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DBX Range Expanders with Impact Restoration availability.

I've had some time to organize my thoughts and come up with a few questions for ya!

first that comes to mind is KLH system and its hiss, is that something I'm going to hate immediately? should I just grab the SNR1 at the same time. Its still very affordable these days.

What are you using to for patch cables between all the systems? are you custom building and if so would you mind sharing a bit about your build process for those?

I notice you have both the analog 3bx and the digital 3bx-DS. can you speak to any differences acoustically to your ears when using them? I'm strongly considering the DS simply because they go for half as much....If theres some major downside however it'd be nice to know!

I've added the Sonic Maximiser to my list of reading material! You mentioned the tube processor for warming up CDs and digital, how does that work? I'm very interested in improving my CD playback as a side effect of my 78 interest haha.
 
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A whole different piece that you may consider, that will do a whole lot more, is a Behringer DEQ2496.

In addition to graphic and parametric eqs, a 61 band RTA, and..., it has "Dynamic EQ" "A dynamic EQ influences a defined frequency range of a signal, based on the volume level, it can either raise or lower the level when the signal exceeds a predefined threshold. Sound familiar? And we're not talking all that much $$$ comparatively.

This will give just a taste of what the 2496 can do. You can thank me later. ;)
 
jsisk said:
I have been playing with what I call "On the fly remastering" of marginal recordings for many years and have accumulated quite a collection of gear to modify and correct different issues. My Pioneer SX-D7000 has three tape/processor loops and each has a DBX Program Route Selector that takes my total number of tape/processor loops up to 21. Each item was purchased for a specific album or CD. Because everything is on individual loops, I can put any or all of the processors in the loop or listen to a record with nothing in the path. There are over 100 interconnect cables on the setup.

Here is the list of signal processors:

(3) DBX Program Route Selectors (each adds 3 tape loops, 3 processor loops, and a noise reduction loop)
(2) BSR Spectrum Analyzers (one at the beginning to see the clean signal and one at the end to compare the modification)
Original DBX 3BX with remote (remote is next to listening chair)
Pioneer SG-9800 Equalizer
Pioneer RG-2 Dynamic Range Expander
Pioneer SR-303 Surround Processor
DBX 224 with Disc Decoder for DBX encoded records
Behringer Composer XL with DeEsser for removing sibilance from CDs (such as Heatwave - Too Hot to Handle)
BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer for adding life to old recording from the 50's and 60's
Grant Fidelity B-283 Tube Processor for mellowing out digital music from CDs and streaming
MXR 5-band Equalizer (next to listening chair for minor adjustments)
DBX 3BX DS with Impact Restoration
DBX 120X DS Subharmonic Synthesizer
KLH 7000A Transient Noise Eliminator for ticks and pops on really old records
DBX SNR-1 Noise Reduction for removing the slight hiss that the KLH 7000A adds

While I am at it, here are my input devices:

Technics SL-1600 MKII with Shure V15 type IV and Jico SAS stylus (for records in mint condition)
Technics SL-1610 MKII (black version) with Shure N97xe
Yamaha CD-2 for older CDs
Onkyo C-7030 for newer CDs that won't play on the Yamaha (non-standard and extended discs)
Xiang Sheng DAC-01A (same as Grant Fidelity DAC) for the Onkyo digital out
Pioneer CT-F1250 Cassette
CSC MP3 CD processor (these were used in department stores to play background music. I modified it use a hard drive to store and playback files)

Here is the flow chart:




View attachment 3635224

The main system:

View attachment 3635227

Control station next to my listening chair:

View attachment 3635228
Click to expand...
See above, I accidentally replied to the wrong person.


Toddalin, looks to be well worth the money. Its gonna be a lot more playing around to get things dialed in no doubt. Does it have a program memory to save settings under profiles?
 
midwest78man said:
See above, I accidentally replied to the wrong person.


Toddalin, looks to be well worth the money. Its gonna be a lot more playing around to get things dialed in no doubt. Does it have a program memory to save settings under profiles?
Click to expand...
Like 10 memories IIRC. I actually have two of them. One is used for the RTA and is mounted in my entertainment center and I got the other for away gatherings. I don't use it in line in the system, but rather use the 61-band RTA and dB meter to monitor the speakers/room with the microphone.

