I just love Warm Audio gear. The name fits the gear well because you get that analog warmth and the quality and value is pretty much unmatched. I had an issue with a light going out on the power supply and Bryce Young and his team took care of me in minutes with a replacement. Just awesome gear and an awesome company.

Forget about plugins they will not get close to this. I have a Universal Audio Optical compressor and I own W2a warm audio, both are great on their own. The truth of the matter is that warm audio did it right.

Been waiting to pull the trigger on this to complete my analog vocal train. I always relied on the "Box" to mold the vocals, but having the WA2A now helps with tightening up on the performance, believe it or not. Mainly helps identify performance volume swings that once in the box, before, would be a big stretch to time consuming to correct or just sound good and sometimes need to be scratched and another session... With the WA2A we can hear, up front, if there is to large a volume variation and can address with tightening up the mic technique or even level boundaries to capture a better vocal, or just do another take. Also is of use for that awesome bass presence. I highly recommend the WA2A to anyone..

Great compressor

Hands down my favorite compressor when working on vocals.

Incredibly simple controls, and an extremely transparent output. If you don't have one in your chain, you need it.

This 2A should be seen as the standard.

I've recently started purchasing external hardware processors for my home studio. VST Plugins and emulations are great, but I wanted to experience true analog and tactile control over the recording process rather than using a mouse and presets, etc. I bought the Warm Audio WA76, WA2A and EQP-WA units and they are fantastic. Great quality, great build and fantastic sonically. You just can't go wrong with this units. Highly recommended!!

As always, thanks to my account rep, Evan Mehre, for years of great service and support.

LOVE THIS COMPRESSOR USE IT EVRY DAY FOR RECODING VOCALS ITS AWSOME

I upgraded from the Lin2A to the WA-2A, and it was well worth it!!! It's got an excellent build. All the knobs feel great. It's sturdy. It does the job well. I've been using it on vocals and electric bass.

For YEARS I've been hesitant to buy outboard gear. I've been doing everything in the box for over 15yrs. I've always had the mindset of "why get outboard gear when I have plug ins?". Well I've been a fool of these years because once I ran an audio source thru this thing the difference was day and night. I also bought the WA76 to go along with my chain with consist of U87>Wa76>Wa2a>Apollo. This is DEFINITELY BY FAR the best addition I've ever added to my studio.The sound is so warm, thick, adds so much depth and texture to the source. Thank you Warm Audio!!!!

This thing never ceases to amaze me. Acoustic guitar, vocals, bass, whatever I put through it, ribbon mics, tubes, tlm, dynamic, everything sounds great with this. Just enough. Nothing crushed, dynamics controlled, easy to use. Sounds great!

I have a small project studio and wanted to add an outboard compressor primarily for vocals. This one was recommended by the amazing Dave Cody, sales engineer extraordinaire. It arrived a couple of days later, packaged with care, candy included.

This is probably the easiest compressor to use. Very basic and the VU meter is easy to read. Build quality feels solid.

It works great on bass and acoustic guitar. Where this item really shines is on vocals, and not just tracking. I ran some previously recorded vocals out of the DAW, through the WA2A, and back in. Wow! It makes a world of difference. Beats any plug-in I put it up against. This one is a keeper, you can't ask for more.

This works great. I go out of it to warm audios WA-73 EQ and with any warm audios mics, it sounds like a million dollars. Its the real deal. Warm Audio is a real company too. You can call and they actually speak to you and help. They stand 100% behind there products. And so does sweetwater. So there is no downside. Just buy it! Put any mic through it. Sounds vintage old school warm and smooth as silk.
Wow doe vocals sound great through this. I cant believe how great singers sound through this. Warm, smooth, presence! Thanks go out to Nick Church my sales rep at sweetwater.

If you want an LA2A, but don't have the funds look no further. This is a great compressor that functions very well. Nice warm sound on vocals!

Obviously buying a much cheaper LA2A clone will come with compromises.
What I've noticed about Warm Audio gear in general is... they don't fare well in shipping on the 2nd hand market.
They tend to have a high degree of breakage. I've send back 2x as many units to those that I've kept. Again, not new, only used equipment.
Never, once, did I have to do this for other used gear. Not BAE, not UA, not Neumann, etc. Only Warm Audio.
That's why the higher end units cost so much. Their soldering, gluing, welding, components, don't cut corners and are made to withstand punishment better than this price-point is capable of delivering. Is that a bad thing? Only for the sellers of used gear. Buyers should have protection, sellers (if you become one) should insure these units. Heck, insure every thing you sell anyways.

