Klark Teknik KT-2A Compressor | Gear Review
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- Опубліковано 18 січ 2019
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For few months I use KT-2a mostly for recording vocals, and I adore it. It is great when push it hard with punk-rock vocals :-)
Great review, as you always do. I'm glad you are showing what the KT stuff can do. They are pumping out great products that are insanely affordable. I have a pair of the EQP-KTs and I love what they do for my mixes. I also have a 500 series dual mono/stereo FET (76 style) compressor, so I doubt I dive into the KT-76 for awhile, but I have been eye'ing these KT-2As as a stereo pair. Thanks again for the great production! Cheers
Thank you, you‘re welcome! Yes indeed, it is a great compressor!
14:11 no words
Excellent review and demo as always, thanks for posting!
been waiting for a review on this unit. Nice!
Been following for a while, great video as always! Much respect mr. Marty
Thank you!
I am pretty impressed, how close the KT-2A gets to the LA-2A for that price. BTW, the difference between bypassed and active is astonishing ... so much life, taste, volume and substance comes into it.
I will definitaly get this KT-2A. The LA-2A was always my most loved compressor for his unique sound-characterstic. ❤
Thank you for the review Marty! I'm pretty sure I'm picking this compressor up later this year
You‘re welcome! Yes go for it!
Bad MOVE DUDE! Nothing like a la2a at all
thank you for this, I've been waiting for someone to review these units, I'm surprised how much like the original that sound. A little wallowy in places but a good reproduction for the price, worth getting to experiment with tubes for sure.
This sounds good that I’ll might one or maybe 2. Nice clarity
Thank you for making this amazing video I have never used outboard gear before but want to start building my rack and I think I just found the one to get and start with!
You‘re welcome! Yes, it‘s a good choice and you can use a 2A comp on quite a lot of sources: vocals, guitars, bass,..
Zed Marty Production awesome! Do you think you could make a video about how to connect outboard gear to the interface and use it in a DAW? Also I’m using a Scarlett 18i20 I heard I need UA gear to run outboard gear properly would you agree?
Another nice unit review! Great Job!
I just picked one of these up a month ago. Absolutely love the sound of it. Especially on vocals. I also have the EQ-P KT and its a fantastic match for the KT-2A. For the price its worth grabbing. :) I got both running with a Black Lion Audio Autuer MKII and an Aston Origin.
Nice! Yes, the EQ-P should also be a no brainer for that price!
I'm gonna buy it mostly for vocals
any update on this equipment?
Very nice review, thanks man. The Klark really "smoothes out the edges" and let the tracks sound more pleasant in the nicest possible way, without having the audio material sounding badly processed. I just received a second KT-2A for that reason
Thank you! Yes, it is great!
@@ZedMartyProduction Hi Marty, kann man den KT-2A modden, sprich andere Röhren einbauen (Z.B. die gleichen wie im Teletronix LA-2A)? Beim Golden Age Project Comp 2A ist dies möglich.
Ja, sollte klappen- zumindest habe ich davon in diversen Foren schon gelesen.
Thanks Buddy, you put so much out here on your channel, blessings.
i just got my first one. Great video, great content.
thank you! Great, have fun recording and mixing!
@@ZedMartyProduction Thank you.
I use this very much on my vocal chain.
Preamp WA12 - KT76 - KT2A (now is called 2AKT) and I get very good results. Voice is polished and for my recordings this is increasing efficiency a lot as I need to adjust less in DAW.
Can you tell me the settings u have yours on?
@@droptopshima dont have it anymore. I use nowadays a vari-mu instead.
I always looked for a max 3db compression.
So first define peak reduction and after check the output level to not distort.
I am so fucking glad I ordered this one. Together with my new Neuman TLM 107 & Audient ID44 MK2 I will get a sound which is like a dream. Great review, and the song from Katrin was so beautiful!! Thank you!
Great video bro! I have two units myself! Love it. Also great for mastering 😍🔥🔥🔥
Thank you!
