CompressorBank CB303 — measured

On the bench

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

Magnitude responsestepped sine, −12 dBFS

Output level vs. frequency.

It barely touches your tone — the level holds within ±0.00 dB right across the hearing range, so what goes in comes out sounding the same.

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 almost none of its own edge (at or below 0.011%), so it keeps the sound clean.

Latency, reported

0 smp

Latency, measured

0 smp (matches)

Onset

0 smp

Noise floor

below measurement floor

Linearity residual

-152.7 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 -153 dB), so it behaves identically however hard you push it.

It adds no delay to your audio.

What these measurements mean

read from the numbers above · transparent / clean design

On the bench it behaves like a clean tool, scoring 9.8/10 on staying flat, low distortion, low noise, and steady behavior at any level. It barely touches your tone — the level holds within ±0.00 dB right across the hearing range, so what goes in comes out sounding the same. It adds almost none of its own edge (at or below 0.011%), so it keeps the sound clean. 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 -153 dB), so it behaves identically however hard you push it. It adds no delay to your audio.

Measured score 9.8/10 — flatness, low THD, low noise and linearity, evenly weighted toward a clean pass-through. How scoring works.

What people report

sourced sentiment · in our words, not a bench measurement

8.4/10 published & press sentiment, 3 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

Its Knee and BITE controls let you shape the compression response to resemble many classic hardware compressors from a single plugin, instead of switching between separate models.
Reviewers still find it musically satisfying and relevant years after release, with parameters that genuinely change how the compression engages and breathes rather than just adding gain reduction.
The tiered CB101/CB202/CB303 layout lets you pick how much complexity a job needs, with the CB303 tier adding a post-compression EQ that can run either fixed or program-dependent.
It handles a wide spread of tasks, from transparent vocal control to dense drum and bus compression, de-essing and tonal shaping.

Common criticism

The visual design and some of its terminology feel dated, and it captures compression shape rather than the saturation of certain units it references, such as the LA-2A.
The depth of control and the three-version structure can be more than needed for quick jobs and takes some understanding to get the most from it.

Sources — Production Expert ↗ MIDI Audio Expert ↗ Sound on Sound ↗

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