BTW, Zilch first turned us on to these. ;)
 
The Grant Fidelity B-283 Tube Processor is basically the same thing as the Yaqin CD-2, which I own.

Seems to sound best to me with Russian 6J1s.
 
midwest78man said:
I've had some time to organize my thoughts and come up with a few questions for ya!

1 - first that comes to mind is KLH system and its hiss, is that something I'm going to hate immediately? should I just grab the SNR1 at the same time. Its still very affordable these days.

2 - What are you using to for patch cables between all the systems? are you custom building and if so would you mind sharing a bit about your build process for those?

3 - I notice you have both the analog 3bx and the digital 3bx-DS. can you speak to any differences acoustically to your ears when using them? I'm strongly considering the DS simply because they go for half as much....If theres some major downside however it'd be nice to know!

I've added the Sonic Maximiser to my list of reading material!
Click to expand...

midwest78man said:
4 - You mentioned the tube processor for warming up CDs and digital, how does that work? I'm very interested in improving my CD playback as a side effect of my 78 interest haha.
Click to expand...

1 - As for the KLH, mine has some hiss. That doesn't mean they all do. Mine may just need to be serviced due to age. I already owned the SNR-1 for albums with tape hiss in the master recording such as Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed.

2 - I am using Monoprice (premium) cables. They are now priced at less than half of what they used to sell for when I bought mine.

3 - As for the original 3BX vs the DS, I use the original a lot more than the DS. The Remote unit for the 3BX adds the ability to not only adjust the attack but also the decay speed and rate as well as the amount of expansion applied to the high frequencies. It does not have the Impact Restoration of the newer DS, but by reducing the decay speed and fade time, you can accomplish the same thing. The DS does have a new setting for "Ambience" which has a similar effect to the BBE Sonic Maximizer. I realize there is a big price difference today between the two. To put it in perspective, I bought my 3BX new in 1980 for $650 ($2,500 in today's dollars) and a couple hundred more for the optional remote unit.

4 - The Tube Processor creates harmonics (good distortion) that are often lost during the analog to digital conversion when producing CDs and streaming files. It also seems to take the harshness out of some recordings. (almost the opposite of what the DBX 3BX-DS does)

The more patient you are, the less you will pay. There are still bargains out there if you are willing to wait and watch.

I would recommend getting a DBX Program Route Selector to add additional tape loops rather than rely on the bypass function of anything you put in the path.
 
Had some time to do a couple batches this morning so here's a sampler on how much crap comes out of the grooves under ultrasonics.
 

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jsisk said:
I have been playing with what I call "On the fly remastering" of marginal recordings for many years and have accumulated quite a collection of gear to modify and correct different issues. My Pioneer SX-D7000 has three tape/processor loops and each has a DBX Program Route Selector that takes my total number of tape/processor loops up to 21. Each item was purchased for a specific album or CD. Because everything is on individual loops, I can put any or all of the processors in the loop or listen to a record with nothing in the path. There are over 100 interconnect cables on the setup.

Here is the list of signal processors:

(3) DBX Program Route Selectors (each adds 3 tape loops, 3 processor loops, and a noise reduction loop)
(2) BSR Spectrum Analyzers (one at the beginning to see the clean signal and one at the end to compare the modification)
Original DBX 3BX with remote (remote is next to listening chair)
Pioneer SG-9800 Equalizer
Pioneer RG-2 Dynamic Range Expander
Pioneer SR-303 Surround Processor
DBX 224 with Disc Decoder for DBX encoded records
Behringer Composer XL with DeEsser for removing sibilance from CDs (such as Heatwave - Too Hot to Handle)
BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer for adding life to old recording from the 50's and 60's
Grant Fidelity B-283 Tube Processor for mellowing out digital music from CDs and streaming
MXR 5-band Equalizer (next to listening chair for minor adjustments)
DBX 3BX DS with Impact Restoration
DBX 120X DS Subharmonic Synthesizer
KLH 7000A Transient Noise Eliminator for ticks and pops on really old records
DBX SNR-1 Noise Reduction for removing the slight hiss that the KLH 7000A adds

