While all versions of the EL8 &ldquo;Distressor&rdquo; have the same sound and basic abilities, the EL8X has a couple of added features that bring it to the next level of &ldquo;Distressing&rdquo;! The two additions to the EL-8 in the EL8X are the &ldquo;British Mode&rdquo;, and the &ldquo;Image Link&rdquo; modifications. During the 1970s recording engineers would often find new and exciting ways to &ldquo;misuse&rdquo; various bits of equipment found in recording studios of the time. This was especially true of the UREI 1176LN. The original 1176LN had 4 buttons with which you could select the compression ratio. There were 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, and 20:1. Boredom (and probably some elements of substance abuse) led some engineers of the time to push all 4 buttons in at the same time the unit would produce an exceptionally cool (and until now) unparalleled aggressive texture to the audio. What was actually happening was that the 20:1 and 4:1 compression circuits were both engaged at the same time (it was just easier to get all 4 buttons to stay in than the top and bottom button, and frankly it wasn&rsquo;t until the &ldquo;recreation clones&rdquo; started to come out that anyone bothered to examine the science of the &ldquo;multi-button&rdquo; trick. Some say this practice started in New York studios, others say it started in the UK. As Empirical Labs is based in New Jersey, nothing &ldquo;New York&rdquo; is worthy of acknowledgment (smiley face here); hence the feature is called &ldquo;British Mode&rdquo;. Image Link gives the EL8-X an additional capability when using two units in stereo. The original EL8 employed a rather unique &ldquo;summing and phase detection&rdquo; method to achieve stereo lock, and while this added a &ldquo;thickening&rdquo; component, it was not always the best complement when an engineer wanted to maintain an absolute &ldquo;left/right&rdquo; balance at all times. The Image Link takes a more traditional approach to locking two units in stereo so the &ldquo;left/right image&rdquo; will hold true. Additionally, you can combine the two settings to gain a 3rd and absolutely unique to the Distressor capability. This capability combines the phase-related aspect of the original link function with the additional &ldquo;Image Link&rdquo; function for perfect &ldquo;left / right&rdquo; balance in addition to the &ldquo;thickening&rdquo; factor created by the original circuit.

The Distressor EL8-XS (with the S at the end) is simply a pair of tested and matched units for use as Stereo compressors. They can, of course still be used as two separate mono units.

EL8-X Distressor Stereo Pair

Made with care by Empirical Labs

EL8-X Distressor Stereo Pair

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Made with care by Empirical Labs

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