Rupert Neve Designs Portico 543 Mono Compressor

The Rupert Neve Designs Portico 543 is a Mono VCA Compressor / Limiter for API 500 Series Lunchbox or other compatible systems.

The Portico 543 Mono Compressor delivers the unobtrusive, musical-sounding dynamic control and brick-wall limiting made famous in the Portico 5043 to the 500 series format. The 543 features a fully controllable compressor-limiter with feed-forward / feedback modes, Peak / RMS detection and a built in side chain high pass filter. With an unrivaled heritage and a tremendous feature set, the 543 yields a combination of rich warmth, flexibility and precision that is sure to resonate in the ears of sound engineers the world over.

Built around Mr. Rupert Neve’s custom transformer designs, each 543 module encompasses individually controllable threshold, attack, release, makeup gain, ratio, side chain HPF, Feed-Forward / Feed-back selection and Peak/RMS detection modes. With the compressor inactive, the 543 may be used as a transformer-coupled, high-performance line amplifier, and two 543 may be linked for stereo operation as well. The chassis is built to standard 500 series specifications, with power and I/O provided by the rack.

Rupert Neve Designs Portico 543 main features:

• Gain Range: Continuously variable from 6 dB to +20 dB.
• Threshold Range: Continuously variable from 36 dB to +22 dB.
• Ratio Range: Continuously variable from 1.1:1 to Limit (40:1).
• Attack Range: Continuously variable from 20mS to 75mS
• Release Range: Continuously variable from 100mS to 2.5 Seconds.
• FF/FB: Feed-Forward or Feed-Back VCA control.
• Maximum Output Level: Balanced and Floating Transformer Output Maximum output from 20 Hz to 40 kHz is +23 dBu.
• Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise: @ 1kHz, +20 dBu output level, no load.
• Noise: Measured at Main Output, un-weighted, 22Hz-22kHz, Terminated 40 Ohms. With Gain at Unity, Compressor disengaged Better than 103 dBu. With Gain at Unity, Compressor engaged: Better than 92 dBu
• Frequency Response: Main Output, Unity Gain @ 18 Hz @ 150 kHz 3 dB.
• Crosstalk Measured Channel to Channel: Better than 90 dB @ 15kHz.
• METERS: Monitor INPUT LEVEL and GAIN REDUCTION