As an engineer who started in this crazy biz back in 1980, and who has used a LOT of analog gear (both great and not so great) over the years (including Urei, Teletronix, Pultec, SSL, dbx, Focusrite, API, etc) I think it’s probably pertinent to mention that no two pieces of analog gear ever really sounded EXACTLY the same; and the original Teletronix LA2A was certainly no exception to this. You could have two LA2’s, side by side, with the exact same input signal, using the exact same settings, yet they would sound different; not necessarily “better” or “worse” than the other, just...well, “different”. Any piece of hardware, that has XFO’s, wires, caps, pots, tubes, filters, opto sensors, etc, will have an inherent “drift”, and perhaps that’s part of their magic... In terms of the various modeled (plug) version(s), assuming that the digital modeling was accurate to that one piece of hardware, it will sound like “that” one LA2A, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will sound like ALL of them ... and the same can be said for any digitally modeled HW - whether it’s an 1176, Focusrite Red 3, a dbx 160 series, or even a particular mic, the plugs will reflect whatever one piece of HW that was used to model the plug on. The Warm Audio version is probably going to sound different than many real LA2’s, certainly older ones; after all, the manufacturers are using modern “equivalent” components, which may or may not exactly match the parts of those original pieces. Part of that may be that the materials used in the originals aren’t as easily available anymore, or, because Warm presumably has to take shortcuts somewhere on their manufacturing expenses, to make their piece affordable to the market that they are targeting. None of these examples are “bad”, certainly nowhere near being unusable - and honestly, within the context of a full mix, it’s doubtful that many would be able to hear all that much of a difference between them when used on just one or two tracks - certainly not a huge, dramatic difference. And that brings me to this: I think that part of where analog gear shines the most (if it’s well built) is its CUMULATIVE effect, when many pieces are used on many tracks across the mix; it’s that “cumulative thing”, those slight variances between each that when used on multiple tracks, that offers just enough of a difference between each piece, that gives “that” sonic vibe that so many engineers are after. And finally, the bottom line... Maybe in comparison, the real Teletronix does indeed sound “better”... the question is: Does it sound $2500 “worth” of “better”? I suppose it all depends on whom you ask, and how much money you have available to spend. 😉 Anyhooo... IMHO. 🙏

Finally. Someone who knows how to do a proper comparison without yapping about it for 20 minutes. Thank you!

They're all good. If you can't achieve a good mix with one of these options, using a different one isn't going to change that.

why the hell i am using Waves lol

I've been looking for an exact comparison like this! Thanks!

This experiment helped me understand the differences in the real-time accuracies of each compressor. The UA unit smoothed the rhythm and the waves plugin came second. I needed this . . . Thanks!

People trashing the CLA but as plugins go it's really good. I just got it for $29..and you're comparing to expensive hardware so let's be real.

Great video!! Really eye opening. I mean...Wow I could even hear the difference between the plugin and the hardware on my iPhone. I've had the WA 2A since it came out. Great piece of gear. Thank you for sharing this.

Thank you for this very helpful comparison. Even from KZfaq-quality you can clearly hear the difference! After watching it I am heading for the hardware. Yesterday made a voice-check with a Neumann U-something mic from the 60ties, connected to a tube mic-amp from the same time, went directly into tape - no questions left. THIS is the sound, this this a voice that's got the "something" in it. I also like the comments of Carlo B and MusicTechHelpGuy on the post of Yves.

Just the vid I was looking for. Thank you!

Gain matching would have have made for a better test. Of course the Tele sounds better...it's the loudest of the whole mix.

Listening to this video again 8 months later. . . The first example was interesting hearing each compressor becoming more bright but less distorted. I was surprised though because I preferred the CLA-2A on the female vocal. It just handled her voice better, but the male example got the most help from the Warm Audio compressor. Interesting shoot out!

They all sound good enough for me! I use both a lot - the WA-2A (for tracking) and the CLA-2A (for mixing). No client has yet complained yet! Thanks for this video! :)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

the C in "other things Can hurt" & the K in "heart break: .. beautiful on La-2a

I don’t understand all the hate for the cla2a. Some great records have been mixed using these plugins over the years. I’ve used this, the 76 and the 3a with great results. People obsess so thoroughly on the tools that the end results never occur to them. Performance, technique and creativity, people....that’s 95% of the equation.

