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Introducing The Leviathan...500 series lovers, your wish has come true. APA's new Leviathan compressor is the perfect synthesis of vintage and modern technology. Inspired by both the La-3a AND La-2a 'set and forget' program dependent compression with the Leviathan's VINTAGE auto mode, the APA Leviathan is very smooth in every sense of the word. We've set the VINTAGE mode's attack to be approximately in between the La-2a and La-3a so the source is natural but with enough control to keep things in check. Being a discrete Class A single ended design with iron core transformers on input and output, the perfect balance of coloration and detail is achieved with a solid midrange, airy top and just the right amount of even order harmonic distortion. The Leviathan's smooth compression is similar to 'riding the fader'.
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Leviathan $995.00 |
Leviathan Stereo Matched Pair $1990.00
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"I want to give you some of my initial impressions of the Leviathan after having used it the last week.
First off, I think the unit is layed out very well, both aesthetically and functionally. The insides are also very impressive. The unit looks quite solid all around. I appreciate the ease of setting the unit using vintage mode. It, more often than not, sounds great. However, having the ability to switch the unit out of vintage and adjust the attack, release, and ratio provides extra versitiliy when it is called for. So far, I've used it on guitar, bass, drums, and voice. On guitar, I left the Leviathan in vintage mode getting about 3-4 dB of gain reduction. The guitars came out sounding very natural. With that amount of compression, there weren't artifacts from the compression yet I was able to bring up the level of the softer passages. Overall, I'd say the unit just worked at leveling the guitars without them being obviously compressed. On bass, I kept the unit in vintage but switched in the punch setting. Again, as with the guitar, I had about 3-4 dB of gain reduction during the loudest sections. Like the guitar, the dynamic processing sounded quite natural. It kept the bass in a nice place without totally flattening it into a pancake. There was one note in the bass line that was so much louder than the others that it sent the gain reduction meter to about 8 or 9. It was interesting using the Leviathan on mono drum OH. While the vintage setting did sound good, I thought this was one instrument that adjusting the attack, release, and ratio would be very helpful. By adjusting those parameters, I could get many different sounds from natural to very apparent squashing. I ended up using the compressor with a fairly quick attack, a medium release, and a ratio of about 4 or 5. Toggling in and out of bypass with these settings, the mono OH came out with more focus and felt firmer. While I settled on a more natural sounding kit, I think there is plenty of room to use the compression character for interesting effects. By using the punch mode, I imagine the user would be able to affect just the top half of the kit letting the kick come through while bringing down the snare. The unit shines on vocals. In vintage mode, with, again, about 3-4 dB of reduction, the vocals come out sounding locked into place yet so natural (like riding the fader). Compared to my API 525 which I often use for vocals, the Leviathan doesn't grab the peaks in as aggressive a manor. At times, I really want that 525 grab. In many cases, though, I would like the vocals to retain their natural dynamics while still being leveled. The character of the leviathan on vocals is the same as with drums: it provides a focus, clarity, and firmness to the signal. With vocals, I also put the API 525 and Leviathan in series. The idea is to grab the fastest peaks with the 525 and use the Leviathan for some extra smoothness and color. It did sound quite rich and colorful. Thank you, Nathan and Tim. I think the unit is a success. With the Leviathan, the user has the choice between set and forget or fully adjustable. With the added color of iron transformers, I think this compressor is a welcome addition to the 500 series. " - Mark Allen-Piccolo. Visit Mark's Website to hear his song 'Sun and Moon' The Leviathan was used on vocals, guitars, and bass guitar. |
"The Leviathan compressor sounds awesome, and I am posting on this forum for the first time because I recently bought a matched pair and I think this product deserves attention. I employed the pair successfully on acoustic guitar, drums, organ, harmonica, electric bass, vocals, and stereo mix buss. It is easy to dial in a killer sound. First do your best with the manual Attack, Release, and Ratio knobs, and then punch in the Vintage button to see who wins--your own manual setting or the "Vintage" program-dependent envelope. Typically, I had a hard time deciding between a more bouncy/pumpy sound from my manual setting choices and a more evened-out and smooth sound from the Vintage setting and its intelligent Release. The Punch button worked like a charm; try stereo program material with the Punch button in, then hit Bypass and wonder what happened to your low end. When toggling the Bypass button, you appreciate the harmonic contribution of the transformers, especially as you vary the Gain knob. Comparing among APA products, it sounds to me like the transformers in the Leviathan, when pushed a bit, are brighter sounding than the Juggernaut Twin's iron trannies but darker sounding than the Juggernaut Twin's nickel trannies. Ultimately, I did not wish for different trannies in the Leviathan--they beef things up just right. I do wish that the Clip light were calibrated to activate a few dB lower-- by the time it turns red, you can hear clipping so obvious that you don't need a light to tell you. The Juggernaut Twin's clip light, by contrast, blinks earlier, while the transformer is still sounding juicy but a few dB below crunchy. Ergonomics and aesthetics of the Leviathan: The knob resistance feels good. I love the backlit buttons-- no mystery as to whether they are activated or not. For comparison, my two other 500-series compressors are the Shadow Hills Dual Vandergraph and the Pendulum OCL-500. I like both of those compressors but wish that they had manual controls in addition to their presets. The Leviathan has the transformer weight of the Vandergraph, and the Leviathan's Vintage setting is reminiscent of the V1 setting in the OCL-500. If I could add one more button to the Leviathan, it might be a second Vintage setting, as the OCL-500 usefully has both V1 and a slower V2 setting. But given the choice, I am glad that Tim and Nathan prioritized manual controls over more presets, and the Leviathan's single Vintage setting works really, really well. This compressor controls individual instrument dynamics and stereo programs exactly the way I want it to hear them, and the transformers add a welcome weight to the signal. I imagine that the Leviathan would be fantastic on any source. If I had budget and 500-rack space, I think I would go for another pair." - Eric R. |
"Finally, I have had a chance to spend some time with my Leviathan and become familiar enough with the unit to post my impressions. The build quality and ergonomics of the Leviathan are excellent. Knobs feel perfect with exactly the right amount of physical resistance. The front panel is laid out and labeled clearly and logically. The front panels of many 500 series EQs and compressors are extremely crowded, but I find the Leviathan's front panel to be quite comfortable to work with. The LED gain reduction display is great. Sonically, the Leviathan exhibits classic opto compressor action with a colored, yet tight harmonic richness. The action of the compression is exactly what you would expect out of an opto comp. It has that classic bloom to its curve. The available attack and release times cover virtually all situations, and the "vintage" setting can be just the trick on certain sources. The Leviathan's tone has a nice dose of transformer coloration that I could best describe as "weight." It's not "bite" like an 1176, and its not "spongy" like an LA2A. The Leviathan is very tight and firm, with harmonics that seem to add some clarity to the input source on the high end. To me the color is more modern, in contrast to vintage, dirty color. "Punch" button works great and has an obvious impact when activated. I found the Leviathan to work best on sources where I usually dig the LA3A vibe: Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and vocals (particularly female). Overall, bottom-line, the Leviathan is a great sounding unit and a great value at it's introductory price. If you're looking for an opto comp in the sub $1k range, you would be foolish not to check out the Leviathan." PheeltheMusic |
