Photon 500

Sweet and classy

The PHOTON 500 is an optical compressor, based on technology from the 60’s, first used in the early LA-2A limiters and later in the LA4. As an homage to these legendary products, we packed this technology in a 500-series module. The PHOTON 500 uses an opto-coupler, which introduces negative feedback in the audio path, taking care of gain reduction, being the basics of all compression. The PHOTON 500 has an electronically balanced input with a 2520 compatible op-amp in the gain stage. The output is balanced by an IGS Custom made transformer.

  • Device type
    • Optical CompressorYes
  • Basic features
    • All stepped manipulatorsYes
    • Sidechain HPFOFF, 60Hz, 120Hz
  • Input & Output
    • Audio transformersYes, IGS Custom
    • Input Impedance (balanced)10k ohm
    • Output Impedance (balanced)600 ohm, Custom transformer
  • Levels
    • Operating Level+4 dBu
    • Max input level+20 dBu
    • Max output level+22 dBu
    • Max Gain Reduction20 dB
    • Max. gain30 dB
    • Noise Level-99 dBA
  • Time constants
    • Ratio2:1, 4:1, 12:1
  • Bandwidth
    • Frequency response8 Hz to 20 kHz, +/- 0.1dB
  • Distortion (@ 20 Hz - 20 kHz)
    • THD+N0.012%
  • Power
    • Power consumption2.5W
  • Packing box
    • Shipping weight1kg