Thanks for doing this! This was VERY helpful in helping me decide on the WA-2A! Overall I thought they were all pretty close to each other and for each thing I liked a different unit. For the male vocals, I really like the WA-2A as it added some nice body to the vocals without making it boomy. I also really liked how the WA-2A really smoothed out the top end on the vocals, compared to the other 2 which had more syllable sounds. The LA-2A was a little too boomy for me and the CLA-2A was harsh sounding. For the Female vocals I actually liked the CLA-2A the Best, with the LA-2A right behind it, WA-2A added too much low end to the female vocals for me. As for the Bass, the LA-2A beat the other 2 out big time IMO. The WA-2A made it very muddy sounding and the CLA-2A almost sounded like it removed some of the bottom end and then boosted the high end, not a desirable sound to me. Overall, I am VERY impressed with both WAVES and WARM AUDIO's ability to get their clones so close too the original!

This is one of the few really good comparisons done, great job. I think there are a lot of people who think they can tell the difference, when in fact, it's mostly a placebo effect (this is a very strong effect that even the listener isn't able to differentiate). If this was a blind test and everyone simply voted on "what sounds the best" it would be split three ways. Analog gear really shines when it is summed together, much like a Jupiter 8 when you bring in that second oscillator. For mono stuff, analog has less noticeable impact. I use a Warm Audio WA-2A and love it and it is out of about six different compressors in my rack, the all around best one. Plus, Warm Audio is a great company to work with.

I´m impressed on how superior the teletronix is compared to the warm audio and the waves plugin

Thanks for this useful comparrisment. Slight vocal EQ? (insert thinking emoji) The vocals almost sound as if they are recorded through a phone? Calibrated room with Genelec 8050 (liked the WA more than the original?? More low freq information preserved, but therefore a bit less open sounding and more upfront)

thank you for the shootout. I've listened through sennheiser headphones last night and it seems like the warm audio is an obvious bang for the buck. If the signal is recorded dry, compressors must have been through inserts right ? Doesn't the Digital to Analog to Digital affect the signal ?

Really great shootout. Very to the point and very helpful. Thanks brother !

in the female vocal the Waves did it really well better that the WA2a... but the teletronix I thought the best but not worthy of so many dollars

The gain is so different...it makes it too difficult to really compare them.

Great vid , thanks , that was pretty helpful . 2 Warm Audios for tracking and then a touch of Waves CLA-2A upon mixing .

The actual compression seemed the same to me between units, but there was an audible difference to my ears in the specific range that the most harmonics were added by each unit. The UA seemed to have a bump in the lower end of the low mids, maybe around 250hz? Where it seems the most harmonic saturation was. The WA had a bump slightly higher up in the low mids, maybe around 300-400hz? And the CLA had a bump higher still, maybe between 800-1k? Is anyone else hearing it like this or is it just me? All three sound great, it’s just different flavors.

Thank you for your comparison mate, I've never been able to compare Warm Audio and LA2A (vintage unit that I used at the studio). The difference are quite obvious on KZfaq ! Teletronix : It's like the LA2A vintage one, it maintain the low-mid without oversquashing the high-mid (like a TLA100A can do sometimes). Really close to what I can hear on vintag e LA2A. Warm Audio : Sound more compressed, compress more the low-mid and high-mid making the sound a bit more. But it nailed the LA2A coloration and transformer bump to me. Still inferior but quite good. The Waves CLA2A : This video confirms why I'm not liking it as an LA2A. It's reacts the same way as the Warm Audio, but a lot worse : the low-mid are almost gone and the high-mid really squashed. I wonder how it compares to the new Black Rooster LA2A. I've tried it, and remember having a more "open" sound than the Waves. You should give it a try (except if you already have UAD ones which seems more than enough). Anyway thank you for taking your time to do this comparison and having the level match done correctly and the setting correctly too.

Thank you very much for the test! Now I know what to buy to make the voice more velvet and high density.Warm Audio WA-2A to the list of mandatory purchases. Here's an example of the application of Warm Audio WA-2A, it is required to use on Rock vocals, screaming , rough-aggressive Rap vocals. Plus sibilants have a Warm Audio WA-2A is much smaller than other compressors in this test. Most sibilant whistle from a vintage Teletronix LA-2A and it will be a huge problem in the mix when mixing!

Wow that bass sounds incredible! Maybe fenders through amp/di how was it recorded? seems it’ll sit perfectly in mix as is.

Legendary comparison! They all do the trick really good, folks judging in the comments have been fooled by the small differences in output level.

Honestly, they all would be completely usable in a mix. What they sound like solo, has nothing to do with how the clip would work in the context of a mix.

