Cranborne Audio Brick Lane PWM Compressor

Cranborne Audio Brick Lane 500 Modal PWM Compressor

Mono 500 Series Compressor with Modal PWM Technology, 7 Compression Modes, and Sidechain HPF

Game-changing Modal Compression

Representing yet another groundbreaking product from the inveterate innovators at Cranborne Audio, the Brick Lane 500 is a fully analog 500 Series compressor with a compression circuit like no other. Built around Cranborne’s proprietary Modal PWM Compression technology, the Brick Lane 500 features seven unique compression modes — colorfully named Velvet, Float, Smash, Tame, Glue, and Polish (two modes in one) — that function as presets, setting compression style, ratio, knee, and rate of change automatically. This is a tremendous time saver, as one of these modes will instantly get you in the ballpark of what you’re after. For further fine-tuning, you have the traditional Threshold and variable Attack and Release controls, the ranges of which are dependent on the chosen mode. The icing on the cake is a unique Stress control that lets you enrich the compressed signal by dialing in euphonic even-order harmonic content. Rounding out the Brick Lane 500’s robust feature set are stepped controls, I/O gain control, three highpass filters, and OptoSync wireless communication with auto-calibration for linked stereo operation.

Sonic Transformation Engine

Cranborne Audio calls the Brick Lane 500 a “Sonic Transformation Engine,” and while that may sound like fanciful marketing speak, we find it’s accurate. The key to this remarkable performance is Cranborne’s proprietary Modal PWM Compression technology, which gives you seven distinct compression characteristics, each designed to deliver a unique sonic signature.

• Velvet: Smooth, musical, and organic-sounding vintage vari-mu type compression with tube-like harmonics
• Float: Transparent opto-style dynamics with gentle, wavelike compression ballistics
• Smash: FET-style compression with aggressive dynamics control, explosive punch, and high impact
• Tame: Transparent, ultra-fast transient management with surgical dynamic precision
• Glue: Classic master bus compression fortifies mixes with punch and apparent loudness
• Polish: Fast, clean mastering-style limiting with Cranborne’s Analogue Lookahead technology and two switchable modes

Versatility and value

In one single-width 500 Series module, the Cranborne Audio Brick Lane 500 effectively gives you every style of compression you’d ever be likely to use. Going with separate rackmount compressors, it would cost five figures to duplicate what the Brick Lane 500 can do — which makes it a stunning value. So, do yourself a favor and pack your rack with a couple — or more — of these little gems. With the unit's built-in OptoSync and auto-calibration, you’ll have a veritable compression army to handle any dynamics-control scenarios.

Cranborne Audio Brick Lane 500 Features:

• 1-channel 500 Series compressor with custom PWM compression circuit
• Proprietary Stress control for adding harmonic content
• 7 compression modes: Velvet, Float, Smash, Tame, Glue, and Polish (2 switchable modes)
• Threshold control and variable Attack and Release controls
• 12-segment LED level meter; 12-segment LED gain-reduction meter
• 4 selectable sidechain HPF modes: Off, 60Hz, 100Hz, and 200Hz
• Input gain control; Output/makeup gain control
• OptoSync wireless linking for stereo operation
• 1/4-in. TRS jack for linking non-adjacent modules
• Circuit auto-calibration for stereo matching between modules
• True bypass I/O switching with trim modes available via DIP switch
• Top-panel stepped controls for quick, precise settings recall

STL Pro Audio is the exclusive NZ distributor for Cranbourne Audio Dealer