Jeroen, can you confirm if these are good in stereo linked mode as a peak limiter? I'm keen to try a pair. Thanks
I have one of these.... I track my vocals through a warm audio tone beast 12 into this unit... its a good piece of gear.. I love it..
Nice, seems to be a good combo!
I'm also using a Warm TB12 with the KT-2A for tracking vocals and am really impressed with this recording chain!
@@richardpenrose1968 Yeah..I cant complain didnt break the bank and getting good results
@Club Soda What up fam..?
When he turned down the peak reduction during the vocals I got mad. I agreed with the output gain adjustment.
Dang that sounds smooth on vocals.
it does what an LA2A is used for in studio's....Very (impressive) transparent soft knee compression. All the rest is romantics. Mojo usually comes from the recording itself. In my experience experience you get the same magic when the original circuitry is respected.
I'm thinking about getting this
Killer review🤙
Thanks mate!
A very good review! Thank you
Sounds good. I have one of these but I only use it once or twice when tracking. I bought this because CL 1B was on hold but it came in a couple weeks after I purchased. Sounds like I need to put it to use somewhere.
Great review! Beautiful unit as well.
Thank you, yes indeed!
@@ZedMartyProduction You are welcome bro.
Garbage.
Great demo, not many on YT at the mo. And no horrible music to endure either. She got a great voice :-)
Thanks! Yes, indeed, she‘s great!
I think the shouty horrible music on the other UA-cam is good comedy
I believe the pre-emphasis screw boost the highs (cuts the lows) not the other way around
I grabbed one of these for $295 USD from alto music on reverb, what a steal!!! Sounds fantastic and for the price its just crazy how good it is, and this is coming from someone who has used real la2a's before.
Interested in knowing more. I am downsizing my studio just for myself and for producing select artists independently. So I was wondering about actual users' experience. I am torn between this and the Warm Audio. But really can't decide. Some noted forums of rich ignoramuses do not help make an objective decision.
@@andycrystal Well i can tell you this from my own real life hands and ears on experience, the KT is fantastic. If this unit was released 10 years ago at this price people would have went crazy over it. Funny you mention the warm because i had the warm as well as this and we had 2 real la2as where i worked as a house engineer for 15 years. In my personal home studio I sold the Warm and got this and could not be happier with the decision. The warm is a great unit as well but for me there was no comparison when you factor in the price difference, to my ear the warm and kt sounded the same, i highly doubt you could tell them apart in a mix, they both have that sweet gooey tube sound we all love. Each time i use my kt i can not believe that it cost the same amount as a botique pedal....its just crazy. Why spend $800 on something when you can get it for $350? I, like you have a small studio mostly for myself and even if i had a big budget to spend on a real la2a i would still go with the kt, it is that good. Grab a kt and enjoy the extra $450 you just saved and make music.
Wow. Thank yousomuch forthe insight! Plus I see KT offers a 10-yr warranty on their line, which is always welcome. What about the build quality?
@@andycrystal no problem, the build quality is fantastic. dosent feel cheap in any way. All the pots and switches are nice. I love that they used very rugged switches for the comp/limit and power switches too. The faceplate is thick and heavy and the printing is great with a sturdy chassis. I would say that the build quality is the same as the warm unit. As far as the internals, i do not know anything about circut boards and such so i can not comment there. I can say its clean and neat inside. I feel that there is not a single thing out there that beats this unit and nothing comes close at the price. This company has changed the game for me. Now i can finally afford to have all this great sounding gear in my own personal studio without having to think about studio business bringing in revenue to cover its cost. ps- and in case you are wondering, my unit is dead silent all the way to max gain so no issues there either. My opinions here are all based on the stock tubes as well. i can only imagine things would get even better sounding with a full tube upgrade but i am so pleased with the sound i just dont feel the need until these tubes wear out in time and need replacement.
