Following up the success of its Duende FireWire DSP unit, SSL has introduced Duende MINI, a hardware box about the size of an external hard drive, but including the same DSP processing power of the 1U rackmount Duende. While the Duende comes with 32-channel capability, the $799 Duende Mini starts out with 16 channels–upgradeable to 32 for $399. Out of the box, Duende Mini includes SSL’s EQ and Dynamic Channel plug-in and can host other SSL Duende-powered plug-ins, such as the X-EQ and X-Comp. If you upgrade the Duende Mini to 32 channels and add the Stereo Bus Compressor plug-in for $399, you’d essentially have the same capability of the original Duende at the same price. Duende Mini is schedule to ship in February.