Fredenstein Professional Audio Studio CompressorA newcomer to the – vast – scene of audio equipment manufacturers, the German-American-Taiwanese Fredenstein Professional Audio spoils us with the test of four units: two preamps, a compressor and an EQ.Let's go !Frdesnetien, Frendesntein, Fr… Well, Fredenstein, it's not very easy to write but it's easy to remember.How ?You've never heard of it ?Well me neither!Indeed, few people around me had heard of Fredenstein and yet, we have already seen them for several shows.The brand was created in 2011 by the German Fred Schuckert in Tapei, Taiwan, thus taking advantage of local productivity and upstream manufacturing cost control.This one ensures the design of the units, assisted by the American Hutch Hutchinson (who we have already seen officiating within Rupert Neve Designs but also Manley Labs…) since 2015, but also by Juergen Meyer at the distributor Millstone Sound .The brand clearly displays the ambition to independently satisfy the home studio market and the pro audio market, avoiding copies or reissues of flagship products and offering peripherals with original designs.For this first “contact”, the brand sent us a “sample” of its entry (and mid) range.We will therefore start with the “standalone” versions of the preamps and more precisely with the VAS MicPre.This small 200 × 51 × 170 mm module in desktop format can be “racked” using a bracket (optional).The preamp-DI – mono – is delivered with manual and 220V plug, well protected as it is in its box.At first glance, it's serious: the manufacturing looks solid, everything seems well designed.The box looks well put together and the quality is there… Quite surprising I must say, especially when you know the price of such a unit.Let's take a quick tour of the machine first. Sober and clear copper-bronze facade, shiny black potentiometers, simple but ultra-readable screen printing: nothing ostentatious here!On the other hand, simplicity does not necessarily rhyme with austerity;indeed, the aesthetic charter of this small module is rather successful and pleasant.Still on the front panel, we find the key elements of the preamp.In addition to the gain potentiometer (up to 65 dB), there is the phantom power switching switch, the –20 dB attenuation pad, the polarity inversion and the low-cut filter, fixed at 60 Hz. For old microphones, ribbon, or whose impedance would be lower than that of "current" microphones, a switching switch LOW Z (understand "low impedance, of course) makes it possible to adapt the impedance of preamp input at 300 Ω (1500 Ω when the switch is not activated).A volume potentiometer allows us to dose the desired output level.And you can even measure the level of gain thanks to the small LED peak meter, which displays levels ranging from –30 to +20 dB.Everything is there, nothing is missing!But that's not all.Still on the front panel, there is a 6.35 mm jack input for instruments, whose impedance is fixed at more than 100k Ω (to ensure, it is said, a decent level with all types of instrument microphones), thus bypassing the microphone input located at the back of the box.Finally, there is a jack connector at the input decked out with a volume potentiometer and it is quite original, since it is a jack socket for connecting headphones, and adjusting its volume.We can therefore listen to the source at the level of the preamp, with headphones!Smart…On the rear panel, we find the classic XLR connectors in input and output, but also a 6.35 mm jack connector.And one more “little extra”: an (unbalanced) input/output insert point in 6.35 mm jack format is also present.We can therefore insert any processing unit before the output stage of the preamp.Holy Fredenstein…!Finally, an On/Off switch is next to the female socket to connect the shuko plug.Everything is here.In terms of technical data, the VAS MicPre offers a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+/1-dB), for distortion of less than 0.05% at +4 dBu.Its maximum admissible input level is +24 dBu (with the pad activated) for a maximum output level displayed at +26 dBu.All in all honorable performances!We will see a little later in the test what the VAS Mic Pre offers in terms of sound.But with such technical specifications, we are expecting.Now let's move on to its classmate, the VAS Compressor.I will not go back over the manufacture and design of this module: it is in every way identical to its comrade preamplifier.Same quality of manufacture, same finish, same aesthetics and implementation of similar screen printing: when you see one, you imagine the other!As with the VAS Mic Pre, the VAS Compressor (for Vintage Analog Sound) is therefore a mono desktop type module.We find the classic settings of a compressor, divided into 2 rows of three potentiometers.On the left, we start with the Input which involves the input level in the compressor (from –10 to +20 dB), Attack which manages the attack time of the compressor (from 0.5 to 50 ms), and Release for the release time (from 70 ms to 2.5 s).On the right, Ratio which goes from 2:1 to 20:1, MakeUp for the output gain of the compressor (from 0 to +20 dB) and Mix, just to mix the original signal with the processed signal... It doesn't There's no denying it: in 2016, parallel compression became a standard!Even before the Input potentiometer, there is a Filter switch (and its associated potentiometer) allowing you to activate (and adjust the frequency) of the sidechain filter of the compressor, which goes from 6 Hz to 2 kHz.At its side, an unbalanced 6.35mm jack input allows you to insert an external sidechain signal to "drive" the compression.Still