Warm Audio WA-1B vs Tube Tech CL-1B: Bargain Big Budget Sound?

[@dspoet1]

I’m pretty sure that some company will offer a mod for the wa1b to make it sound closer to the original. Ima get it.

[@Kellow7]

Just change the tube or swap the opto-cell(kenetik I think)

[@mufakkas9731]

Warm Audio WA-1B for bass and Tube Tech CL-1B for vocals. Both sound fine, but have some also non wanted artifacts.

[@jamescassidy4045]

Only thing I would have done is dial in the Attack/Release on one of the units, to be closer to the other one. Seems like obviously having them at the same settings, it still differs quite a bit. The Release was faster on the CL1B, and the Attack was faster/more grabby on the Warm at the same settings.

[@revolvstudios2195]

Thanks for posting. IMO, there is a pretty big gap in performance, especially in the highs and upper mids. Yes, some low end is lacking on the Warm, but the Mids and Upper mids are critical for getting a track to sit in a mix. The CL1B, does a much better job smoothing out any harshness in the mids and upper mids, while keeping the good transients. This is really noticeable in the male vocal track, there is an unpleasant upper harmonic poking out with the Warm, that the Tube-Tech got rid of, while retaining the good transients. Suprising because Warm can usually get much closer than this.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks for watching! Yes, I felt that the WA-1B had a harder knee to the compression, whereas the CL-1B seemed to start gentle compression a way above the threshold, giving easier smoothing. I think side-by-side settings matching may not show the best of the Warm Audio unit, lower ratio and lower threshold compared better. Wanted to show the similarities and differences with the same settings here though. Thanks!

[@powerfulriches]

Agree

[@quiettimes4779]

Warm 1B is a really good compressor. Not sure it should be a clone, it could stand on its own.

[@pastilance1]

Great review and comparison mate, thanks for doing this!

[@NewJourney]

This comp sounds good!!! I wish they didn’t advertise this as a clone 😢 I think it would do great on its own.
The comparisons hurt it more than it helps.
*Side note* wonder if anyone’s tried swapping out the tubes (telefunken maybe) in attempt to open it up a bit on the top end..that would be cool to hear

[@oinkooink]

How would it do great on its own without having the coat tails of an established proven originator to glom onto? They ripped off the original just like Klark Teknik do. See how many they sell if they brand their compressor "Tony's Cool Comp", with a totally different colour scheme and button layout. Having said that...at least one of these companies should be ashamed of themselves. Probably both.

[@nicefish10]

The Warm would be a bargain if it was $500. If you’re going to spend less than $1500 on a compressor, you should just buy a Distressor. The compression on the warm audio device always sounds like the attack is an out of control logarithmic setting, which it shouldn’t. On every video I’ve seen demoing this clone ad about fiveDB of game reduction the low mids go to crap

[@Kellow7]

Great review, I've always been sceptical about Warm audio but they did good for their take on the CL1B, both transparent, but lacks a bit of low end, nothing bad though.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks for watching! Yes, nice to have a more affordable option for this style of compression, stands up pretty well considering!

[@theclaverman]

That low end comes back if you level match them. On the same settings these two compressors sounds slightly different, but I think it’s easy to get them to sound almost identical if you match them by ear instead of the settings. Watch Warren Huarts (mixlikeapro) review of it. 😉all the best

[@apendica]

Subscribed, thanks for the demo!

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Awesome, thank you!

[@StopchangingMyHandlePunk]

ok ive been bashing the warm but i think combined with the clariphonic eq it would work...in its raw form it kinda feels boxy and pushed in mids...not really true to the source.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Could be a good combo, I do love the Clariphonic EQ plug-in, not had the chance to use the hardware myself though

[@MiguelNoyola1]

Warm audio made a good compressor but not going to revival the CL1B

[@theclaverman]

Of course WA-1B is going to be a rival to the Cl-1B, and a pretty major rival as well...Please watch Warren Huarts review of the unit (on the "Mix like a pro" UA-cam channel). If only matched by the settings these units sound slightly different from each other. However... if you match them by ear and also level match them, my guess is that you could not guess which one is the original one in a proper blindtest.

[@yayaegberongbe7553]

Thanks for doing this. I'm getting one!

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@powerfulriches]

Thanks for the review. I still want to hear more.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks for watching! Having played with it for a few more days, I’m finding that it needs a slower attack and faster release to sound comparable in smoothness, but still it is a little more ‘grabby’ than the CL-1B. Still think it’s a good choice for the money but you have to work a little harder.

[@drillgirl718]

tube tech 5:32 wa1b 5:48

[@joshuavanderstam1345]

damn, such a huge difference

[@JuanNungaray]

CL1B JUST SOUNDS BETTER

[@Kellow7]

That's a $3k difference, the warm audio isnt supposed to be the 1:1 match

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks for watching! Yes, I think the CL-1B does have the edge, not sure I would say the CL-1B is 4x better, but we do end up with a law of diminishing returns with such things!

[@revolvstudios2195]

@@Kellow7 Well, when you try to make it look like one, and market it against one, it's going to be compared 1:1. I personally think there is a big gap between the two , especially in the handling of harsh transients. The Warm I feel made the male vocal worse, in relation to how it would sit in a mix. Would need the rest of the tracks for completeness, but experience tells me that it's going to require a fair amount of EQ to correct.

