_DIONE

Analog BUS compressor with digital recall

100% analog device with +24dBu of headroom

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_Dione

Analog bus compressor with digital recall

The legendary sound of the stereo bus compressor has been a true companion on countless recordings for over 40 years. Often recognized as “mixbus glue”, this particular style of compression has become industry standard. We present _DIONE – fully analog, legendary VCA compressor with digital recall.

Main Features

_DIONE stereo bus compressor

  • 100% analog device with +24dBu of headroom powered by VCA THAT 2181,
  • MIX KNOB FOR PARALLEL COMPRESSION
  • THD – harmonic distortion with two modes (Medium & High),
  • SIDE CHAIN FILTERS – 3 high pass filters at 60,90 and 150 Hz, and 2 tilt filters which are special “curve” designed filters,
  • FOUR RATIO SETTINGS – 1.5:1 and 2:1 for gentle mixbus processing, and 4:1 and 10:1 for large variety of applications,
  • 500 SERIES and ng500 (e.g. _TITAN) SERIES COMPATIBLE,
  • TOTAL RECALL AND PLUGIN CONTROL compatible with most DAWs.
  • ANALOG AUTOMATION in DAW.

ANALOG SOUND, DIGITAL CONTROL

DIONE is 100% analog device with +24dBu of headroom

VCA THAT 2181

First and most important point – _DIONE is 100% analog device with +24dBu of headroom.
Regardless its digital control nature, fully analog signal path provides top VCA compression sound.

Two THAT 2181 VCA in signal chain, and two in side chain detector!

MIX KNOB FOR PARALLEL COMPRESSION

With MIX knob at your disposal, parallel compression has never been simpler to achieve!

With _DIONE your MIX setting can be automated in your DAW, ever wanted to push your compressor harder in chorus? Nothing simpler! Just record automation using touch sensitive encoder, or draw your automation lines in DAW!

THD – ADD COLOR TO YOUR MIXES

THD stands for “Total harmonic distortion” and it allows to saturate your signal with beautiful analog color.

SIDE CHAIN FILTERS

_DIONE Side chain filter functionality allows to modify signal going into the compressor’s detector.

It includes 3 high pass filters at 60,90 and 150 Hz, and 2 tilt filters which are special “curve” designed filters.

FOUR RATIO SETTINGS

_DIONE provides selectable ratios of 1.5:1 and 2:1 for gentle mixbus processing, and 4:1 and 10:1 for large variety of applications

500 SERIES and ng500 SERIES COMPATIBLE

Regardless its extensions, _DIONE is fully compatible unit with 500 series standard (*). Digital features can be enabled through front panel mini USB socket.

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Regardless its extensions, _DIONE is fully compatible unit with 500 series standard (*). Digital features can be enabled through front panel mini USB socket.

ng500 – Next Generation 500 series is a physical extension to 500 series, which makes _DIONE fully compatible with _TITAN frame – this allows to control all devices in chassis through one USB/Ethernet cable.

(*)Important note about 500 series extension: ng500

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HARDWARE A/B

Even using _DIONE as pure analog signal processor you can easily switch between two parallel settings with a magic of a simple buttons.

TOTAL RECALL AND PLUGIN CONTROL

Along with classic analog compressor You receive most demanded feature in audio industry – TOTAL RECALL.
Full plugin control through VST2/VST3/AU/AAX/AAX DSP – makes _DIONE compatible with most, if not all major DAWs.
Total integration with your beloved DAW will change your workflow forever!

ANALOG AUTOMATION

I’m sure all of us wanted to use different device settings based on song section. Now it is possible! Just draw automation lines in your DAW and your analog device will follow!

And remember, you can use three touch sensitive encoders to record automation TO your DAW!

