Heritage Audio GRANDCHILD 500 Series Tube Vari-Mu Compressor

About: Heritage Audio GRANDCHILD 500 Series Tube Vari-Mu Compressor

The GRANDCHILD 670/500 is stuffed with 4 6BA6 (5749) NOS tubes, three exclusively designed transformers (one per channel & and one for the Sidechain) and the necessary select components and circuitry to capture that elusive sound.  For the first time ever it is possible to achieve that sought after tone and response in such an affordable package.

In common with its big brother, there is an INPUT GAIN control with an adjustable range of 20dB, the AC Threshold, 5 Attack and Release selectable times, the DC Threshold which gives access to the progressive ratio, which is a unique curve adjustment combining control of the ratio and knee, soft stepped from hard limiting to a very smooth and transparent, light compression. There is also a 3 position high-pass Sidechain filter to reduce the lower frequency´s influence on the detection circuit, a must have nowadays for current productions.

As this is a stereo unit, a sum of the two channels will determine the overall dBs of gain reduction for both channels ensuring a stable stereo image.  All built into a solid 2 space unit for the popular 500 series format with an attractive age-referencing front panel complete with a beautiful, informative VU meter that not only indicates Gain Reduction metering but also informs the user of the unit’s 3-position Active/Bypass /Off switch confirming the status even from a distance. 

It’s not easy to achieve that classic warm, hugging, intimate sound that just seems to effortlessly glue together a MIX in a musical way, but the GRANDCHILD 670/500 does it perfectly.  Having already designed the 19¨ rack Stereo/M&S/two channel version and the 19¨ rack Mono version, it was just a question of fitting that ever so familiar sound, into a smaller space.  The engineers at Heritage Audio accepted the challenge and responded with determination to achieve that lush, classy, elegant tone.  With four 6BA6 (5749) tubes and three transformers you can be sure that your signal will be treated like royalty and whatever you put through the GRANDCHILD 670/500 will come out sounding much better.

Features

• VU METER: Indicates gain reduction.
• ON/BYPASS/OFF SWITCH: 3 Way operation switch.
• TIME CONSTANT SWITCH: Selects the Attack and Release settings.
• ON/OFF LED: Indicates equipment is receiving current, warming the tubes and ready to work, both in BYPASS & ON modes.
• INPUT GAIN KNOB: Attenuates the input up to -20 dB.
• AC THRESHOLD KNOB: Threshold control.
• DC THRESHOLD KNOB: Ratio/Knee/Curve control.

Specifications

• Input Impedance: 15 kΩ. 
• Output Impedance: 50 Ω. 
• Output Level: +29 dBu. 
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz ± 0.5 dB. 
• Self Noise: Less than -78 dBu. 
• Harmonic Distortion: Less than 0.5 % at any level up to +24 dBu output (no compression).
• Consumption: Slightly over 200mA per rail per slot (+16V/-16V).
• Dimensions (WxHxL): 7.09 x 5.24 x 2.95 inch (180 x 133 x 75 mm)
• Weight: 2.47 lbs (1.12 kg)