EMT 257
The EMT 257 is a compact limiter, introduced in the mid-1970s alongside the EMT 256 compressor and the EMT 258 noise filter. All three were console components. EMT's own advertising called it a "Compact limiter featuring adjustable attack times to 50 microseconds and loudness dependent release time" (Studio Sound, December 1974, p.29). It was built for peak catching, not general compression. Its control loop is frequency-weighted, and a selectable pre-emphasis circuit switches that in. The March 1979 Studio Sound survey documents the feature (p.66).
The unit was portable, and engineers have rated it for a long time. Attack Magazine put it on their list of the top 20 hardware compressors ever made and called it a "comp/limiter." Producer Ilija Rudman used four EMT 257s in his studio chain. On the used market, a pair has been listed around $3,299. Sellers describe individual units as "one of the best sounding portable limiters ever made."
Detailed specifications are thin, and period sources disagree. The manufacturer's 1974 ad gives an attack time adjustable down to 50 µs. A 1979 Studio Sound survey (March 1979, p.66) lists attack at 30 µs, release at 1.5 s, and compression ratios of 10:1 and 5:1. It also notes that in equalisation mode a frequency-weighting network is inserted into the control loop. No original production years or original price have been documented. A service manual (EMT_257.pdf, roughly 4.4 MB) and schematics circulate among collectors. Several sources offer them as free downloads.
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