Main features summary:

  • 100% analog device with +24dBu of headroom powered by VCA THAT 2181,
  • MIX KNOB FOR PARALLEL COMPRESSION
  • THD – harmonic distortion with two modes (Medium & High),
  • SIDE CHAIN FILTERS – 3 high pass filters at 60,90 and 150 Hz, and 2 tilt filters which are special “curve” designed filters,
  • FOUR RATIO SETTINGS – 1.5:1 and 2:1 for gentle mixbus processing, and 4:1 and 10:1 for large variety of applications,
  • 500 SERIES and ng500 (e.g. _TITAN) SERIES COMPATIBLE,
  • TOTAL RECALL AND PLUGIN CONTROL compatible with most DAWs.
  • ANALOG AUTOMATION in DAW.

Other features:

  • Fully digitally controlled and isolated analog circuit,
  • Digital recall can be acheived by connecting unit directly through front panel mini USB socket, or using it inside _TITAN chassis,
  • Digital sidechain – it is possible to send any track from your DAW as side chain signal to the compressor – It is enough to configure side chain feature in connected plugin,
  • 3 touch sensitive encoders allow record automation of particular parameters (Threshold, Mix, Make Up) in DAW,
  • True bypass,
  • Accurate analogue GR meter and its precise simulation implemented in the plug-in itself,
  • Free software and firmware upgrades.

Specification

_Dione specification

Frequency response20Hz-20kHz (0.1dB)
THD+N (WET)0.008% (1kHz,0dBu)
THD+N (DRY)0.004% (1kHz,0dBu)
Input impedance10kohm
Output impedance< 100ohm
Max gain21dB
Crosstalk< -90dB
Attack0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, 30 (ms)
Release0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, Auto (ms)
Ratio1.5, 2.4, 10
SC Filter60, 90, 150, T1, T2
THD (MID switch)1%
THD (HIGH switch)4%
Power consumption70mA/+16V and 50mA/-16V (per slot)
Unit dimensions76x133x158 mm
Box dimensions 105x162x234 mm
Unit weight0,6 kg
Box weight0,8 kg
Warranty2 years

User Manual

Download _Dione User Manual

_DIONE SAMPLES

To download high resolution files please use this link

_DIONE VIDEO STORIES

Watch the product video

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

ng500 Module (e.g. _DIONE) is frozen and doesn’t react to encoder moves – Factory reset is needed

If the module doesn’t react to any changes to the knobs on the front panel, the first necessary step is to rewrite firmware into the flash memory (Factory reset procedure re-writes firmware into internal flash memory – it doesn’t affect anyhow unit configuration). To proceed with factory reset, please follow below steps:

  1. Connect unit either:
    1. Through front panel USB socket,
    2. Or keep the unit in ng500 chassis – _TITAN, but please note that chassis has to be connected to the PC/MAC either via USB or Ethernet cable.
  2. POWER OFF your 500 series chassis.
  3. Depends on the product please press following front panel control:
    1. _MIMAS – RATIO button,
    2. _DIONE – RATIO button,
    3. _RHEA – THD button,
    4. _PROMETHEUS – HIGH CUT encoder (top-right encoder),
    5. _HYPERIONLMF GAIN encoder,
    6. _CALYPSO – MENU encoder.
  4. While keeping this control (button/encoder) pressed, POWER ON your 500 series chassis.
  5. LEDs should present a strange pattern.
  6. Now open GConManager:
    1. WIN: C:/Program Files (x86)/WesAudio/GConManager.exe
    2. MAC: /Applications/WesAudio/GConManager.app
    3. Or click on the WesAudio “Tray” icon, and select “Open GConManager”
  7. Go to _UPGRADE application.
  8. Hit start!
The NGRack unit (e.g. ngBusComp) is frozen and doesn’t react to encoder moves – Factory reset is needed

If the module doesn’t react to any changes to the knobs on the front panel, the first necessary step is to rewrite firmware into the flash memory (Factory reset procedure re-writes firmware into internal flash memory – it doesn’t affect anyhow unit configuration). To proceed with factory reset, please follow below steps:

  1. Connect the unit to either USB or Ethernet.
  2. POWER OFF your unit.
  3. Depends on the product please press following front panel control:
    1. ngBusComp – far left Ratio on Channel 1 (Ratio “-”),
    2. ngLEVELER – use a small screwdriver and press button available on the rear panel via a small hole in the chassis.
  4. While keeping this control (button/encoder) pressed, POWER ON your unit.
  5. LEDs should present a strange pattern.
  6. Now open GConManager:
    1. WIN: C:/Program Files (x86)/WesAudio/GConManager.exe
    2. MAC: /Applications/WesAudio/GConManager.app
    3. Or click on the WesAudio “Tray” icon, and select “Open GConManager”
  7. Go to _UPGRADE application.
  8. Hit start!
Unit passes signal only when bypassed

This is a very common issue and in most cases the root cause lies in the connection of the unit and audio interface. If that happens it should be checked if audio interface input isn’t connected to the chassis input and if audio interface output isn’t connected to chassis output. As this initially would seem to be entirely wrong and shouldn’t work at all, as all our units implement “True Bypass” via relays, the unit will pass a signal when the bypass is engaged. The reason for that is that the relay is in fact hard wiring input to the output, and thus the unit will pass the signal, as it doesn’t go through any active circuit of the unit.

Plug-in doesn’t connect to hardware when a plug-in instance is created

This is actually how it is supposed to work, so after the plug-in instance is created, please use a small triangle button which usually is on the bottom side of the plug-in and select proper HW ID from the drop down menu. If the drop down menu doesn’t list any hardware units, please check Your connectivity and other possible root causes in this FAQ.

Unit can’t connect to a plug-in

This is a wide topic, and there may be at least several root causes, but there are few things that should be checked. However, the first and most important thing is to double check that GConManager doesn’t list this device in the _CONFIG app. If this is the case, it means that WesAudio unit can’t connect on the OS level, and some of the below steps may help:

  1. First of all double check if module connection is properly executed, this procedure is described here.
  2. USB specification indicates that USB 2.0 works up to 5 meters. This is however not entirely true, as it strongly depends on the peripherals that unit is connected to. Even if our modules are USB 2.0 compatible, your USB port could support USB 3.0 – USB is a backward compatible protocol, so it may be that USB 3.0 cable length limit should be considered which is 2 meters. We would recommend having a USB cable up to 2 meters to remove those limitations from the equation.
  3. USB HUB is very common root cause to those problems, if module can’t connect via HUB – just for the sake of the test, it is mandatory to connect unit directly to PC/MAC to verify if the problem isn’t caused by it.
  4. Please note any system warnings attached to “WesAudio Tray Icon”.
Unit disconnects by itself

As USB controllers have limited capacity it could be a reason for random unit disconnection. Usually, it happens when a lot of USB devices are plugged into the PC/MAC. The usual behavior would be that the unit works normally, and after reboot it doesn’t, but it strongly depends on the OS implementation so exact reaction could be a little bit different. If this is suspected, just for the test, it would be good to disconnect most of the devices from the USB ports, reboot PC/MAC and double check the connectivity from stability point of view. If it leads to the conclusion that this is the root cause of the problem, we would recommend using a decent USB hub, and ideally a TB/USB dock station which tends to offload a lot of responsibilities from our PC/MAC.

Unit can’t connect anymore

If the unit was working fine, and suddenly it couldn’t connect (it is not visible in the GConManager _CONFIG app) that could lead to the conclusion that some devices were added to our USB line, and we could have problems with the USB controller inside PC/MAC. In that case please check the description in the above “Unit disconnects by itself”.

How to open GConManager in Admin mode

GConManager in Admin mode enables special functionalities which are used during WesAudio units calibration.

OSX: 

  1. Please open terminal.
  2. Copy-Paste following command:

open /Applications/WesAudio/GConManager.app --args --admin

WINDOWS:

  1. Go to “START” and open “Command Line”.
  2. copy paste this command:

"c:\Program Files (x86)\WesAudio\GConManager.exe" --admin

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