While I am at it, here are my input devices:

Technics SL-1600 MKII with Shure V15 type IV and Jico SAS stylus (for records in mint condition)
Technics SL-1610 MKII (black version) with Shure N97xe
Yamaha CD-2 for older CDs
Onkyo C-7030 for newer CDs that won't play on the Yamaha (non-standard and extended discs)
Xiang Sheng DAC-01A (same as Grant Fidelity DAC) for the Onkyo digital out
Pioneer CT-F1250 Cassette
CSC MP3 CD processor (these were used in department stores to play background music. I modified it use a hard drive to store and playback files)

Here is the flow chart:




View attachment 3635224

The main system:

View attachment 3635227

Control station next to my listening chair:

View attachment 3635228
Click to expand...
I see you've also got a BBE- I've used one in my guitar & bass rigs and recording studio since the 90's. I've been tempted to pick up one of the models with balanced connections & put it between my preamp and speaker manager.
 
Gigantic said:
I see you've also got a BBE- I've used one in my guitar & bass rigs and recording studio since the 90's. I've been tempted to pick up one of the models with balanced connections & put it between my preamp and speaker manager.
Click to expand...

I would suggest a tape loop. I don't have a lot of confidence in the bypass function on the BBE.
 
jsisk said:
I would suggest a tape loop. I don't have a lot of confidence in the bypass function on the BBE.
Click to expand...
I didnt mention earlier but the advice you gave about not trusting the bypass on the gear is super invaluable to a new guy like me. I could've literally been testing it all out in a couple months with no idea why it sounded off no matter what. So big thanks for that!

On the topic however I was wondering if it made a big difference in tone between a passive selector like the Sony 3335 and the Dbx program selector.
 
No tape loop on my Yamaha RX-Z9 receiver and it was their top of the lone in 2003. And I won't use the pre-out/amp-in for accessories because it kind of defeats the purpose of "Pure Direct."

I guess Yamaha figured that they didn't need it because they built everything into the receiver including automatic room correction, eq, and dynamic expansion/compression.
 
Gigantic said:
I’ve never seen a balanced tape loop before. Moreover, i haven’t seen a tape loop on a preamp in 25-30 years.
Click to expand...
The preamp I bought new about 5 years ago has one. There is a tape/source toggle switch just to the right of the selector know on the left.
There are a few others as well.
 

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Lavane said:
The preamp I bought new about 5 years ago has one. There is a tape/source toggle switch just to the right of the selector know on the left.
There are a few others as well.
Click to expand...
at any rate, my Schiit Freya+ doesn't have one and my preferred connection in any event, would be to use XLR cables, so running it between the pre and processor is actually ideal. Either it works well and its almost always on, or it doesn't and it's removed.
 
Gigantic said:
at any rate, my Schiit Freya+ doesn't have one and my preferred connection in any event, would be to use XLR cables, so running it between the pre and processor is actually ideal. Either it works well and its almost always on, or it doesn't and it's removed.
Click to expand...
It is pretty much the smaller companies that offer the option now.
I don't record anymore, but the tape loops do come in handy. I use the tape out connected to my headphone amp, and tape in as another source.
 
pahed said:
Using processors like the DBX 4BX R and subharmonic synths is exactly the kind of gear that can bring out depth and spatial enhancement in older recordings. The difficulty in finding affordable units is normal. Many of these vintage processors have become collectible, and resellers often snap them up quickly. To improve your chances, set up alerts on multiple marketplaces, consider expanding your search internationally, and look into modern equivalents or DIY clones that can achieve similar results. Patience and persistence are key, as these units do cycle back into the market over time.
Click to expand...
It does take doing multiple market place searches to find good deals these days. These DBX BX and similar units have really shot up in price over the last few years.
 
Grabbed a 1201 and TNE7000 for a cool $120 all together off flea bay after some patience. Here's hoping I don't have to recap a board lol
 
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