Devil-Loc Deluxe — 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 ±6.8 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 clear harmonic color (3.5% at full level) — the grit and warmth this design is meant to give.

Latency, reported

63 smp

Latency, measured

63 smp (matches)

Onset

57 smp

Noise floor

below measurement floor

Linearity residual

-1.4 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.

How hard you push it changes what it does (a -1 dB gap between levels) — expected for a saturator, which reacts to input level.

It delays the audio by 63 samples (1.3 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 ±6.8 dB on purpose — that built-in curve is part of its sound. It adds clear harmonic color (3.5% at full level) — the grit and warmth this design is meant to give. Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear. How hard you push it changes what it does (a -1 dB gap between levels) — expected for a saturator, which reacts to input level. It delays the audio by 63 samples (1.3 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

8.3/10 published & press sentiment, 4 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

Delivers a distinctive crushing compression and grit that few other plugins replicate, and it comes alive on drums, percussion and loops.
The Crush and Crunch pair make it quick to dial in pumping character and saturation without any real learning curve.
The Deluxe extras, especially the mix control for parallel blending, the Darkness high-cut and the fast/slow release, give useful control over how aggressive the effect sits.
Reviewers note it stays musical even at extreme settings and runs fairly light on CPU.

Common criticism

Its purpose is narrow, so it works best as a flavor for specific sources rather than an everyday, do-anything processor.
With no input trim or dedicated gain control, loudness shifts as you turn the knobs, which makes level-matched comparisons awkward and means you have to keep an eye on your source levels.

Sources — MusicRadar ↗ Happy Composer ↗ Future Music ↗ Audiofanzine ↗

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