on the front panel, 2 peak meters offer us the possibility of measuring the electrical behavior of the signal.The first displays the gain reduction and the second displays the output level of the compressor.At the rear, the connection is similar to its preamplifier counterpart: there are inputs/outputs in balanced XLR and 6.35 mm jack format.In addition, a 3rd connection on 6.35 mm jack allows you to connect 2 mono VAS Compressors to control them in stereo.The Link activation switch, located on the front panel, allows the link between the two compressors to be activated.It is also adjacent to the Bypass activation/deactivation button, which eliminates the need for the compression circuit.Note that, even when switched off, the VAS Compressor benefits from a True Bypass…Finally, still at the rear, there is the 220 V base and the On/Off switch for activating the module which, as on the VAS Mic Pre, goes hand in hand with the PWR machine power-on indicator .After the two modules in desktop format, let's take a closer look at the 2 500 modules: the F609 preamp-DI and the F603 EQ.The F609 is different from its little brother in desktop format since it is a tube preamp-DI, embedding in its small size of 500 module an ECC802S, an ECC803S, an input transformer and another output .Aesthetically, the module takes up the graphic charter that we were able to discover with the VAS boxesTwo potentiometers, 5 small switches, a 6.35 mm jack for the DI input, all topped by a nice little round VU-meter: Fredenstein knows how to optimize space.In terms of functionality, everything is more normal: a Gain potentiometer to manage the input level in the preamp (up to 70 dB, with a maximum admissible of +12 dBu) and another, Output, to… manage the preamp output level (+ 26 dBu max).Between the two, the various switches allow us to activate the attenuation pad (-20 dB), the +48V phantom power, to reverse the polarity and to activate the low-cut filter (at 50 or 100 Hz ).Next to the VU meter, a small “guard” diode tells us when the output level exceeds +24 dBu.Finally, a last switch at the bottom of the module allows us to turn on the preamp or put it on standby.As for the F603 module, it's just as simple and effective.This 4-band semi-parametric equalizer exists in 2 versions: the F603 A whose Q is fixed at 2 and the F603 B whose Q is fixed at 0.8.We were able to test model B benefiting from the widest frequency band.This mono equalizer, with passive mounting (LC type), has two Hi and Low shelf filters and two bell filters for the Hi Mid and Low Mid.Each frequency band has its own Gain potentiometer, ranging from –15 to +15 dB (on the module, the manual indicating -/+16 dB…) and its own cutoff frequency selection switch.We thus have the possibility of increasing/attenuating the level at frequencies from 35/60/80/120 Hz for the Low Shelf, to 200/250/330/450/600/800 Hz for the Low Mid, 1/1, 5/2/3/4/5 kHz for the Hi Mid and finally 7/9/10/12 kHz for the Hi Shelf.Once again, nothing has been omitted!But the F603 module only reveals its full potential when it is inserted into its trusty Bento, including the 500 rack from Fredenstein.Indeed, the modules were delivered to us with the Bento 6D, a small “Made in Fredenstein” Lunchbox that can accommodate 6 modules in 500 format. Nothing really new, you might say.Except that said rack has an LCD screen that displays the gain values ​​at the chosen frequencies when you touch one of the potentiometers on one of the EQ modules… Interesting!!I wouldn't be able to dwell on the subject since we only had one EQ module and, secondly, the Bento has a little more "advanced" connection than a traditional Lunchbox, almost deserving him only a small test…And if we listened a little what it gives?It is quite difficult to test preamps, as these are directly linked to the recorded sources and the desired application.We therefore decided to test an identical source, namely an electric guitar reamp (via a Fender Twin), taken up by a Neumann U87 passing through the two preamps, the VAS Mic Pre and the F609.In order to give the most objective possible points of comparison (and at the statement of this last sentence I realize that it is obviously a futile operation, for several reasons), we recorded the same signal through a preamp Neve 1073DPA and an API 512C, for the following gain settings:If it is imperative to have good listening conditions, we nevertheless note that our two little German-American-Taiwanese friends are doing quite well!For my part, in the studio, I noticed a little extra warmth with the F609, which perhaps suits a little better the register of the clear and already “slamming” electric guitar.That said, the manuals tell the truth and you can't blame the Fredenstein modules for their precision in the midrange and upper midrange!In some cases, this could lead to a slight “aggressiveness”: to form a real opinion, the modules would have to be tested on a wide variety of sources, with and without high transients, for different music and applications.In my opinion, I found these two precise modules, with a nice presence, and a slight roundness in addition for the 500 module with F609 lamps.In terms of technical characteristics, there is nothing to say: all the features that one is entitled to expect from a preamp today are found on these two modules, and even more.Again, the comparison here is really indicative because they put on the same line products with completely different designs (and prices!).Indeed, the biggest difference is between the Neve 1073DPA and the VAS Mic Pre, the latter representing 1/5th the price of its British counterpart!Being