That said, does this give a vintage-like sound? Yes.
Does that sound greatly improve with NOS audio grade tubes? A very big YES! A very big CREAMY lushness yes!

That's why I still have mine and haven't felt the need to spring for an upgrade to the real deal LA2A.

So, if you get this, and listening to the stock tubes love it now, but in a few years go "hmmm, I wish I had the REAL thing" upgrade your tubes to NOS first before you make that jump and I think you'll be as surprised as I was.

I just got this and all I can say is wow. I really wasn't sure what to expect honestly and bought this based on reading all the reviews on this one and the history of the original one this is cloned off of. The word that keeps coming to mind is butter. It's like smooth butter on toast. It really seems to just be a perfect fit for tracking vocals, which is mostly what I got it for. I'll probably use it some for guitar and bass at some point too. I'm actually contemplating getting a second one actually! I'm really REALLY impressed. Very happy with the purchase!

I already have a UA 6176, and this pairs up with it really well. Just a really nice addition. I kind of like that warm audio has included balanced ins and outs both in xlr and trs, so you have some flexibility in how you want to patch it.

This thing is amazing it makes everything sound better. I like to use it right after the WA76 with the 76 set to a quick attack and release. When chained one after another it makes for a very smooth and full sounding vocal. If you are thinking about getting you should.

Purchased this during Black friday with the WA73. Didnt began using it till 2 weeks ago because I use the Waves CLA-2A and a free 1176 vst plugin for most things and I didnt need to waste time bolting this guy in. So is this compressor blow away a $60 plugin that goes on sale frequently? Will I throw around cliche-ish terms like, warm, smooth,and sweet like I am pouring coffee down the back of this thing? No and No. There is a reason why UA still makes this plugin and a softwa76re version for the UA2 as well as countless clones in the wild. This thing is better than my plug in, like the CLA-73 was better than the Free Antress plugins. It has a nice build quality, the knobs are sturdy and the body is hefty. The sound is immediate with the compressor having an organic nature of responding to know twists.It's not a night day difference but its definitely a quality purchase.

This thing rules! There are a lot of great videos on YouTube about it and it being compared to more expensive compressors. Paired with Warm Audios WA73 it sounds amazing. I was a bit concerned about how the knobs and switches would feel, they feel good quality no issues at all. I think out of the box the tubes are good quality. It really adds a certain magic to the overall sound.

I do professional voiceovers for a living and have started to transition to hardware vs plugins. While my sound was good prior to adding the WA-2A it's now even better. It just adds that extra warmth and roundness I was looking for. So easy to use even a voiceover dude can handle it. Overall very very happy!

I wish I would have purchased this compressor years ago. Warm Audio products are great. With this in my signal chain I save a lot of time. Place this compressor after a quality mic preamp in your signal chain and you will not be disappointed.

I got this unit for a vocal chain before protools. WOW.
I can’t believe how great this thing sounds. I love the modeling plugins of the la2a but this sounds legit!!!!!!

After my first single in which I used a blue spark and a WA 76FET style compressor, I switched to this compressor. The reason for that was for my style of vocals I needed something softer. My voice is smooth and airy. My audio engineer suggested an optical compressor and explains how they work differently than an FET style compressor . He explained that the optical compressors clamp down a lot slower and smoother. I notice a huge difference. The sound from the WA2A Is a much smoother, the transients are smoother and it just has an overall better sound to my ears. The WA 76 Has a tendency to be gritty. It"s harder to control as well. The WA2A is way simpler! I would recommend this compressor for vocals. It will shine. I am a novice and this thing really works great and is very simple. I can set it and never seem to clip the signal. That"s why I like it. The sound quality is amazing as well.

Warm audio really did an awesome job making this compressor and the sound quality is unheard of at this price point. In a world where you get what you pay for I"m grateful for this exception. I"d buy it again.

so i now have 5 different compressors/limiters, this is now my go-to. it is smooth "like butta" i have only had it for about a week and am using it daily for vocals, mostly voice overs and it is quite nice. i am using it as a compressor/leveler. if i want a limiter i have the WARM Audio 76, which i bought a few years ago. this company seems to be able to give high quality + best bang for the buck. it can also serve as a limiter, but i have not tried it yet. this thing has lots of tubes (you can never have enough tubes in my opinion). for more than 20 years i have been using the ART Pro VLA and it always served me well, but this WA-2A is thicker and smoother. i also use a Neve Portico 5043 as both limiter and compressor and that gives me a tight sound, but for vocals i like the WA2A because it is smoother. i also have a SafeSound Dynamics Toolbox, which is better for using as a stereo buss ;compressor for mixing. my main focus is vocals and acoustic guitar and this WA2A can't be beat, especially at this price.

