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Message: [QUOTE="Bombastus, post: 92326, member: 2178"] Rupert Neve Designs automatically links compressor and limiter gain reduction in Portico II Stereo mode, while Dual Mono leaves both channels dynamically independent. The distinction sounds small until an off-center transient pushes one side harder than the other. Stereo and Dual Mono can use identical knob positions yet produce a different sense of width, focus, and movement. The LINK button adds another layer because it links the controls, not necessarily the gain reduction. You can engage LINK in Dual Mono, move one compressor control, and keep the opposite channel matched while both detectors still react independently. The [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/portico-ii-m-s-mode-changes-the-compressor.77716/unread']Portico II M/S compression behavior[/URL][/B] is different again because it changes what the two dynamics channels represent rather than merely deciding whether left and right gain moves stay together. A useful comparison starts with LINK engaged so both channels share the same threshold, ratio, attack, release, mix, and related settings. Flip between Stereo and Dual Mono without changing those values, and you are listening to detector interaction instead of a setup mismatch. Keep the gain reduction modest at first, since heavy independent compression makes image movement easier to hear but can hide subtler differences. [HEADING=2]Stereo mode keeps left and right gain moving together[/HEADING] Stereo mode applies the same amount of gain reduction to both sides when either side causes the dynamics section to react. A loud event on the right can therefore pull the left down by the same amount, preserving the level relationship between channels even though only one side supplied most of the trigger energy. This is conventional linked stereo compression behavior, and it is useful when a stable center matters more than channel independence. The engineering problem is well established. A [B][URL='https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2001022579A1/en']linked stereo gain-control design[/URL][/B] describes how independent left and right compression can make a stereo image wander when the channels contain different dynamics, while full linking forces both channels to change gain together. Neither method is automatically cleaner because one protects positional balance while the other avoids unnecessary gain reduction on the quieter side. Portico II extends this automatic link to its limiter as well as its compressor. If the limiter catches a transient in Stereo mode, the resulting reduction stays matched across left and right rather than acting as two separate limiters. You should account for that when the limiter is doing more than occasional peak control, because its behavior can influence image stability even when the compressor itself is barely moving. [HEADING=2]Dual mono stops one side from controlling the other[/HEADING] Dual Mono lets each channel decide its own gain reduction from its own incoming level. A hard-panned snare hit can compress one side without forcing the opposite side to duck, while a center-panned element arriving equally in both channels tends to provoke a more similar response. The result can feel more open because activity on one edge no longer drags down unrelated material on the other edge. Independent channel compression also carries a cost. Unequal gain reduction changes the left-to-right level relationship in real time, so a vocal, snare, room return, or other element can appear to lean or shift when one channel works harder. Small amounts may sound lively rather than unstable, which helps explain why Rupert Neve Designs specifically recommends checking the same settings in Dual Mono instead of assuming Stereo mode is always preferable. This makes Dual Mono especially worth trying on mixes with strongly asymmetric material. Wide percussion, one-sided guitar parts, stereo reverbs, and samples with uneven channel peaks can trigger linked compression more often than you expect. If Stereo mode sounds as though the whole mix ducks when only one edge gets busy, independent channel compression may keep the untouched side breathing. [HEADING=2]The Link button separates matching from detection[/HEADING] LINK is best treated as a parameter-matching control. In Dual Mono, it lets you adjust both channels together without turning their independent detectors into a stereo-linked detector, so matched controls and matched gain reduction remain separate decisions. Engage LINK before making your comparison if you want a fair test, because manually matching every control after several edits invites tiny setup differences. The practical test is simple. Match the controls, level-match the output by ear or meter, then switch between Stereo and Dual Mono while listening to centered vocals, hard-panned transients, ambience, and low-frequency events that live unevenly across the channels. If the center shifts or the edges pump separately, you are hearing the cost of independence; if the entire image ducks around isolated side events, you are hearing the cost of full linking. [/QUOTE]

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