able to listen to the source in the VAS Mic Pre preamp with headphones is a plus: for all those who work on the move or who do not have the optimal listening conditions wherever they go, this can be beneficial.The asymmetrical insert is also a very good thing if you want to connect effects to it.For my part, these two products are very well designed, offer great possibilities.It remains to put them to the test of time…and sessions!Now let's move on to the other two modules, and start with the VAS Compressor.Like its preamp counterpart, the VAS Compressor is not lacking in features.But what about the sound?We therefore passed several sources (which some AFians have already heard in previous tests…) through this compressor.Here they are, with the corresponding values:For a module under 300 euros, all we can say is that it does the job really well.Admittedly, we are not on Vari-Mu or a unit "transforming" the original source by adding "character" to it (I will not compare this compressor to competitors at much higher prices), however c It's an excellent dynamics processing tool, which can easily compete with units costing 2-3 times its price.Indeed, on signals with strong transients, the dynamics of the signal is well controlled and we gain in punch.Ditto for the other types of signals: the bass is super strong in the high levels (the peaks take a big hit!) but suddenly the small signals come back to life.We find the FET technology used in this compressor: it's nervous and biting.Be careful all the same, because on the bass I had – for a Release at least, an Attack of 2 and a Ratio greater than 10:1 – a “humming” phenomenon.Indeed, when the release time is very, very fast compared to the attack and the compression is strong, the compressor seems "lost".This dissipates quickly by giving the release time a slightly longer value, thus returning to a “normal” compression situation:Despite everything, the speed of the time constants, the high ratio and the fact that you can mix the processed signal with the original signal make the VAS Compressor a very complete module.If we add to this the possibility of an external insert, the sidechain filter as well as the connectors to link it to a second module (and thus obtain a stereo compressor…), there is no denying: at Fredenstein , they have thought of everything!Next comes the F603B equalizer.I inserted the module on different sources – always the same ones – trying different settings to listen to how this module reacts.Here are the extracts and their corresponding table of values:On values ​​that are starting to be interesting, (+6 dB all the same), the EQ remains pleasant and not super aggressive.Obviously on the voice it's a little less pleasant because, at the source, the signal is already very colorful and not really "straight", which means that in the treble we find something a little "hard".However it is not due to the EQ which remains quite nice and soft.The fact that we have a low Q (wider bandwidth) certainly affects this smoothness, but beware, the equalizer remains precise nonetheless.We are not at all in a "rock n'roll" register but rather in something quite clean in the end.Coupled with the Bento 6D, the F603B expresses itself fully: as soon as you touch a potentiometer, the values ​​are displayed on the small LCD screen in real time and you thus obtain more precise information.We only had one such module, but apparently the screen displays the settings of the module being operated on.So I couldn't find out what happened if you touch several potentiometers of different modules at the same time…!I might have liked Fredenstein to offer us a module where we would be able to choose between 2 fixed Qs, as if the F603 A and B were just a single module, just to have the choice… But hey , we are not going to be choosy… In the end, the F603 is a nice little EQ that does its job well!Fredenstein Audio is making a strong entry into the peripherals market with a very interesting collection of modules.If the firm relies heavily on the functionality and precision – claimed – of the sound of its units, these remain perfectly accessible to the less fortunate among us.Indeed, the entry level is done with the VAS Mic Pre and VAS Compressor series displaying a price of 275 € and 319 € including tax respectively.The 500 modules are a little more expensive – but still accessible – since the F609 is displayed at a price of €639 including tax and the EQ F603B €539 including tax.As for the Bento 6D – Lunchbox 500 stamped Fredenstein Audio with integrated LCD screen – it will cost nearly €439 including tax.If the brand also offers Hi End products intended for more demanding amateurs and professionals, it allows many of us to be able to work with correct tools without blowing our budget.Download the sound clips (WAV format)Do you want to react to this article ?Yes, Audiofanzine uses cookies.And since the last thing we would want would be to disrupt your diet with things that are too fatty or too sweet, know that these are homemade with fresh, organic, fair trade products and in the right nutritional proportions.What this means is that the information we store there is only intended to simplify your use of the site such as improving your experience on our pages and displaying personalized advertisements to you (find out more).Accept Customize cookies RefuseWe would like to point out that Audiofanzine did not wait for a law to oblige us to do so in order to respect the privacy of our members and visitors.The cookies we use have in common their sole purpose which is to improve your user 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