Comp FET-76 — 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 ±3.0 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 (0.00% at full level) — a gentle warming.

Latency, reported

272 smp

Latency, measured

272 smp (matches)

Onset

272 smp

Noise floor

below measurement floor

Linearity residual

-146.9 dB (1000 Hz, -12/-18 dBFS)

Processing cost

not measured

Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear.

It treats quiet and loud the same (within -147 dB), so its color does not shift with how hard you push it.

It delays the audio by 272 samples (5.7 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 10.0/10 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 ±3.0 dB on purpose — that built-in curve is part of its sound. It adds a little harmonic color (0.00% at full level) — a gentle warming. Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear. It treats quiet and loud the same (within -147 dB), so its color does not shift with how hard you push it. It delays the audio by 272 samples (5.7 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.

Measured score 10.0/10 — 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

8.5/10 published & press sentiment, 4 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

Reviewers single out its FET-style tone as a take on the 1176 with a color of its own rather than a copy of the many other versions, and it bites hard when the input is driven or all the ratio buttons are pushed in at once.
Covers a wide span of jobs, from gentle level control to gritty parallel-style squashing, and sits well on vocals, drums, and bass.
Added sidechain, gain-linking, and mid/side options give it more reach than the original hardware, and the panel is clear and quick to learn.

Common criticism

It is one more 1176 emulation in a very crowded field, so its main draw is flavor rather than doing something no other plugin does.
Fixed-ratio buttons and input-driven level follow the original rather than a modern threshold layout, which is less direct for newcomers.
A couple of the on-screen control descriptions run off the edge of the window.

Sources — Everything Recording ↗ MusicRadar ↗ MusicTech ↗ Arturia (maker) ↗

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