@@maskedman72 At what amount of gain does the tube sound really kick in? I find it hard to get a decent level signal in to hit compression, while also being able to pump the output gain for the tube sound, do you have an attenuator after the kt2a? If you go straight into interface after it seems it would clip
man this guy sounds pretty solid. i know other people have had issues with them, seems like a unit by unit basis.
now to decide if I want to get this or the FMR Really Nice Compressor (leaning towards the FMR)
The FMR is a good compressor with probably more use cases as it has variable attack and release. However, it is more on the cleaner side and does not add much to the signal rather than compression. (Which can be exactly what you want?) The KT does for sure have more impact on the sound as it adds quite a bit of saturation.
wow ! so nice
Sounds good on my headphones.
It seems to keep the natural direct sound with out throwing a blanket over the speakers, if you know what I mean ?..
What a great unit
BTW, a MXR guitar pedal knob (middle size) fits and looks good on the pre-emphasis screw.
Just Ordered this unit, Cant wait to use it, this is such a deal it absolutely nails the la2a sound at a fraction of the cost.they could easily charge 1000$ for this unit if they really wanted to.
Great, have fun mixing!
Not if they want to compete with plugins (e.g. the UAD). I'm going to buy the kt-2a, but not if it costs 1000$ - if my budget was 1000$ I would by a STAM or second hand gear.
@@Stilhedmusic yes they could, but ofcoarse if they did they would not use there custom transformers, It would be carnhill and cinemag like everyone else. Which would warrant the 1000$ price tag. But Klark Teknik said f that, we'll just make custom components inhouse then sell it at a insanely affordable price.👌
@@tecno8335 Ya but that doesn't mean they will last or be top notch,
@@christopherdunn317 Do your research on who midas is and klark teknik. There not old Behringer.
Thanks for the review. Would this be suitable for tracking guitars and vocals with bearly any compression just to help control input and give it extra volume? (I know noone likes tondo this these days), just wondering whether the tube sound can be noticed at lower compression levels
Great review as always - thanks. According to other KT-2A users I talked to, swapping tubes to high-quality ones (maybe even NOS) may actually pay off. It's not as easy as with other units, because you'd have to completely open the comp, but it's no rocket science either. :)
Thank you! :) Interesting- maybe I‘ll try that someday.
Thank you for the great review! Thinking of buying a couple of their products! As for the sidechain screw, when you turn it counter clockwise, does it send less high or less low frequencies? Because you said less high frequencies, but usually, compressors do the other thing around. Thanks again. Cheers!
Turning it counter clockwise, less high frequencies are sent into the compression circuit. Fully clockwise it reacts to the whole spectrum.
@@ZedMartyProduction and what if I want less low frequencies to be sent for compression?
Never got a feeling like i know from Teletronic!
I have 2 of these. Love them so much more than their plug in counterparts. But their 1176 is noisy.
Something Nice about an analog piece of gear before recording
Sounds great but can't really hear the difference between the Limit and Compress modes.
Ecxelente!! Lo compraré.!!
Does this have the t4 cell like the la2a
What MIC are you using during the test...and sound card?
any update on this equipment?
How is it that when you say its the dry signal the needle is still jumping around? Im confused, how do u actually bypass the unit aside from unpatching it from your chain?
I have it inserted on my console on one channel. The dry signal is going to another channel and I switch between those two by muting. The insert point is before the mute button that‘s why the needle is still jumping, however the signal is cut.
I want this but I want the LA2A more
Un compresor tan profesional como el Teletronix no se pueden ni comparar creo que dan resultados diferentes pero igual de buenos. Sin duda debería costar mucho más pero gracias a su bajo precio todos pueden tener acceso a algo tan maravilloso.
Do you think you could use this live?
Just a point.
They got the description of the pre-emphasis wrong in the printed manual and online promo of the website.
It is actually a HPF filter - rolling OFF the influence of the bass as you turn counter-clockwise from full bandwidth - which of course means the compressor responds to the treble, not the bass as you progressively turn it counter clockwise
It is corrected in the online manual though.
