Roll Music RMS755 Super Stereo Compressor Review: The Other Bus Compressor

The Roll Music Systems RMS755 Super Stereo is a little like the Unknown Comic.

Not because somebody ought to put a paper bag over it, although the little gain-reduction meter does look as though it might have escaped from a 1970s CB radio. Rather, it is because this is an excellent piece of equipment that relatively few people seem to know.

And that is unfortunate.

The RMS755 lives in roughly the same world as the famous SSL bus compressor, but it is not simply an SSL clone. When we want the familiar cohesion and movement associated with an SSL-style bus compressor but do not necessarily want the SSL sound, the Super Stereo is one of the compressors we reach for.

A different flavor of glue

It provides excellent two-bus glue without imposing itself too aggressively on the mix. There is a cleanliness and openness to it that distinguishes it from some of the more obvious VCA bus compressors.

It can certainly clamp down when asked, but that is not why we own it. Its real strength is making a mix feel a little more finished without constantly reminding you that there is a compressor across it.

Simple controls

The controls are refreshingly straightforward. Threshold and output gain are continuously variable, with selectable ratio, attack and release settings. A high-pass filter in the detector path is particularly useful on the mix bus because it reduces the tendency for large amounts of low-frequency energy to make the entire mix pump.

The dual-release behavior is another useful touch, allowing recovery from transients while responding differently to sustained high-level material.

And then there is the meter.

It is tiny, slightly ridiculous and looks as though it belongs on something you would use to talk to truck drivers.

We rather like it.

Construction

The rest of the construction is anything but silly. The RMS755 is nicely built and has the reassuringly substantial feel of equipment designed by somebody who expects it to remain in service for a long time.

Verdict

Comparing it too directly with an SSL is misleading. The Super Stereo occupies similar territory and can perform a similar job, but it has its own character. To our ears it is somewhat less conspicuous and more transparent.

If you want the unmistakable snap of an SSL bus compressor, buy an SSL.

If you want excellent two-bus compression with some of the same sense of cohesion but a different flavor, the RMS755 deserves considerably more attention than it receives.

It is not famous. It is not especially flashy. And the meter is borderline comical.

But it is an extremely good mix-bus compressor.

Highly recommended.

Specifications

• Type: Stereo mix-bus compressor
• Frequency response: 12 Hz–32 kHz ±0.25 dB; 2 Hz–150 kHz ±3 dB
• Maximum input level: +23 dBu RMS
• Maximum output level: +29 dBu RMS
• Input impedance: 40 kΩ balanced
• Output impedance: 100 Ω balanced
• Output gain: Variable, -14 to +20 dB
• Sidechain filter: Switchable 150 Hz high-pass
• Release: Includes dual-release mode

Availability: Roll Music currently lists the RMS755 as temporarily unavailable because of an obsolete component while it works on a redesign.

Manufacturer: Roll Music Systems