The Thermionic Culture Phoenix can be seen in Deadmau5's studio (You can find it on the bottom left in the picture of the rack in the middle of the room).

In this photo of Hardwell's new rack at the top below a Culture Vulture you can see the Phoenix compressor by the same company.

Noisia is seen testing the Thermionic Culture The Phoenix effects processor in an Instagram post, expressing excitement about the gear.

According to this article, the Phoenix compressor is one of the few pieces of gear Liam Howlett didn't get rid of after starting to use Reason.

”The outputs from the Orpheus are then wired to a Thermionic Culture Phoenix stereo buss compressor and Avalon 747 EQ. This allows Mark to run his mixes through his outboard or buss out individual sounds for processing.”

Part of Utley's studio, as specified in this November 2008 Sound on Sound interview.

More recent outboard includes Thermionic Culture's Phoenix valve compressor and Culture Vulture valve overdrive, BSS DPR402, and SPL's Transient Designer 2, and, from an earlier era, but a recent acquisition, a Yamaha SPX90, bought from a BBC engineer after the recent Later sessions for £80. "You can arpeggiate with the pitch–shift, and I really like the graininess. It's probably derived from a later SPX model, but I really like the effects in my Yamaha 02R, as well."

The first ever owner of The Phoenix was reportedly Liam Howlett!

A twin channel 'delta-mu' device. Compression ratio starts low and increases gradually so that compression can be subtle and natural, but compression effects can occur when driven hard. Very low noise. Continuously variable controls for Gain, Attack, Release, Threshold and Output Level. Stereo link for compressing a group (eg. drums) or a complete mix.

The Phoenix enhances vocals & individual instruments by being unobtrusive, gently 'warming' sounds and making solos sound more powerful. It's impressive on overall mixes & can give a digital mix 'reality'. It's also excellent for compression effects. Try drums with a 'thump' attack (i. e slowest) & fast release.

Key Features

All valve design for greater presence and naturality. Completely free from solid state additives. Transparent compression. Punchy when pushed. Drive it hard for compression effects and distortion. Absolutely flat frequency response over entire audio range and beyond. Minimal phase shift giving a crisp and warm sound.

Phoenix Specifications

Max output level (MOL) +19dB into 600 ohms + 24dB into 10K ohms

Max Gain: 30dB

Total Harmonic Distortion: Better than 0.09% @ 1kHz (at no compression) 0.11% @100Hz

Noise, IEC weighted: 95dB below MOL

Input Impedance: 15k ohms

Frequency response: 0/-1dB 12Hz to 60kHz

Attack Time: 0.004 sec to 0.12 sec

Release Time: 0.06 sec to 2.2 sec

Output Impedance: 600 ohms

Distortion will increase with compression, typically 0.2% & 0.25% at 1kHz & 100Hz with 8dB compression.

In a video on VK, Lorn is seen using the Thermionic Culture The Phoenix, showcasing its role in his studio recording setup.

In the October issue of Sound on Sound Magazine, in a photo of CHVRCHES' studio a Phoenix can be seen in a hardware rack in the corner below a pair of Distressors.

This article states that Jerry's studio includes "Alan Smart stereo compressor (2), Cyclosonic Panner, dbx 120A Subharmonic Synthesizer, dbx 160x, Electro-Harmonix NY-2A compressor (2), Empirical Labs Distressor (4), Eventide H3000, Focusrite 3 stereo compressor, Neve 2254 stereo compressor, Roland Dimension D (2), SPL Transient Designer 9842, Thermionic Culture Phoenix, Thermionic Culture Vulture, UA Teletronix LA-2A (2), Urei 1176LN Peak Limiter (2), and Urei LA-4 (2)."

moneyshot rack of death set up & ready for recording the next song !

“As for the gear racks, I have a whole load of 500–series preamps, and quite a bit of Thermionic Culture stuff like the Earlybird, the Culture Vulture and the Phoenix. I love their stuff: it imparts an analogue character that plug–ins have difficulty emulating."