Coming Soon: The Relab 176 (Retro 175) Tube Compressor/ Limiter

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Relab 176$199.00Buy

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https://176.relabdevelopment.com/

We wanted to share something different this time around- a clear, no-nonsense look at how this plugin came to be.

This was the second video on the thank you page - and we've summarized it in written form as well.

I just want to make sure you don't miss this.

We'll have more plugin and feature walkthroughs in the coming days as well.

Recreating the Retro 176 in software was a serious undertaking.

There was no shortcut.

The work was hard, precise, and detailed because we know that the sound has to be right.

The bottom line?

Sound quality is the only reason this plugin exists.

If it didn’t meet the hardware standard, it wouldn’t be released.

And if you're anything like us, then for you, sound is everything.

So here’s an in-depth article (and the video) that walks through the journey from concept to finished plugin - how we tackled complex circuit modeling, measurement challenges, and optimization to deliver a tool that behaves like the hardware.

Take a look here:

Musician/Composer/Mixer based in Montreal, Canada. Acustica Audio Nebula / Acustica Audio Tulip, Rust, Sienna. Latest mix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mTQmE7S-ZM

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I like it, it's pretty nice, but not for the squeamish if you have a low-end cpu (currently), tho it is perfectly usable. :tu:

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It sounds really good. Like REALLY good. CPU is high as stated but this one might be worth it.

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Some actual component modeling which is rare, love that they rather have high CPU than compromising quality. We need more of this.

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Wow, it sounds amazing in the demo video. Really analog hardware-like.

I would love to test it side by side with Mjuc and the Fuse Audio Mu-compressor, but I'm afraid my old machine won't be able to handle The Relab. It seems to be VERY CPU hungry.

I wonder whether this sophisticated emulation can be further optimized or whether the very high CPU load in inherent to this high degree of component modelling?

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I does sound amazing, it is very CPU hungry on older machines. You really have to try it , seems to do ok on Mac M series. On my M4 Studio I got 64 stereo instances at roughly 50 % load. On highly specked AMD and Intel machines it’s significantly worse.
Mac Studio M4
15.7.3
Cubase 15, Ableton Live 12

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Seems at this moment its currently more optimized for m chips rather then amd and intel ones - while top amd and intel chips destroy m4 (all versions) in almost all possible scenarios (judging by the reviews and tests on various websites).

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It would be nice if you had Linux support. 🙂
Vendor‑Dependent Copy Protection: Customers lose. Pirates win.:mad:
(Also: I'm Accused of lying about Linux—it boots, runs my pro audio workflow, stays stable, updates--though yearly dismissed as “niche”. Yet I'm the deluded one.)
:roll:

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Linux is too niche and not worth the development effort obviously.

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This plugin is currently super demanding of processor time. At least on my computer.

In my little project loop, without it, I'm using around 25% realtime cpu usage (according to Cubase performance monitor). With R176 enabled, a single instance, 85-90% realtime cpu usage. One instance.

This is on a 5900x CPU. I even increased my audio buffer from 128 to 512 and enabled High Asioguard to see if that would make a difference. It didn't.

The Relab 176 does sound nice. But not enough for me to want to replace my whole system to use it.

If you're trying this out, don't forget to press the red logo for a few more hidden settings.

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Last times the distortion vocal was good is motowns context. it 2025 ?.

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I went into this with a completely eyerolling cynicism. Every new compressor seems to have the same "but this is different" schtick.

But I have to say this sounds absolutely amazing.

I have a real 1178 and the relab 176 really just has that kind of edge to it. I know they're different compressors but the 176 just has mountains of character like the 1178 has.

It's an absolute CPU hog but holy crap is it impressive.

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You can be creative in any right place on Earth, and not only in the wealthiest cities. Bring the world feelings from everywhere, and not only feelings of capitalistic or jail environment.
― Aleksey Vaneev


https://linuxdaw.org

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Now it would be interesting to see a review comparing the Retro 176 and the Relab 176.

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Yes it's heavy, but no challenge running multiple instances on M1 Max despite warnings to the contrary on sign up. It may be super authentic, but I've not got the hardware to compare. Thankfully it didn't grab me by the GAS as I guess the price will also be heavy.

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