The Cloud Compressor interface is designed to look and feel like a physical 19" rack-mount audio processor. It consists of four stacked rack units:
1. Decoder (Top)
The Decoder is where your input audio comes in. It displays:
- Dot-matrix LCD — shows your input stream URL and connection status
- Stereo VU meters — show the input audio level (left and right channels)
- Settings button — configure your input stream URL
2. Silence Detector (Optional)
If configured, this unit monitors your stream via the Hippynet Silence Detector service and shows whether your stream is active or silent. See the Silence Detector article for setup instructions.
3. Compressor (Main Unit)
This is the heart of the processor, arranged in three columns:
- Left column — Five band strips (Sub, Low, Mid, High-Mid, High) each with Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, and Makeup knobs, plus the Master section with gain, limiter, bypass, and power controls
- Centre column — Crossover frequency controls, Output EQ, Pre-processing panel, Post-processing panel, and Preset management
- Right column — Visual displays including the Spectrum Analyser, Gain Reduction Timeline, Transfer Curves, and Waveform Scope
4. Encoder (Bottom)
Three independent output encoders, each with:
- Status LED — green when connected to the output Icecast server
- Power button — enable or disable this encoder
- Settings button — configure the output Icecast server, codec, bitrate, and channels
- Scrolling LCD — shows connection status and stream details when running
- Stereo VU meters — show the output level for this encoder
Controls
All rotary knobs work the same way:
- Click and drag up/down to adjust the value
- Hold Shift while dragging for fine adjustment
- Scroll wheel over a knob for quick adjustment
Changes take effect immediately — there's no need to restart the processor when adjusting compressor settings, EQ, or processing parameters.
