Maag Audio Magnum-K Compressor

The Maag Audio Magnum-K is a single-channel, 1U optical compressor with a built-in parallel EQ and output soft limiter. It combines two compression stages, Maag's EQ2 with Air Band and a limiter in one Class A signal path.

The main Magnum stage is an optical compressor with detented ratio, threshold, attack and release, a selectable compression range of 4, 8, 12 or 16dB, and a feedback or feed-forward switch. Its sidechain offers high-pass filters at 40, 80, 120 or 220Hz, or the rear external sidechain loop. In series, the K-comp stage is a fast optical compressor focused on the 3kHz region to tame harsh peaks.

The EQ2 section runs in parallel, so its boosts are mixed with the compressed signal before make-up gain. It includes a low/mid bell with tight or wide Q and the Air Band shelf. A soft limiter catches the output, and two units link for stereo.

Key features

• Two optical compression stages: Magnum and K-comp
• Selectable sidechain HPF and external sidechain
• Feedback or feed-forward detection
• Parallel EQ2 with low/mid bell and Air Band
• Soft limiter with LED indication
• Hard-wired true bypass
• Stereo link for paired units
• Balanced XLR I/O, internal PSU, 1U