any rubber washers or anything to insulate it from the housing. The noise is definitely not a deal breaker, but it is noticeable if the unit is sitting on the desk next to you. Note that it does not come through in the audio, and it’s better that the unit has a proper transformer instead of a switch mode power supply.