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Apollo
Native
dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter

dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter

4.8 (402)

Experience the quirky VCA compression of the vintage hardware.

  • Add a unique voice and flavor to your compressor toolkit with the first solid-state VCA compressor ever made
  • Harness fat compression textures on bass guitar, drum buses, synths, and more
  • Give acoustic guitars and snare drums in-your-face “thwack”
  • Create with Dry/Wet mix control for quick parallel compression and Sidechain Filter for reduced low-frequency pumping

Runs natively on your macOS or Windows computer, or accelerated on Apollo audio interfaces or UAD Accelerators. View full system requirements.

dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter

$199

$199

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Experience the Quirky Character of the Vintage Hardware

The dbx 160 Compressor/Limiter plug-in is a fully licensed, faithful emulation of the legendary studio hardware, capturing the in-your-face sonics of its colorful VCA compression along with added controls for modern workflows.

Add Versatile VCA Compression to your Tracks

Whether you’re using it on synths, bass guitar, or a drum bus, the dbx 160 plug-in emulates the original hardware’s grabby, low-end glue and old-school character, full of the same unique nonlinearities that make it a must-have for any engineer’s compressor toolkit.

Get Timeless Character, Easily

With the same simple control set and at-a-glance metering of the original, the dbx 160 plug-in makes it easy to crush a parallel drum bus, or inject subtle fatness. It can also add aggressiveness and impact to everything from guitar power chords to a hip-hop vocal.

Level Up with Modern Workflows

Along with graphic enhancements and improved VU metering, the dbx 160 plug‑in’s Dry/Wet Mix control lets you easily punch up a drum bus with parallel compression, while the added Sidechain Filter lets you keep the low end tight, enhancing the compressor's impact.

Reviews

4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
Based on 402 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 347 Total 4 star reviews: 43 Total 3 star reviews: 8 Total 2 star reviews: 1 Total 1 star reviews: 3
97%would recommend this product
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402 reviews
  • MB
    Marcel B.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    5 hours ago
    Amazing Compressor

    That is just another amazing plugin from UAD. I luv the sound of the dbx and this one is nuts. I dont wanna miss it ever again.

    Was this helpful?
  • JJ
    Joel J.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 week ago
    The DBX 160 in the mix!

    Originally I was looking for The DBX 165 plug in but found this one instead. I love the compression sound on this for snare and a variety of other instruments. A great likeness to the real analog device. Hoping the 165 will be coming out as well.

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  • DL
    David L.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    2 weeks ago
    dbx 160

    You guys nailed it! It's one of my most favorite compressors!

    Was this helpful?
  • AS
    Aleksandar S.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    4 weeks ago
    dbx 160

    As expected

    Was this helpful?
  • WW Profile picture for william w.
    william w.
    Verified Buyer
    I do not recommend this product
    Rated 1 out of 5 stars
    1 month ago
    Dbx160

    NNNNIIIICCCCEEEE!!!!!

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Frequently Asked Questions

No. These plug-ins run natively on your computer. No UA hardware is required.

Yes, 14-day plug-in demos are available. Find eligible plug‑ins

We provide three activations per license. We support activation on your computer or on an iLok USB key.

For every UAD plug-in that supports native and Apollo/UAD-2 versions, you get a license for both upon purchase, or the option to get it through an upgrade.

Native plug-ins are supported on macOS and Windows systems. See our Native UAD System Requirements article for full system requirements. An iLok account is required for managing your native plug-in licenses. We support iLok USB keys for portability, but one is not required.

Check our Knowledge Base for additional questions

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