Mixmag

AEA 1029 VCA Compressor — A Mix Product of the Week

today08/05/2025

Background
share close
AEA 1029 VCA Compressor — A Mix Product of the Week

New York, NY (May 8, 2025)—The newest product introduction from AEA is a bit of a surprise: It’s a VCA compressor, the first from AEA.

The AEA 1029 is a compact (1RU, half-rack width), two-channel VCA compressor employing a combination of VCAs configured in a feed-forward topology, Fred Forssell discrete op-amps featuring a complementary pair of new old stock Toshiba JFETs, and ultra-low-noise, low-distortion op-amps. The circuitry was specifically designed for stereo microphone pairs, providing clean and transparent compression when tracking or when used as an outboard compressor for stereo signals recorded with any stereo technique.

Front-panel features include three-position (Peak Fast/RMS/Peak Slow) response times; threshold variable from -20 dBu to +20 dBu; ratio setting variable from 1:1 to limit; 20dB makeup gain; and true bypass relay switching. A dry/wet mix control facilitates parallel compression without need for complex patching or routing. Multi-color LED meters are provided for gain reduction, input level and output level.

AEA 1029 VCA Compressor
AEA 1029 VCA Compressor.

Rear-panel connections include balanced audio I/O on XLR connectors, and a multi-pin power connector for the included switching power supply.

Audio specifications for the 1029 include frequency response 10 Hz to 200 kHz; signal-to-noise ratio -97 dBu (dry) and -9 1dBu (wet); maximum input level +26 dBu; maximum output level +26 dBu into a balanced load; and minimum load impedance 600Ω.

Lewitt Space Replicator — A Mix Product of the Week

As you would expect, the 1029 VCA compressor was designed to pair well with AEA’s TRP and RPQ Series preamps and is hand-crafted in Pasadena, Calif. Rubber bumpers are included for desktop applications, or the unit may be mounted in a universal rack tray.

Written by: Admin

Rate it

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.