Heritage Audio unveils ultra-limited ‘Ardent Edition’ models of the Herchild 660 and 670

Heritage Audio has announced the new ‘Herchild Model 660: The Ardent Edition’ and ‘Model 670: The Ardent Edition’ Vari-Mu compressors, inspired by the iconic sound of Ardent Studios’ original Fairchild units.

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While the Fairchild 660 and 670 are probably the most famous and coveted compressors of all time, there’s one thing that sets the studio’s original units apart from the rest. In the early 70s, Ardent’s team modified the attack and release times of their Fairchild units so that the time constants were faster and hence more usable for modern recording studios at the time (Those mods were first used to track Jimmy Page’s acoustic guitars on Led Zeppelin III, and many more classic hits).

With notes from the Ardent team of the original mods, the new Herchild Ardent Edition units are meticulously crafted with modified release times to match the original Fairchilds used at Ardent Studios. Ardent’s specific 6 Attack and Release times have been exactly duplicated in the ‘TIME CONST’ section as has its all-tube side chain circuit for precise control.

Practical enhancements were also added to suit modern studio setups, including access to the progressive ratio with the ‘DC THRESHOLD’, a curve adjustment combining control of the ratio and the knee. This is continually adjustable from hard limiting to very smooth and transparent compression settings.

The Herchild Model 670: The Ardent Edition, being a 2 channel unit, also features an AGC section with 4 modes of operation for you to choose from: IND, LINK, LAT VERT & LAT VERT LINK.

As it stands, the limited-edition HERCHILD Model 660 and 670: The Ardent Edition will be produced only on request through Heritage Audio’s global network of dealers. The units are priced at €5,999/$5,999 and €10,999/$10,999 respectively, which is quite the sum – though there’s certainly something to be said about sharing the same gear as one of the top recording studios in the world.

Watch as Heritage Audio Product Specialist Sam Orlich and CEO Peter Rodriguez discuss the making of the Herchild Ardent Edition models and Ardent’s use of them below.

Learn more at Heritage Audio.