Thx for taking the time to do the shout out. For the price plugin is best which I also have waves and Traks . As a hardware, UAD is the best . Thx again.

While the Teletronix hardware is the clear winner IMHO here. In these samples, the CLA-2A does sound quite a bit thinner. I'm wondering, did you tweak the Hi Freq/Flat knob on the Waves CLA-2A? This can affect the tone of the plugin and may help in getting it a little "closer" to the hardware.

Interesting. At 4:37 you can definitly hear that the Warm Audio reduces the sharp "SSSS" on the word sign. It almost feels like it's deessed. I have problems with harsh S sounds on my recordings and wonder if the WA will help there.

I've used them each individually at one time or another and new there was a significant difference between them but didn't realize the real UA was THAT much better.

Im noticing on the female vocal, the hardware unit preserves (creates?) The pristine breathy top end, but the plugins dull it out.

Any why is the Teletronix much louder if you had matched the gains?! We are looking for comp at same level surely?

So, whats the deal with having a pre-amp hardware and having a software version is there a massive difference and the vocals being pre-amped before its going into the daw compared to having emulators?

Very helpful, very clear. Thank you!

Excellent comparison, thank you! I've recently been using UA's LA-2A plug and have been really happy with the gain-peak-comp combination. Use it on a ton of sig. sources.

As much as I like the Waves plug-in, it has a hard time standing with the harware versions... Still, there's 500$+ difference between the plug-in and the Warm Audio one so it seems logical.

I have the UAD LA2A plugin collection, the Waves CLA, the Cakewalk CA2A, and the Warm Audio WA2A. In this case, yes, the Teletronix has more mojo, and the WA2A sounds very good too. Thing is, I've heard my WA2A sound much more like the tone of the Teltronix in the video, so I think that with a little more tweaking the settings, they might have been even closer. Well done MTHG!

Thank You Very Much!!!!!

Very helpful! Thank you!

Love the Waves! I have them all at work, in hightech productions the Waves is shinning! Thin and sits tight in the mix! The real deal is the master, but I can easy adjust the differens by EQ in mix.

As with all debates regarding plugins, use your ears, and if you use your eyes does it add to your work flow and/or at least look good :) Personally I found the UAD to be my favorite with the samples used, however I just watched a youtube video where the samples sounding amazing and very similar between UAD and Waves. But here the UAD has this fullness, this more real harmonic resonance in the hi-lows, low-midrange that sounds perfect to me, however it is very subtle, so I wonder how would these plugins fare across various tracks in a full mix. Is it noticeable? Is it more a matter of taste rather than a best?

I like the warms audio more "in the face" sound. It can be used as tracking and also as final compressor to mix i guess. Close to an 1176 resault.

Warm audio seems to hold up really well for the price tag. Hope to get some of their products in the near future.

What do u think of the analog warm audio eq quality ?

Is there any new test with Klark Teknik and other products?

Man, the tweeting for the WA-2A was a bit different but the sound was basically identical. The plugin wasn’t bad either just lacked a little bit of warmth and clarity in comparison to the hardware counterparts but definitely a great substitute if you can get it on sale!

Quite simply the CLA-2A squashed the life out of everything. Warm version a bit more linear in it's aggressiveness. Teletronix is more noticeable but almost sounds "human". Nice comparison.

very useful review. thank you

thats why i track thru my UA610 to get it fat at the start before its sealed in the box, makes my CLA-2A a bonus to use then.

I notice many people complain about CLA-LA sounding thin. Of course it's going sound different from the other when it's a software emulation. It has no tubes like the real physical hardware.

I can definitely hear lot more bottom on the WA2A vs. LA2A. The saturation seems to be a bit more edgy or brighter on the WA2A as well. The plugin sounds the thinnest and least saturated. Wonder if swapping the tubes in the WA2A could bring it closer to the LA2A.

It seems like the major difference between the Teletronix and the Warm Audio is that he Warm audio has noticably faster attack, hence catching those peaks very good, which yields a more agressive and less bright compared to the Teletronix one. Not a bad thing though, just different.

