SA-1A Stam Audio CL1A Replica

Brand New Stam Audio SA-1A – Used Only Once Selling my brand new Stam Audio SA-1A5, used only once to test it upon arrival. It sounds absolutely incredible warm, musical, and full of character. I'm only selling it because I've stopped running my recording studio. After trying many compressors, this is probably the best-sounding compressor I've ever heard. Just check the reviews! I waited 1 year and 3 months to receive it and paid an additional €150 for shipping and €400 in import taxes. I'm selling it at the original purchase price, so you can skip the long waiting list and get yours immediately. It's carefully packed (better than when it arrived!) and ready to ship.

Legendary Danish Tube Opto Compression The SA-1A5 is a meticulously reverse engineered replica of the legendary Danish 1A opto compressor. Being a popular request for many years and it being long obsolete (10 000$ an original), it was time to accurately recreate this piece of history at an affordable price. The CL1A had different transformers, more character, a higher THD and a more pronounced top end than the later CL1B. Thanks to the careful selection of parts and a proprietary matching circuit stam have been able to make this unit an identical match to the original. The same frequency response, tone, top end and time constants were achieved. Stam do many things differently, and one of them is that our ears are the ultimate decision maker. We spent hundreds of hours listening to every component and how it affected this circuit so that we could fully reproduce the silky top end and “grabiness” of this vintage gem. Despite being famous for being a transparent compressor, the 1A circuit impacts a subtle but unique coloration and character thanks to the transformers, tubes and opto element, that when combined, produce an articulate, silky and smooth compression. The Iron Getting the correct transformers was a critical piece of recreating the tone of an original. After testing dozens of prototypes stam decided in favor of 2 different recreations. Each SA-1A5 is packed with a custom-made input and output transformer in the USA with the exact same specifications as the original which replicate the original ratios, frequency response and THD utilizing the same laminatorions and materials. The Gain Reduction Opto Element The opto element was the trickiest part to get right. After auditioning many variations and hundreds of hours of measuring and listening tests we decided to request a custom-made opto element to be created for Stam Audio. It was critical for the time constants to be the same. Stam also produced a proprietary circuit to match them so that each SA-1A5 has the same attack and release times as an old 1A comp. Added Features STAM took this opportunity to perform several upgrades to the original and added the following features: A Dry/Wet blend control (continuous) A 5 position side-chain high pass filter HPF Bypass Switch Stereo Link switch Hand-made Each SA-1A is 100% handmade by stam team in Chile. This allows us to audition each transformer, tube, opto element and capacitors so that every unit sounds exactly the same and the best it could possibly be. Handmaking analog gear is not the most efficient nor the most cost-effective, but always yields the best sound and ultimately every customer deserves that!.

Technical Specs

• Original CL1A schematic
• Custom US-made Input Transformer
• Custom US-made Output Transformer
• Selected 12AU7 NOS Tube
• Selected 12AX7 NOS Tube
• 30dB of Gain
• Custom Opto Gain Reduction Element
• Continuously Variable, Fixed, Or Fixed/Manual Attack And Release Times
• Dry/Wet Blend Control
• 5-position High Pass Filter
• Original controls and Knobs
• Input, GR and Output Led meter
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz ± 0.1 dB.
• Signal To Noise Ratio: >95 dB.
• Hand-made in Chile
• 2U (450ma consumption)
• 2-year warranty