Saw this great review of the DBX 266XS Compressor on DigitalRecordingArts.com:
dbx has been a leader in compression technology, ever since their VCA compressor started the pro audio compressor market in the mid 70’s. Their equipment can be found in nearly every studio, live venue, and broadcast facility. While their effectiveness, uses, and pricing varies hugely across their current products, the entry level 266xs packs one hell of a punch at nearly half the price of a normal home studio vocal microphone. Providing two channels of gating/compression, each with their own sidechain inputs, and automatic compression modes, there are plenty of features to help out a starting engineer to learn about outboard compression. Not to mention the XLR/TRS options for inputs and outputs that allow for seamless integration in a studio setting or a musician’s touring rack.