Its like butter on the vocals!!!

This was one of my first hardware compression pieces. With minimal knobs, the Wa2a is easy to dial in and helps any one reach their compression needs. Nothing comes close in sound for the price. So go get you one!

Smooth, warm, open sounding optical compressor that makes pretty much everything I run through it get that big studio sound. I am really very pleased with the Warm Audio WA2A. Amazing bang for the buck - highly recommended!

I have owned this unit for about 8 months and have put it to some serious use.. I have used it on everything and it it seems to shine on vocals if used subtly.Just running a signal through will definitely warm up your sound,it does have an LA-2A sound however not the same as the original. I really like running bass guitar through this unit with slightly heavier compression and lots of gain.. this unit sits primarily on my snare drum. I like the warmth it provides and the overall sound it gives to the snare drum again, if you use it subtle.. great unit for the price!

I use this on basically everything except for drums, and I am amazed at how much less I have to worry about figuring out the perfect compression and eq settings each time. This is way more forgiving than the plugins I"ve used and it"s beyond amazing for tracking vocals! 10 out of 10 would recommend to a friend!

Never tried the real LA2A but learned of this through my Apollo plug-ins and believe this hardware emulation of the LA2A is even a little better than the UA plug-in by a just little, but little enough to probably keep it. It just seems to tame my often shrill and harsh vocals with ease.

I'm still trying it out but I'll probably keep it as it looks and feels very nice and "pro" level, is heavy (quality?), and has a whopping 3 dials and 2 switches (plus 3 dials on the back). Sparse yes, but just seems to make my voice sound smoother with more "professional" sparkle and presence without the harshness. I've got it teamed up with a Neumann TLM103, LA610 preamp, then the WARM '76, and finally, the WA2A for what I've read is a very professional vocal chain. I'm spending hours tweaking and comparing it to earlier recordings I made with the plug-ins. Tedious but I think the hardware is winning (or at least I'm finally singing the right notes now).

I've spent way more on guitars and drums, now it's time to invest more in the most important thing - the vocals. They don't have guitar and drum contests on TV, only singing! As a bonus, I think this will keep it's value fairly well if I decide to sell it or trade it later.

Ive always wanted an LA2A but funds limited it. I have heard a LA2A live, and the WA2A was and exact
Great pierce of gear get on!

This is my 2nd piece of WARM gear and will be my last. I purchased this unit 6 months ago. I was moving it in my rack to make room for a WARM Tone Beast when I heard something moving around inside. Upon investigation, I found a large yellow 10uf capacitor had fallen off the circuit board and was moving around inside the unit. Needless to say, I did not order the Tone Beast.

I contacted WARM and told them I was engineer tech yrs ago and could solder it back in myself. They said that should be an easy repair and encouraged me. I made the repair and the next day WARM informed me that had voided my warranty. Is the unit working correctly, seems to be but who knows?

For the money, it"s hard to beat. I love this on bass. It really pins it down and sounds natural at the same time. The bass action you want comes out of this box. Just get it.

There is nothing I have found to get the sound I want faster than putting one of these in the signal path. If you like using outboard gear, you can spend more....but why?

This is a MUST HAVE in the vocal chain. I usually do not use the compressor on this but i like to take advantage of the tube warmth and the sweetness. Its amazing.

I kept waiting on this piece of gear due to the price point and my needs. I didn't think that I needed to spend this much money on something that I would be using mostly for Podcasting, webinars, voice overs, and other voice-based applications.

I was so wrong... My clients have immediately noticed the difference. There is just something about this piece of gear that can't be matched with plugins. It also looks amazing in your rack / your studio / your recording booth, and it immediately screams "professional".

I can't wait to try this out on my drumset when I have some time as well!

Worth every penny, and I wish I would have bought it a year ago when I first saw the videos on YouTube about it.

Smooth warm natural compression for vocals and instruments on your microphone of choice.
I'm a saxophone player and have spent many years looking for a natural smooth sounding compressor to play my sax through and the Warm Audio WA-2A Optical Compressor is perfect for me.
I found that it doesn't take very much level to get what your looking for. Lets the true sound of my Saxophones shine and be heard!
A winner for sure. Incredible quality for your money!

