Empirical Labs Mike-E EL9
Mic preamp + compressor/limiter (CompSat) channel strip
Channel Strip$1,699Manufacturer list price
Specifications
- Type
- Channel Strip
- Description
- Mic preamp + compressor/limiter (CompSat) channel strip
- Topology
- FET, Class-A, discrete
- Signal path
- Analog (recallable / digitally controlled)
- Channels
- 1
- Channel format
- mono
- Form factor
- 1U rack
- Rack units
- 1
- Powered
- yes
- Power (W)
- 15
- Frequency response
- 3 Hz - 200 kHz (without CompSat); 3 Hz - 150 kHz (with CompSat); 6 Hz - 80 kHz (optional transformer output)
- Impedance (Ω)
- input >600 (transformer-coupled mic in), output <38 (XLR out), 332k (instrument DI in)
- Country of manufacture
- USA
Details
Controls: Stepped digital Gain, CompSat ratio (2:1/4:1/8:1/Nuke), Attack, Release, 80 Hz high-pass filter, Phase invert, Mix (dry/comp blend), 2-stage Emphasis circuit, 48V Phantom, Instrument input select
I/O: Transformer-coupled XLR mic input, 1/4" instrument DI input, active XLR output (+ optional transformer-coupled XLR output), optional insert jack, Link jack for stereo pairing
Notable use: Used by engineers Clay Sears (Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, John Mayer) and Steve Berlin (Los Lobos)
Notes: device_class set to Channel Strip per task guidance (mic pre + compressor combo). Sold individually; a factory 'Twin Pack' pair option also exists at retail but no separate spec page was found - not broken out as its own row. Price is Sweetwater street price.