Dramastic Audio Obsidian
Stereo bus compressor
Compressor / Limiter$2,995Manufacturer list price
Specifications
- Type
- Compressor / Limiter
- Description
- Stereo bus compressor
- Topology
- VCA, discrete, transformer
- Signal path
- Analog
- Channels
- 2
- Channel format
- stereo
- Form factor
- 19-inch rack
- Rack units
- 1
- Powered
- true
- Frequency response
- 10Hz-50kHz
- Country of manufacture
- USA
Details
Controls: 6-position stepped Ratio (2:1, 4:1, 8:1, 10:1, 12:1, Skull/20:1), 6-position stepped Attack (0.1-30ms), stepped Release (0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2s, Auto, Lo-Fi), up to 12dB makeup gain, selectable internal high-pass filter on detection circuit (~125Hz, 12dB/oct), VU meter
I/O: XLR balanced main in/out (pin 2 hot), XLR external side-chain input, transformer-balanced I/O (TXIO Enhanced, designed with Jensen Transformers)
Notable use: Widely used SSL-bus-compressor-style unit for mix bus, drum bus, and mastering; frequently compared to the SSL G-series bus compressor and API 2500 in reviews.
Notes: OFFICIAL SITE UNREACHABLE: dramasticaudio.com currently has no DNS resolution (verified via WebFetch and direct DNS lookup, July 2026) — the domain appears to be down/lapsed, so this listing could NOT be verified on the manufacturer's own live site. URL field points to the last-known official product page (found via search index) but could not be fetched directly. Specs/pricing compiled from authorized dealer pages (frontendaudio.com, soundpure.com, retrogearshop.com, kmraudio.com) and a Tape Op magazine review, which is the best available substitute. Street price varies by dealer ($2,795-$3,195 seen); $2,995 used here as the dealer-cited 'regular' transformer-equipped price. Max output ~+23.7dBu at clipping, THD 0.005% @1kHz, noise floor <-80dBu (per dealer spec sheet, not independently verified). Country of manufacture (Arizona, USA) and 'hand-built' claim stated consistently across multiple dealer listings. Year introduced not found in any source (approx. late-2000s based on a 2009 Tape Op review, but left blank per no-guessing rule). A distinct transformerless variant 'Obsidian SL' is listed separately below.