Empirical Labs Arousor 2.1
Compressor plugin based on the legendary Distressor with extra features
Compressor Plugin based on the legendary Distressor with extra features
It's been 20 years since Empirical Labs released its first compressor, The Distressor. From those early days on, Empirical Labs has been bombarded with requests for a great compressor plugin for those working in the box... and it had to be one with the creamy sound and ease-of-use of our own award-winning hardware compressors. We are sure you will find the 20-year wait worth it!
For many years, processing speed, sample rates and copy protection were limiting. Things have changed. Digital Technology can now come very close to having all the wonderful non-linearity and “warts” of the best analogue gear. We say "close" becFormat-AUse most of Empirical Labs' analogue gear will pass 150KHz easily, and that is something that is impossible with current digital technology. But hey, who hears above 20KHz? But it is difficult getting everything right up to that 20KHz, especially at sample rates of 48KHz and below.
As this plug-in does all kinds of non-linear stuff, we had to employ a variety of techniques to minimize common digital artifacts found in almost all digital compressors/limiters etc. Unfortunately, these techniques are costly as far as processing, and one has to streamline certain DSP processes for less CPU load without sacrificing any Format-AUdio quality. Ironically, sometimes stuff that is hard in analogue is easy in digital, and sometimes stuff that is hard (or impossible) in digital is easy in analogue.
Rev 2.1 Features
- OS-Windows 7-10 now fully supported
- AAX-DSP for the OS-Mac and OS-Windows, and a new Venue version, qualified by Avid
- Greater efficiency, especially in Pro Tools AAX. 1/3rd of the CPU usage
- Greatly increased Bargraph accuracy. Makes matching a Distressor sound much easier
- Preset Sharing Function - Works across all platforms and makes it easy to share
- Backwards Compatible with Rev 1.0. Won't "break" your past mixes
- Graphic and Interface Improvements - New colours, and 3D depth
- Our first "Expert" Button appears for the BLEND Section. Offers Dry Lvl Trim, below
- New Dry Lvl Trim control, allowing perfect Dry and Compressed level matching
- Even more presets, some from famous engineers
- Refined markings for matching Distressor detector settings
- Higher resolution readout on Det BP BW. Reads to .01 places
- More support for Control Surfaces, including new Venue systems, like S3L and S6L

Education Proof
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Types of proof
StudentNUS Card, Student ID Card, Letter of enrollment
Teacher/LecturerTeacher ID Card, Lecturer ID Card, Payslip, Letter from the school/college
Education proof is submitted to the manufacturer and is accepted at their discretion.
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Digital Download Info
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In most cases, the product you purchase from us is a serial number/licence code/activation code to register the product with the manufacturer and download directly from them. This ensures you receive the latest version of products, and the best support when neccessary.
The email you receive from us after purchase will contain the licence code and a link to our Install Instructions page. You can visit that page by clicking here: Install Instructions.
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Crossgrade Proof
This crossgrade is for owners of a competing DAW. To prove your DAW ownership, we require that you upload proof in the form of an image/PDF.
Types of proof
A copy of your purchase receipt for the original license or the most recent update/upgrade
A screenshot of your product registration
A photo of your package (either CD/DVD or printed manual), with the unique serial number included in the photo.
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