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dbx 286A VS 286S????

Y

Yapz

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Inactive User
It appears that we may have another "model war" in the making -- a la the gray-front Symetrix 528 vs. the modern, blue-front 528E. Both have their fans.

Well, now we have ...

dbx has re-named and re-faced the venerable 286A ... to the silver-faced 286S.

The 286A has a rather impressive pedigree background ... a circuit design by Bob "Optimod" Orban himself ... and the use of a Burr-Brown op-amp chip in the mic pre section. These two things give the 286A its "lotta bang for the buck" reputation. That, and the "Over-Easy" compression mode & attitude.

Harman International reps are telling their vendors the 286S is "exactly the same, just a different paint job." While I would love to believe that face-value, I just remember what happened to the 528 when it became the blue 528E. It became a different box.

Have any of you out there been able to A/B these two dbx units, side by side?
 
I've just bought the newer dBx286s (silver) model and I've used a 286A in the past - I can't fault either, they offer a nice, clear signal chain and the compression is pretty agreeable. The EQ/Enhancer does a good job and looking at both PDF manuals, they appear to be identical.

I suspect the selling point will be the nicer paint-job and some newer components.
 
Charlie said:
I've just bought the newer dBx286s (silver) model and I've used a 286A in the past - I can't fault either, they offer a nice, clear signal chain and the compression is pretty agreeable. The EQ/Enhancer does a good job and looking at both PDF manuals, they appear to be identical.

I suspect the selling point will be the nicer paint-job and some newer components.
Click to expand...
Speaking as one who genuinely dislikes gating, this unit on having one of the most transparent gates in it that I've run into in a mic processor. This is a fine piece of gear, especially when it's price is considered. While I've never did an A/B of the A vs S, I've installed both and the setup and results were equally pleasing IMHO.
 
I have a rather tired looking 286a here, so I ordered some new knobs for it (one was missing altogether) and
asked at the same time for a price for a new front panel.
The agent came back with the reply that Harman can no longer supply the old grey panel, but that the new silver
panel would be an exact replacement.
I compared a photo of the new 286s with the 286a here and sure enough, identical in terms of layout of pots, LEDs etc.
Then I asked the agent how much a flash new shiny silver panel would be and the reply:

"They can't give us a price yet, because it's such a new model they don't have any panels as spare parts".

I contacted them again recently and they were going to see if they could get a price from the china manufacturer.
 
Yup ... that is one thing I learned for sure. The 286S comes to us from China, whereas "some" 286As were US-made ... and "some" came from China.
 
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