I bought this after extensive research and reading many reviews of WARM Audio products. I am completely blown away at the sound of this compressor. It has captured the essence of the $3,400 hardware and delivered it to the consumer at a fraction of the cost. Yes, I have used an original LA 2A on many occasions and Yes, it does sound like the real thing!!

I bought the Warm Audio WA-76 and WA-2A from Sweetwater and am using them together as a part of my vocal chain. Both compressors are very easy to set up. I had them compressing vocals faster than I thought. This review is for both compressors together.

The sound of the compression from both units is great. I have always used the 1176 and La2a together as plugins in a mix, so I wanted to get the hardware to see if I could get a better sound. Glad I bought these. The hardware is much better sounding than plugins to my ears. I am surprised how good the Warm Audio units sound, and how little I "hear" the compression. Doing the same amount of compression with plugin emulations is easily audible. It sounds bad, squashed, and dull in comparison. It is a significant difference.

I can't imagine compression sounding much better than this. For a project studio like mine, this is all you need. I don't think anything can beat these for the price. The only issue i have is with the wa2a - the power chord is too short. I also didn't like having to calibrate the meter with a knob on the back.

I just got the compressors today and only used them for a short time. 1 hour was all I needed to know I was going to keep them. Just know if you buy the 2a, might as well buy the 76. 2 are better than 1.

For the price you will not regret this piece of kit! Forget the technical talk....does this compressor improve your sound? Darn right...and that you can't put a price on that!

I am glad I was able to get the WA-2A. This is my first analog compressor, and I"m glad I can finally get an amazing analog sound from my productions. The vocals sound silky, and passing other sounds through it (such as bass and synthesizers, guitars, you name it) is a pleasure. Even drums can be passed through it. Of course my favorite thing is passing digital synthesizers through it, that way those digital sounds become analog and have that analog warmth.
I am also very happy with the customer service from Sweet water. I was able to call their customer service line and ask about whether or not my microphone needed phantom power before plugging into the WA-2A, and I got an answer instantly. Now I'm ready to rock and roll with this unit.

This thing is dynamite!!

This here box is magical. I put it on vocals, adjust to taste, and it simple sounds 'finished.' So smooth and natural. I used to toy with plug-in versions but could never get far with them. Often times I would feel like they were only digging a deeper hole in the sound. But the WA2A gets it done. Say what you want about Warm but I sure am grateful to have these tools in a world where the original is the price of a year's worth of groceries. Thank you Bryce.

I debated purchasing the WA-2A as I have owned an LA-2A before and also have used it on all of my critical projects over the past 8 years regardless of the studio I was in. The WA-2A has exceeded my expectations and I am truly blown away on the quality of sound I am receiving. It only took a few minutes to find that sweet spot (something the LA-2A is known for). The vocals, guitar, and bass have truly come alive - especially in a home-studio environment. The only reason for the 4.5 stars is because I have only owned the product for a short period of time. I am interested to see how the product holds up over time and to see if manufacturing quality was compromised to achieve this fantastic price. I appreciate Wayne Davis guiding me through my decision making processes and for always being a trusted partner to my business. I recommend BUY.

Without a doubt, LA2A's were my favorite dynamics processors in the old days. I've been on the fence about picking up one of the new versions but the price tags always had me thinking I would just make do with plug-in versions. The WA-2A changed that. It's everything I remember the original versions were- smooth when they needed to be and grity when you slam them. To my ears they add color, but it's a color that sounds good on everything. Plug-ins are convenient but they don't add the weight that hardware does, in my opinion. It's easy to justify having a couple of these in my racks at this price. Just a great piece of vintage style gear. Paired with a WA76 and an EQP-WA and it's a classic analog chain that just works. Warm Audio seems to have nailed the quality and price points with these pieces for the average guy/gal.

I've used Warm's whole line of outboard gear; Bryce has knocked it out of the park with the WA2A!!! Unrivaled component quality, true to the original schematic -- all for a fair price with no ridiculous markup! This is a new LA2A, built to today's standards with modern technology! Highly recommended!!

Exactly what it lays claim to be. Perfect on vocals, especially in conjunction with the WA76.

I used many plugs emulating the LA-2A but none really gave me the LA-2A sound I was looking for for. The WA-2A did. Very smooth, mellow and transparent. Seem to do magic for vocals. Capable of quite a bit of compression while maintaining the transparency. I am a happy camper

Love it!!!!!!!!!! Just got mine very smooth, very transpat