Introducing the SA-78-5

The UREI 1178 stereo compressor has been for decades the secret weapon of countless renowned engineers around the world for overheads, acoustic guitars, room mics, backing vocals and parallel drum mixes.

After several requests to manufacture this unit, we thought it was time to bring this unit back to life with all premium parts BUT with critical improvements to overcome the “shortcomings” of the original design.

Despite being extremely popular amongst experienced engineers, the UREI 1178 had two major limitations that prevented it from being as popular as their mono sibling, the 1176:

1)The lack of a slower attack time for Mix Buss Duties

Perhaps the most important shortcoming of 1178 was the lack of a slower attack setting to utilize this stereo unit for drum bus and mix bus duties. We grabbed the famous super slow attack mode from the 1176AE (25ms) as well as the 2:1 ratio and added it to the SA-78-5 giving it the perfect attack time and ratio to be used on drum bus and mix bus duties. This new feature opens a world of possibilities that were previously impossible while preserving the original audio path and timbre of an old 1178.

2)The lack of a side chain high pass filter and bypass switch

 Music and audio engineering has changed a lot in the past 50 years. With music becoming so bass heavy, it was critical to add a side chain high pass filter to this stereo compressor. We decided to add a 3 position SC-HPF as well as a True Bypass switch.

Further upgrades

On top of the super slow attack and the 3-position high pass filter we also added a the highly requested Dry-Wet blend control. This feature is key for parallel drum bus duties and when used in conjunction with the slower attack time opens a whole new level of sonic capabilities.

Premium Components

Each SA-78-5 is hand made at our lab in Chile with UK made Carnhill output transformers, Vishay capacitors, Alpha potentiometers and 1:1 knob recreations.

Its unique stereo design and new flexible controls for coloration and time constants will make it the perfect stereo compressor for tracking and taking over mixing duties that were previously not possible.

At Stam Audio we believe that making a 1:1 replica is great but just not good enough. We want to offer customers not just a great sounding unit, but the best sounding replica on the market at the best possible price as well as the most flexible one.

Taking the brave decision to make everything by hand at the lab instead of mass-producing units takes time to manufacture and it’s no secret that there are waiting lists. However, this also allows us to tweak each unit to perfection so that every single SA78+ and jFET compressor that leaves our lab not only sounds the same as an old UREI, but also will last for decades to come.

100% satisfaction guarantee – if you don’t love your SA-78-5, we’ll refund you

We’re extremely confident the SA-78-5 will put a big smile on your face every time you use it. However, if you’ve never touched either of the originals before, as gear lovers ourselves, we understand that the only way to really know if this compressor is for you, is to put it through its paces. That’s why the SA-78-5 comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. This allows you to get it into your rack and see how it impacts your recordings. If you love it (and we think you will!), great…keep the unit and create amazing music with it. If not, no problems. Just send it back to us and we’ll fully refund your purchase.