See here:
media63.music-group.com/media/PLM/data/docs/P0CEA/2A-KT_QSG_EN.pdf
so counter-clockwise less highs and clockwise full bandwidth compression?
@@GonZooRecords Its a high pass filter. So fully clockwise it is full bandwidth in the sidechain controlling the compressor action.
As you turn it counter clockwise it 'rolls off' the bass content in the side chain so the compressor circuit is less influenced by low frequency - where all the energy really is.
Remember the sidechain has no impact on the audio frequency response of the signal going through the compressor so the control has no impact on tonality.
here is what the online manual says - since corrected:
"trimmer adjusts the sidechain that the compressor responds to, but does not affect the audio directly in any way. Set fully clockwise to the ‘Default’ position, the sidechain responds to the full frequency bandwidth of the incoming audio. As the trimmer is turned counterclockwise, the compressor responds less to low frequency transients"
Great video! How are you bypassing it on and off. Does the unit have a bypass?
The unit has no bypass. I had 2 audio tracks, one with the comp and one without it.
This might be a stupid question but could I add 2 of these to my home stereo chain to give the sound more of the tube warmth sound?
I don't think so. What preamps are you using?
It's a wonderful unit, once you pull out the nasty Bugera 12ax7. I was initially very disappointed with the sound, as it sounded like it had a fuzzy blanket over it. Too much tube character, and not in a good way. I swapped in a new production Mullard and it's a night and day difference. Now, its nice and clear. Sounds beautiful!
where did you get this mullard or mod, do you have link? how did you like the 1176 did you have to do mod to the 1176?
I bought it off eBay for $20.39 from tonaltubescom. When you open the unit, there are 3 tubes inside. If you’re facing the front, replace the tube by itself on the left. Love the 76-KT. I bought it from Thomann for half the price of what they sell for in the U.S.
cool, thanks
the tube you bought was it the 12AX7A #1 V1 the original LA-2A schematic www.recproaudio.com/diy_pro_audio/diy_files/la2a/la2a_layout.jpg ?
there are different types of 12AX7A on tonaltube web site which one did you get, where do you find the Klark Teknik KT2Q schematic? www.ebay.com/str/Tonal-Tubes
For me it sound quite nice. Saw another review on the PresentDayProduction Channel, where they used a broken device that only put out total distorted signals, but they didn't care. Don't understand why the have this shitty "review" still online.
Wow, I saw the same review and I even left a comment saying what was the reason they reviewed a broken unit. How stupid was that. And I never got an answer from them, pfff!
Is there no bypass switch on this unit?
Great vocalist!! The Klark does the la2a thing quite well.
Great video!!! I’ve been looking at this compressor and a few others for some time now. I own the warm audio 73 pre do you think this compressor will work good on hip hip vocals?
Thanks! Sure, it will work great. It‘s a classic vocal compressor!
Been looking at grabbing the wa73 , is it any good?
Robert Howard instead of the WA73, grab the GA Premier 73. That thing is soo close to a 1073.
Nice Review! Would be great if you can compare it to Plugins like Waves or UA! If you raise the Output Gain on the KT-2A all the way up is it also so much noisy like the KT-76? This is what I didn't like about this Unit but some other People say original 1176 are nosy as well.. Do you know how much Noise Level the KT-76 has?
Thanks, yes I‘ll do a follow up video! Raising the gain will always bring up some noise, especially when driving it to the maximum. However I can‘t hear any excessive noise when using it normally.
Peppino Vocalisto yes they all do it.
I have 2 original 60s 1176s a reissue and a warm Audio and they all do it, it’s a byproduct of heavy Compression noise floors raise significantly
And FETs are particularly noisy anyway . I was looking at getting a pair of STAM Audio 2as until I seen these came out , and at that price and the fact the folks at Midas in Manchester designed it to be easily you modded you could change all the Caps and resistors amd tubes and even transformers and get extremely close to an original for a few hundred bucks
I compared it to my uad plugins (not the legacy ones) and managed to always replicate the sound with the plugin (although the settings were different). As I can use the plugins in as many instances as I like and have it portable I ended up returning the KT. Don't get me wrong it sounds really good but so do the plugins.
