Astra Creative Audio’s optical compressor plugin “A-2A” is available as a free download for a limited time.
In this article we cover the giveaway details and an overview of what A-2A does.
1. What Is Astra Creative Audio’s A-2A?
A-2A is a tube-style optical compressor plugin that models the physical behavior of a classic optical cell. It reproduces the familiar response of optical compressors in the LA-2A tradition, and its release stage is a two-stage design with program memory: the longer the plugin has been compressing, the more slowly it lets go. The result is a natural, “breathing” compression that does not pump.
The control set is deliberately simple — five knobs (Peak Reduction, Gain, Mix, Emphasis and Glow) plus a VU meter. Glow is a tube saturation that brings the 2nd harmonic forward ahead of the 3rd, while Emphasis makes the detection circuit react more strongly to high frequencies, so you can tame sibilance and painful brightness without darkening the sound. Parallel compression is available through the Mix knob.
The developer publishes measured test-bench specs: zero samples of latency, an optical ratio of 3.07:1 with a 7.5 dB soft knee (the official product page lists 3.11:1), a gain of -0.27 dB with no signal and no hidden makeup gain, and a CPU load of roughly 1.34% per core at 96 kHz on an M1 Mac mini. Because there is no latency you can insert it in a recording chain and monitor through it while tracking, and the light CPU hit means you can put it on every track without worrying.
One thing to note: because Glow is a saturator, the harmonic and intermodulation distortion figures are the highest of the four products in the developer’s comparison. Setting Glow to 0 drops distortion to 0.003%.
Key Features
- Tube-style optical compressor that recreates the physical behavior of a classic optical cell
- Zero latency (no delay compensation required, usable for monitoring while recording)
- Two-stage release with program memory
- Optical ratio of 3.07:1 with a 7.5 dB soft knee (the official page lists 3.11:1)
- Aliasing at -89.8 dBc
- Unity gain design (no hidden makeup gain / -0.27 dB gain with no signal)
- CPU load of about 1.27% (approx. 1.34% per core at 96 kHz on an M1 Mac mini)
- GLOW: tube saturation that pushes the 2nd harmonic ahead of the 3rd
- EMPHASIS: makes the detection circuit react more strongly to highs, controlling sibilance and brightness without darkening the tone
- Parallel compression via the MIX knob
- Controls: Peak Reduction, Gain, Mix, Emphasis, Glow, VU meter
2. How to Download and Install A-2A
A-2A can be downloaded and installed simply by entering your email address. If you grab it during the campaign period, which runs through September 14, you keep it as a permanent license, and future updates are included. From September 15 it becomes a paid product at €35 + VAT.
That covers the A-2A free giveaway. If you have been looking for a zero-latency optical compressor with tube saturation on board, this is an easy one to pick up before the deadline.