[@Kellow7]

I totally agree with your point of view, the warm cannot match in any terms, cheap comp in a not so well made dress. Good for beginners, shouldn,t even be called clone.@@revolvstudios2195

[@theclaverman]

@@revolvstudios2195Watch Warren Huarts review of the WA-1B, it’s pretty interesting😉. The trick is to not match them by the settings but by the ear. When also levelmatched it’s almost impossible to tell the difference.

[@Doctaj54]

Thanks for the Wav file download link!!

[@ProAudioBoutique]

No problem! 😊

[@Doctaj54]

@@ProAudioBoutique What brand tubes are inside? Warm posted an internal pic but you can't see any detail on the tubes.

[@ktreier]

I feel the WA-1B adds a slight amount of coloration to the high mids? But it works for my studio use.

[@HalfJoked]

Thanks for the comparison. To be honest, I feel like I could get better results than the Warm with the Softube CL-1B + some analog modeling tricks.

[@BrianSladek]

Once you use in person it is a bit different. Tube thickness and coloration doesn’t sound the same on softube or other plugins in my own comparisons. Having at least one real tube analog piece is beneficial. Tubes seem to be the hardest thing to emulate compared to other things like 1176, ect

[@NaviiDavii]

I actually have a question, who actually listens to music in mono that’s patronizing music? Just asking because at the foreseeable moment I own both units and not a single client can tell the difference between units.
I think both do have different applications because of how the transient response is but it’s interesting to hear perspectives of everyone hearing it isolated in mono but in a mix will you be able to spot this price of gear. By the time this stuff hits the post it will be impossible to tell tbh.
I’m just curious what the point of complaining about a unit that ultimately dosent sound as harsh as certain songs on the billboard charts.

[@NaviiDavii]

Btw I also don’t see the point in comparing it to the plugin when uad native plugs are cpu hogs so it’s not great to mix with abd every unit they that has dsp cost more then the compressor. I love uad but I think it’s fair we not only judge gear on its sound but its application & how it will translate to being usable in the workspace. I think it’s fair to weigh in on workflow.

[@kdsz944]

Awesome,
but next time lookout and try to adjust things with your ears too, as you’ve missed the attack settings on wa.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks for watching, I had to film the shots of the compressors afterwards so I might have missed lining them up with what the audio actually has going on. I did my best to match them up when recording the audio though. Apologies!

[@johnnybregar]

Nice board - I have one too. Love mine.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks! If you ever find an analogue card for it let me know 😅

[@johnnybregar]

A few years ago I managed to convince A&H to issue another batch of them. They hedged, then went for it. I think if you could drum up a few folks who want the card still, they might be convicted to do another run. Took a year of asking, but remarkably, they did it. So I got mine… :-)

[@ProAudioBoutique]

@@johnnybregar Oh awesome, I never knew they did that! Wish I'd known at the time! Had the console for about 11 years now and it's served me well, would love to future proof it a little more though

[@DanielGuillaud]

It’s day and night. the warm audio is not comparable. the mid-bass is not silky and that's precisely why I like the CL-B1. The release is brutal and saturated with the warm audio. That said, this unit is not uninteresting for the price. thank you for this comparison. (I listened to 0llo s4x headphones) that’s just my opinion.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

Thanks for watching!

[@HOTROD256969]

Let me quess you have a cl1b so your hurt that someone can buy something cheaper that sound like what you paid 4K for smh

[@DanielGuillaud]

@@HOTROD256969 Well, if that were the case, I would sell the CL1B to buy 4 Warm Audio:) and you are right. We must not be snobbish with the equipment. that said. I listened to other demos and the result is the same (low midrange, attack and release different ) it's an excellent compressor at a reasonable price. That's just my opinion. Have a great day.

[@Kellow7]

@@HOTROD256969Gear isnt about the price, but taste and result, the wa1b sound the same as a cl1b to an untrained ear

[@nicefish10]

@@HOTROD256969your butt hurt because real pros can tell the difference and you can’t. Lie to yourself all you want about cheap clone gear. The real stuff is the real stuff for a reason. Warm audio should not market this trash as a CL1B clones. If this is marketed as it’s own thing and sell it for 500 bucks and then it would be a value. Sorry if you can’t hear the difference or afford the real stuff. Nobody has ever booked time in my studio or was excited that I have a cheap clone. But they do book time if I have the real gear. Real clients want real tools and they pay to have access to them for a reason. Now go outside and play.

[@drillgirl718]

awww snap

[@belalakatos8912]

Nothing a proper software compressor cannot do for you.

[@TzoHill]

Could you name some examples of proper software compressors please?

[@ProAudioBoutique]

These days software is able to do pretty much everything, but who doesn’t love a pretty box to play with hey? ;)

[@TzoHill]

@@ProAudioBoutique That's true! Question: Would this WA-1B be a better option for rap vocals than a 3A? thanks!

[@ignacedhont9816]

You can mix with plugins for sure they don't sound that bad, but do they sound the same as the hardware? Not when I test them.

[@AtTheSourceStudios]

Sounds like it's time to begin your analog journey.

[@philmartin7474]

$1,200.00 is still too much cash for a clone. $800.00 MAX would be acceptable.. Theres little resale investment on clones.

[@ProAudioBoutique]

I wonder if the price will come down over time? Then again, it doesn’t feel like anything is getting cheaper these days!

[@Rhuggins]

You have to be kidding...1200 is a steal. I wish it was a little more expensive if they could get it a little closer...its too hairy

[@delmixedit]

You’re kidding right. Have you ever seen the prices on BAE Neve clones?
This price is more than fair. Heritage Audio’s is twice this price.

[@nicefish10]

@@delmixedit heritage Audio is twice as good.