I still can’t see why compression is needed. I know it’s supposed to level the signal across the entirety of the song but I can’t hear it. It just sounds like the compressed signal is turned up in volume one notch. Where is the thick sound on vocals and bass that I hear on my favorite rock albums? How in the he’ll do they get that sound? Is it in the mastering mix that produces the fullness? I’ve been recording for 25 years and still haven’t gotten to that pro sound yet. I’ve spent enough money I know that. I’m thinking of getting a compressor but how will it make my sound any better? I don’t have a clue what I’m missing or doing wrong 😕

What tubes was used in the WarmAudio and on the Universal? Sounds to me someone stuck cheap Chinese Shuguang or Sino tubes on the Warm-Audio: those don't eat up properly, and do that clipping, damaged or not warm enough tubes do the same. Go on, put the soviet Tung-sol and the EHX tunes back in the WarmAudio and do the shoot-out again. Best compare apples with apples. WA and EHX user-abuser/endorser here: it actually sounds better than in these recordings represent. Also, for different 'tones' I just slip in different tubes in the sockets. JJ, SOVTEK, JJ, Northen, Boogie, Mullard, Svetlana, Western Electric, and top of the line Telefunken. A shoot out between 2 pieces of equipment, one original and the other a faithful clone, which use vacuum tubes, needs to make sure the tubes are the same type, brand, and in similar functioning conditions. Another aspect which was not mentioned was the side-chain Pre-Emphasis level on the back of the units which defines reaction to low frequency information and sibilance, and there meter adjust values where not given. Although this video serves as a comparative between analog and digital, it renders without credibility for comparing the UA LA-2A to the WA-2A. Additionally, Slate Digital simulations of the LA-2A are better than Waves (I have them both), so the difference is still there but not as pronounced.

Surprisingly, the Waves plugin sounds excellent, compare to the original! Thank You for sharing!

great comparison video. The WA-2A is more lo-fi than I thought it would be.

Surprised how good waves plug in was. It had a clarity in it I liked and that warm audio seemed to miss. I'd be happy with each of these depending on the need.

please make video to compare the original LA-2A, with a LA-2A from audioscape and the WA-2A..

male voice hit a flat note on the "met" (first "met" you) in a very distractive way, though the comment section been instrumental. good to hear from you folks. cla2a is just as fine from a mix perspective, let alone the price tag.

what mix are you using to record your videos on KZfaq? and are you using a pre amp as well?

So I listened here on HiFi type speakers. I own the WA-2A and CLA-2A, bought WA to track and CLA to mix...man, maybe I'm trippin but the differences were so small that in the context of a mix no one will know which unit you've used. They ALL rock...Just my .02 and as always, all we have is opinion

What is that note he's singing on "met"?

I actually liked the Waves plugin more than than the Warm Audio unit. The UA clone is is Killing! By far the best! Thanks for doing this shootout.

IK TR White 2A is crazy close on male vox in limit mode, which seems to have a slower and more similar attack to the Teletronix in compress mode. Pretty sure I'm not telling the difference consistently when blind testing. WA2A is either squashing harder due to settings or just not as good.

for me the waves CLA is the more natural on the bass. and i find the waves plugins in general have a certain sound i like compared to another plug in brand

Forget about that plugin... is it teletronix or warm????

it seems like the hardware has more compression with the same amount of gain reduction compared to the cla(plug in)... I might try having 3db less G.R. on the hardware since you can hear the compression artifacts faster...just my 2 cents.

I just picked up the IGS one, my new favorite, and maybe the best bang for the buck, when it comes to an LA2A style compressor.

I like the wa-2a the most but i was actually impressed with how the waves sounded hitting it that hard.

Warm Audio WA-2A much less harsh, smoother, just amazing sounding in my ears anyway!

Nice comparison, MTHG. Thanks!

It's very interesting to hear. The original Teletronix LA2A is the clear winner. The CLA-2A sounded pretty good on the vocals imho. I wasn't amazed by the WA-76.

And what about Cakewalk's plugin?

The Warm Audio sounds a bit darker, still pretty good tho

What shocked me was I could still really tell the difference on ear buds with the bass. The UA mega price unit is WAY up above the others, all good, but if you have the budget.....

Where did they record the voice? with a phone?

Yes, they all do the la2a thing. However, I've discovered that decent hardware compressors tend to maintain the life of the signal, even when squashed. Plugins seem to flatten the natural energy in a way. It's almost like watching a conversation between two animated people, and watching a real life conversation. Another thing to consider is the source sound. A real piece of hardware will do it's thing, reacting to the audio input in it's unique way. I've found that hardware can be more predictable than software, where I can identify a certain sound, recalling similar situations where a certain piece of gear solved a problem in the track. Plugins seem to be harder to choose from, as they have been more inconsistent in my experience. Don't get me wrong, plugins solve almost every issue with hardware. Recall, presets, room space, cable management, maintenance, etc. There are also many plugins out there that do things that hardware cannot do. But in the end I find that the bulk of a mix is just easier and more intuitive to quickly finish with the right collection of hardware.

