About us

SPL is a German manufacturer of analog and digital audio processors for professionals and consumers.
All SPL products are designed and manufactured in Germany.

SPL headquarter in Niederkrüchten, Germany

US office address:

SPL USA
Marty Druckman
13509 Laurel Court
Corona, CA 92880
USA

Toll free (within USA): 866 4 SPL USA (866 477 5872)
Outside USA: +1 951 272 3465

A brief history of innovation
SPL was founded in 1984 and started as a typical garage company in the Rhineland area in Germany. SPL founder Wolfgang Neumann previously owned one of the first 24 track recording studios in nearby Roermond, a dutch city close to the German border. Engineering and producing brought up ideas for new product designs which led to the founding of SPL.

Among the first products were paramertric equalizers, compressors, limiters, noise reduction systems, noise gates put to market under the brands “Sound Performance Laboratory” and “Burnie”. Among the prominent customers of that time was the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) who used Mr Neumann’s noise gates for all microphones in the parliament, Fleetwood Mac and many more.

In 1988 SPL made a groundbreaking invention: the SX2 psychoacoustic equalizer, a new generation of audio enhancement processor later to be called the Vitalizer. This invention represents a new filter and is patented in the US, Europe, Japan and China.
A series of innovations followed: the Atmos 5.1, the first surround miking system; the Transient Designer, a revolutionary dynamics processor introducing SPL’s Differential Envelope Technology; the “one-knob” De-Esser featuring the unique S-sound phase cancellation technology; the digital Loudness Maximizer and Machine Head tape saturation processors; The PQ mastering equalizer featuring full reset with motorized control and switchable constant/proportional bandwidth; the Phonitor headphone monitoring amplifier with new crossfeed features that enables engineers to mix on cans.

A milestone in stretching the borders of analog audio technology was the invention of the 120V audio rail technology. SPL’s SUPRA op amps were the first to operate on this extremely high voltage. Common still today is a 30V rail and in better devices 48V to 60V rail. SPL is the only manufacturer offering audio processors operating on a 120V rail setting new benchmarks for analog op amps. The SUPRA op amps offers a signal-to-noise ratio of 116dB with an additional headroom of 34dB giving a dynamic range of 150dB.

The cooperation with German company Brainworx led to the Analog Code plugins supporting all major platforms and operational systems. SPL is a Plugin Alliance member offering customers a hassle-free authorization system and a supreme customer service.

We believe there is so much more discover. We love new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking. Incorporating innovations into new products is what drives us. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy doing them.