UAD plugin kills this unit. If you're going to get something that is supposed to be close to the original you have to spend good money. It's not a bad unit, but it's certainly not anywhere close to an official LA2A. You'd be better off getting a unit from AudioScape or Stam Audio.
I own a KT-2A and use it all the times on vocals. Now I'm thinking abaout switching the optocell to a T4B cell from Kenetek for 90 Dollars. Audio Lion also got one out but the price is higher and Kenetek is much longer in the game for these cells. Anyone out there who already tried that switch. And if yes, is it worth it?
Do yourself a favor and go spend a thousand bucks and buy a unit from AudioScape. It absolutely MURDERS this Klark Garbage
14:11 woah!
Is the inly compression on that the LA-2A?
Hi, just wondering considering all the great plugin's we have now, what is more useful and makes more of a difference: The KT-76 or the KT-2A? Thanks
Overall I would say the KT-2A. Especially for vocals! It saturates quite a bit more than the 76. But it might be too slow for drums, percussion or fast Background Vocal Adlibs for example. That‘s why I have both ;)
Save your money and buy QUALITY GEAR!!!! Don't "cheap out" on this Klark Garbage
@@lightafluident.9950 its not garbage its probably you don’t know how to maximize its potential
Just want to ask. If you have to get one of them either 2LA or 76 copy, which one would you select? TIA
For an overall compressor I‘d get the 76 because of the variable attack and release. You can use that on any source basically. The 2A is great for vocals or bass but it might be to slow for some applications, e.g. drums, percussion
@@ZedMartyProduction Thank you very much. I'll probably be digging for the 76 copy! Good luck and thanks for all your videos! Helped them a lot!
the way you say “compressor” lol
Take my money!!!
Do you get this abnormal waveform when compressing heavily, where the + side of it is more compressed / shorter than the - side ? Is mine KT-2A malfunctioning or is this the thing with every model?
No, did not see this with my unit so far.
@@ZedMartyProduction thanks for your reply!
@@ZedMartyProduction can you please tell me, how long does it take for the tubes to warm up, so the unit works normally?
Thanks
Hi. Like the video, thanks for sharing.
Have you ever compared with DBX 160A.
Or where do you put put as in quantity.
Hope you can get back to me.
Thanks! The dbx is faster and has more punch. I like it on bass, drums, percussion or guitar. The 2A really shines on vocals because it is quite a bit slower and it adds nice saturation when pushed.
@@ZedMartyProduction thx for replying.
Butter
Great review! This is not for me. I wanted to like because of the price, but to my ears it makes the midrange boxy and narrows the top end. Not what I want from an outboard unit. I'd rather use plugins or spend some more to get the sound that Im looking for. Appreciate the review, though.
Torn between this and the golden age 3a. Exclusively for rap, trap, r&b and pop vocals. Any thoughts?
Let me know 👀👀👀 I just copped the art mpa ii preamp then looking for a compressor
@@gusdee4844 sending it back tomorrow. Sounds good but too slow for rap/trap vocals imo. Maybe if i had an 1176 to go before it. Might go with the golden age 3a
@@Warmwinterz cool. Will be a little while before I get a compressor but im looking into the golden age now. Appreciate u!
@@Warmwinterz u ever researched anything about the art pro vla ii? Not sure if itll end up being like this one. Hearing alot of great things about art which is why I copped the preamp.
@@gusdee4844 i had one years ago. Honestly, this kt2a sounds better than i remember the pro vla ii sounding. The art seemed to mske vocals more muddy
How many db you send from your daw to the kt2a input for works in the correct way?
