Warm Audio WA-2A Optical Compressor Affordable LA2A clone. If you get the remakes from UA, you'll spend five grand as of present writing. If you purchased new, this is already 80% less expensive! Is there a difference in sound? Yes. If you mix with your eyes and put the knobs in the same place, it'll sound a little different (I'll let the forums satisfy your curiosity). But if you mix with your ears, you can get it right, because it does the same kind of thing to the signal. It works in the same manner. More from their website: Warm Audio's WA-2A set its target high: the most iconic tube compressor in history. How does Warm do it? Through economies of scale, mostly. They don't cut corners on components (the WA-2A employs a custom optical photocell and genuine US-made Cinemag transformers), but they do order parts and build in quantity, which helps to keep costs down. Like the original classic unit, the WA-2A gives you a completely discrete signal path and the same arrangement of controls. And yes, it replicates the original's coveted warm sound and forgiving nature. Elevate your studio to the next level with the Warm Audio WA-2A. What can the WA-2A do for you? Every studio needs a good compressor, and the Warm Audio WA-2A is designed after the mother of all compressors — the legendary LA-2A Leveling Amplifier. With its euphonic, fluid, forgiving sonics and all-discrete, all-tube signal path, the WA-2A is your go-to device for everything from caressingly warm dynamics control to full-tilt squashfest. It's fabulous on bass, kick drum, vocals — you name it. It's lovely for punchy parallel processing on drums, and if you have two of them, the possibilities become even greater. Top-tier performance — and a stunning value At Sweetwater, we're all about performance and value, and that's what the WA-2A gives you. At this amazing price, you can double your value and get two. With a pair of these in your rack, you can make that stereo piano sit proudly in the track, punch up your toms, strap them across your stereo bus for some mastering magic, and fortify your mix with serious warmth and glue. Warm Audio WA-2A Features: Faithful re-creation of the iconic LA-2A Leveling Amplifier in a 2RU chassis Completely discrete, all-tube signal path: Historically accurate 4-tube circuit US-made Cinemag input and output transformers Custom optical photocell