Comp DIODE-609 — measured — Pro Audio Plugins

On the bench

48 kHz · 512-block · offline · same procedure for every plugin

Magnitude responsestepped sine, −12 dBFS

Output level vs. frequency.

It shapes your tone by up to ±0.4 dB on purpose — that built-in curve is part of its sound.

Distortion vs level1 kHz, THD / THD+N

─ THD ┄ THD+N. THD is the trustworthy figure; THD+N is method-floor-limited at low levels.

It adds a little harmonic color (0.20% at full level) — a gentle warming.

Latency, reported

32 smp

Latency, measured

32 smp (matches)

Onset

32 smp

Noise floor

−109.8 dBFS

Linearity residual

-79.0 dB (1000 Hz, -12/-18 dBFS)

Processing cost

not measured

Background hiss sits at -110 dBFS — quiet in normal use.

How hard you push it changes what it does (a -79 dB gap between levels) — expected for a saturator, which reacts to input level.

It delays the audio by 32 samples (0.7 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.

What these measurements mean

read from the numbers above · character / coloring design

On the bench it behaves like a coloring tool, scoring 9.0/10 on how clean its signal path is; its tone-shaping and harmonics are reported as character, not graded as faults. It shapes your tone by up to ±0.4 dB on purpose — that built-in curve is part of its sound. It adds a little harmonic color (0.20% at full level) — a gentle warming. Background hiss sits at -110 dBFS — quiet in normal use. How hard you push it changes what it does (a -79 dB gap between levels) — expected for a saturator, which reacts to input level. It delays the audio by 32 samples (0.7 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.

Measured score 9.0/10 — signal-path noise floor (the shaping and harmonics are the design's intent, shown as character, not graded). How scoring works.

What people report

sourced sentiment · in our words, not a bench measurement

8.0/10 published & press sentiment, 2 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

It captures the 33609's character convincingly, turning crunchy and punchy when pushed hard while adding gentle glue and colour at lighter settings.
The forgiving, smooth response suits bus and master duties, holding together even when driven fairly firmly.
Its modern extras stand out, especially the external side-chain with its own filter and look-ahead plus mid/side operation, features one reviewer wished every compressor had.

Common criticism

There's a persistent circuit-style floor noise that can't be switched off, which calls for care on quieter individual tracks.
The mid/side mode won't let you audition each channel on its own, limiting how precisely you can set it up.
It isn't an exact stand-in for the reference hardware emulations, and its slower attack left one reviewer seeing it as a decent extra bus-compressor option rather than a must-have.

Sources — Jooyoung Music ↗ MusicTech ↗

A review score is shown only when at least two independent sources — published reviews or genuine user discussion — return usable text. Launch or announcement coverage alone does not qualify, so some plugins read N/A here while still carrying a full measured score above.

How it sits in compressors

measured score + bench figures, then the sourced review score (separate, N/A if unscored) · alphabetical · not ranked

Plugin	Measured /10	Mag dev	Max THD	Latency	Noise	Review /10
4030 Retro Comp	9.1	±1.4 dB	0.003%	0 smp	<floor	7.8
6030 Ultimate Comp	8.4	±0.6 dB	0.002%	0 smp	<floor	9.0
6060 Ultimate MC	9.5	±0.9 dB	0.000%	0 smp	<floor	N/A
Bettermaker Mastering Compressor	9.3	±0.0 dB	0.045%	0 smp	−105	N/A
Black 76	10.0	±5.6 dB	1.086%	34 smp	<floor	8.5
Bus Compressor	6.9	±2.1 dB	0.108%	34 smp	<floor	N/A
Comp DIODE-609	9.0	±0.4 dB	0.203%	32 smp	−110	8.0
Comp FET-76	10.0	±3.0 dB	0.000%	272 smp	<floor	8.5
Comp TUBE-STA	10.0	±1.5 dB	0.029%	32 smp	<floor	8.2
Comp VCA-65	8.5	±2.7 dB	0.000%	272 smp	<floor	7.8
CompressorBank CB303	9.8	±0.0 dB	0.011%	0 smp	<floor	8.4
Comprexxor	10.0	±6.5 dB	0.140%	72 smp	<floor	8.2
CORE Comp	10.0	±0.1 dB	18.693%	0 smp	<floor	N/A
Devil-Loc Deluxe	10.0	±6.8 dB	3.526%	63 smp	<floor	8.3
Dyna-Mu	10.0	±1.7 dB	0.715%	34 smp	<floor	8.3
VC-670	10.0	±1.5 dB	0.270%	3 smp	<floor	7.9
White 2A	10.0	±8.6 dB	0.906%	3 smp	<floor	8.3