The CBS Audimax is a really old compressor/limiter. When I say old, I mean that this is about as old of a compressor as you'll find, and you really won't find too many of them around anymore. I don't know much at all about the origins of the Audimax, except that it was used back in the day in the simplest way that you can use a compressor. This is an all analog piece of gear, and I'm not sure on the connections of it since the one I've used was hooked into a patch bay for connecting. It is rack mountable, but will take up four spaces in a traditional casing. UTILIZATION There isn't much at all that you need to know in order to use the CBS Audimax. It's got a really simple configuration, with only two parameters. The parameters it has are in the form of large knobs for controlling the input level and for setting the function. That's really all that there is to it, so pretty much any engineer should be able to use it right off the bat without any assistance from a manual or elsewhere. SOUND QUALITY The CBS Audimax definitely sounds it's age to say the least. This is a very old school sounding compressor, as it's got a lot of grit and girth to it. I've only had the chance to use the Audimax on bass guitar, vocals, and a room microphone for drums during a mixing project. While I don't think that I'd use the Audimax in a traditional sort of setting, if I'm looking to add some vintage coloring to the sound, this is the place that I'll go first when available. It's a great one stop shop for giving your source an old school type of sound. OVERALL OPINION Getting your hands on a CBS Audimax definitely will not be easy if that's what you're after, but they can be found every now and again. From what I have been told, these were in recording and broadcast studios in the 1950's and 60's. While there isn't much control over your sound, the sound that you can get is pretty awesome when used in the right situations. If you ever get a chance to use the CBS Audimax, definitely take advantage of using this vintage compressor.