Around -10 to -12 dBFS. But I have it inserted on my console which has a Line input gain on the channel, so I can boost the signal if needed.
@@ZedMartyProduction i asked that cause i have noticed that the meter when setted on gain reduction go back till 3 on vu meter even if i push the peak reduction to 100 ... the other issue i noticed on mine is the first transient doesn t compressed and there s a lot of peak the following peaks are compressed well .... did u notice that on your own kt2a?
Didn’t notice that on mine. What does the meter say when you set it to Gain Reduction and no signal coming into it? The needle should be at 0 then. If not, use the meter screw on the back and set the needle manually to 0. Let the unit warm up some minutes, the needle might slip a little- pretty common on tube gear.
@@ZedMartyProduction thanks for your reply yes the needle is on 0 and when i put the peak reduction knob all on tbe right way the needle move back only till 3 i think it s too little for that hard compression ... don t you think ?
Last question .... when u print the compressed track do u see the first transient bigger in volume and the following transients smaller? I don t know if it s normal but i think no ! please help me to understand if mine has a problem thanks a lot
Hm that seems strange. Did you try to turn up the signal before it is going out to the comp? Try going out close to 0dBFS just for a test, if that does not make the compression going something is wrong with it!
What do you prefer between this and the 1176
Depends on the source. The 1176 is useable on nearly anything while the 2A is due to its attack and release times preferably used on vocals, acoustic guitar or bass. It also colors the sound quite a bit more than the 1176.
The pre-emphasis filter is backwards from a real LA-2A... Just saying!!!
On a real LA-2A, the pre-emphasis filter in the counter clockwise position will result in compression which is increasingly more sensitive to the higher frequencies.
Klark is the new Behringer!!!! 😂. Garbage!!!!!
Is the Peak Reduction like threshhold?
Yes
It doesn't seem to have all the controls of a typical compressor
Mike Sloan that’s because it’s an opto compressor
Beware!!! Sweetwater raises prices on Klark items to get full price or more on demos!
really? how much were they selling them for?. I bought a pair of them from them for 399 each from them
Yes they raise the price and then they’ll send you a demo unit not a new one... so typical of Sweetwater!
How does this differ from the klark 1176?
The 1176 is a FET compressor, with controllable Attack, Release and Ratio. The 2A is a tube-based optical compressor which uses an optical cell for gain reduction, so attack and release times are more or less program dependent. The average attack time is 10 milliseconds, while the release time is about 60 ms for 50% release and 0.5 to 5 seconds for full release. 1176= fast and punchy, 2A= slower and smoother
@@ZedMartyProduction Thanks! So in terms of vocal genres, would you say 2A is better for R&B, 1176 better for Rock/Pop?
I would say it depends more on the song and voice rather than on the genre. But yes, overall a 1176 might be the go-to compressor for Rock/Pop. A common practice is also to use both in a chain, 1176 before the 2A. The 1176 with a Ratio of 20:1 to catch the peaks and the 2A afterwards for main compression.
it sounds very bright and thin...not sure on this one
i cant get to compress more than 3 on the vu meter, i try guitar mic, and synth to direct imput of the unit, is my kt-2a broken????
What does the output meter of your mic preamp say? Maybe you have a low input signal going into the KT-2A?
@@ZedMartyProduction , my GAP pre-73 is about +10 near cliping and KT is less than 2\3, for traking i also cant get a decent compress level ....i think something is broken with optical side of the compresor. i think im going to send it back.....this way its hard to trust behringer
@@HugoDaSilva7 yes, something seems to be not right then
It sounds good....but have nothing to do with the sound of a LA2A
Is that a singer ??? 😁🤣😁
9:08 10:22
ill rather use the uad plugin
Who knew Lex Luthor did gear reviews!?
This compressor makes me sound like Elvis. How do I monetize my comments?
-87 dbu hahahahah CLA-2A vst sounds better. 299€ lmao. Only the tube of my cartec cost the same...