I see why the analog ones are great- but, hey, the waves does a pretty good job. We must not disregard the fact all units sounded different in the analog realm, so we dont really know how the one waves cloned sounded. I do love them all..

Seems that 3db compression with the WA-2A sounds great. Anything above... not so great. For those that have the WA-2A -- is that an accurate statement?

When coparing the bass sound the warm audio has other settings and sounds different from other compressors, also the waves but it's more noticeable in the warm audio

The Teletronix is such a badass at what it does. The WA-2A seems a bit aggressive overall except for the bass track which isn't as dynamic as the vocal tracks. The CLA-2A compared to the hardware just isn't close. During the male voice I hear a lot of high freq info from the CLA-2A that doesn't sound pleasant and doesnt have that same warm quality that the hardware models have. This is from listening on my monitors so it may be different from person to person. I think the original is just way smoother and has a lot more warm saturation especially when it gets pushed . The WA is really nice though. I think it may be the parameters that make it that aggressive for me. Another thing to note also is that even though you might get the same piece of hardware, every piece of hardware in that line will sound a little different from one another. Also note that other things in the chain can help with these issues and in the right hands someone can make a CLA-2A sound great in the signal chain with other plugins in the chain to do some corrections. Still wont sound anything like the hardware models in here but it can get close and sadly for the general audience close is good enough. I feel like with an awesome tube compressor like the Teletronix LA-2A you don't have to do as much to it afterwards to correct it. Awesome video man.

Just to be honest, the difference between expansive HW and cheap SW is there for sure but by a thin margin so does not bring too much advantage for most of the mixers. Skills is what matters

My experience you have to move a lil different with each one. The waves for instance works better when pushed a lil harder the wa is more like the IA plug where you got to turn it down 3db and make it up through the unit

Its amazing, how much better the original LA2A hardware sounds

La-2a owner here 😉📈🔥

to my ears on Focal twin 6be's .. LA2A was legendary and can use some low frequency management, WA-2A had different tonal character but still rocks, CLA-2A was too clean it didn't emulate tone very well but handled similar compression character.. i'm getting WA-2A soon :)

why is the peak reduction setting different for the warm audio?

@MusicTechHelpGuy (love ur vids). I actually liked the Tele and the CLA. i thought the Tele did give a bit of warmth to most tracks and the CLA gave breath or air to the track which came across as clarity with vocals (not great option for bass) as warmth usually means better low end. MY opinion, but if you were looking for a clone of the Tele, I would say that the WA 2A comes closer than the CLA in most comparisons here. So the real question is, what do you want to hear because they all have a place at the studio so pick you seasonings to taste.

In my opinion I hear a thinning in the low end warmth (but not a degredation of the original signal) with each unit as we progress down the line. However, the actual compression and how it affects level and the performance is remarkably similar across the board. Imo, if you're missing the warmth of the LA2A just add a bit of eq in your lows or low mids to compensate and it will be a damn good approximation. Personally I find them all to be good choices. I would like to hear how the LA2A stacks up against the UAD plug in though

Perhaps the tonal differences between the LA2A and the WA2A are due to both using different makes of tubes? This could easily be the case. Great tubes sound amazing, for instance An EL84 made in Holland, branded Amperex, marked with a boy playing a bugle and given the designation "DD" will make pretty much any other EL84 sound dull in comparison, even NOS Mullard tubes. Search out the right tubes, and the Warm box might shock you, you never know.

please match levels!

Warm Audio made the upper mids stand out way too much, as far as EQ. Vocals sounded a bit more intelligible around 3-5 kHz on the Waves, compared to the warm, but also more synthetically digital compared to the 'warm' analog. Teletronix sounded smoother EQ and action wise, which is why some people pay the $3.5k

I'm going to chime in here.......I've taken the raw male track in this video and ran it through the WA2A with a Northern Electric 12AX7 in the first valve and a NOS RCA 12AX7A (1958) in the second valve. With some tuning in the pre emphasis adjustment there is almost no difference between the la-2a and the Wa-2a - I am listening on Genelec 8250's with a dedicated Apogee Rosetta 200 - The Tung-Sol tubes really smudge the soundstage in this case..... tubes make a big difference!

The Warm is thinner sounding and not as the thick as the UA version. It lacks the character of the UA. I do like the Warm better than the Waves plugs version however

the differences between analogue and digital is the"ART" that's what going to make you peace.