BBE 882i Sonic Maximizer
882i features dual-mono operation with balanced XLR inputs and outputs. It is designed for applications requiring low noise, high headroom and +4dBu input levels.Applications:Professional recording studiosPro and semi-pro sound reinforcementMultitrack studiosCassette copiesNightclub sound systemsBroadcast transmissionFeatures:+4dBu balanced line (1/4" tip-ring-sleeve and XLR inputs and outputs)+23dBu headroomActive balanced outputsHardwire bypassBypass switch for comparison of processed to unprocessed signalSpecifications:Frequency Response,Process Mode: Program controlledBypass Mode: 10Hz to 50kHz, +/- 0.5dBu, 0dBu inputSignal to Noise Ratio: 115dB Process INTHD, Process mode: less than 0.025% 20-20kHzBypass mode: less than 0.002% 20-20kHzMaximum Output: +23dBu (may vary due to control settings)Input Impedance: 14.7K Ohms, balanced 1/4" stereo phone jack or XLR jack. Pin #2 is the hot or "+" signal.Output Impedance: 600 Ohms, balanced 1/4" stereo phone jack or XLR jack. Pin #2 is the hot or "+" signal.Sensitivity: -45dBu for maximum processMaximum Process: +12dBu boost at 5kHz, 0dBu inputLo Contour: +12dBu adjustment at 50Hz, 0dBu inputBBE High Definition Sound is the core sound enhancement technology licensed by BBE Sound and featured in the BBE Sonic Maximizer range of professional audio signal processors. Other technologies licensed by BBE Sound into the consumer electronics market either incorporate this core technology or are optimized for best results when used with BBE High Definition Sound.Because the BBE Sonic Maximizer range of professional audio processors is so popular among music and sound professionals we first highlight the benefits of BBE High Definition Sound in terms of useage by musicians and sound professionals:Natural Musical Realism - music has great "live presence". Unlike some "exciter" devices which add fatiguing artificial harmonics to the signal, BBE adds nothing artificial to the signal but instead restructures it to faithfully allow all the detail and nuance to be heard.Full Frequency Operation - Highs frequencies are clearer, naturally brilliant and more finely detailed. Lows are tight, well defined and harmonically rich. All from a single processor with easy two-knob adjustment of the BBE process.Speech intelligibility - Sound contractors know that vocal intelligibility is paramount to a successful PA installation and client satisfaction. No other audio processor brings natural clarity and crisp definition to the spoken word like BBE does. That's why BBE Sonic Maximizer processors can be found installed in PA systems ranging from the massive network in New York's JFK airport to the thousands of houses of worship around the world.Electric and acoustic guitars - have sparkle, clarity and definition. BBE sound processing brings out the harmonic complexity and bite significantly increases cutting power. Each note of a chord becomes more distinct. Brings guitars out of the "mud".Keyboards and synthesizers - take on new realism. Percussive and plucked sounds are clear and sharp, chords are rich and full-textured, each note in the chord retains its integrity.Electric & acoustic basses - take on that rich, earthy "CD" sound. Five string players love what it does to the "B" string. Extremely tight, punchy bottom end with all the presence, clarity and bite of the top end.Vocals - cut through the amplified instrument so you can be heard better. Lyrics of the sound are no longer "buried in the mix".Improves effect processing - expands the spatial dimension of stereo reverb and chorus. Whether in an individual instrument rack or across a full mix, BBE makes a dramatic improvement in the quality of effects and neutralizes their tendency to muffle instrument and vocal characteristics.Recording studios, home and professional - use BBE on individual tracks, mixdown, and of course in mastering, BBE brings out the full spectrum of sound. Mixes with BBE are fresh and sparkly. BBE gives you enough sparkle to restore instrument clarity or increase vocal intelligibility without appreciably adding level.Broadcast clarity - broadcast facilities all over the the world depend on BBE for the best possible transmission quality. From huge operations such as Japan's NHK to local music stations such as Los Angeles' 94.7 The Wave, BBE has become a necessity for modern quality broadcast quality.Transients and Harmonics: The Color Codes of SoundTo understand how BBE sound processing technology works, consider the characteristics of a loudspeaker and what we expect from one. Among a loudspeaker's most important requirements is the ability to reproduce transients - the brief high-energy bursts at the beginning of sounds. The transients then evolve into harmonics. It is the particular amplitudes and phase relationships of these transients and harmonics which add the unique color and character to each sound.Varying either the amplitude or the phase of the transients and harmonics within signal causes distortion of the sound's characteristics. By drastically altering the transient response of a sound, it's possible to make a cymbal crash seem like a car crash. Similarly, altering amplitude or phase relationships of the harmonics in a clarinet's tone can make it sound more like a flute, or a French horn like an oboe.Amplitude and PhaseA loudspeaker's transient response is typically expressed in terms of amplitude response (how quickly it reacts to an incoming signal), with little or no regard to phase response (whether high and low frequencies are reproduced at the proper time). The ability to accurately represent a sound's phase and amplitude define the quality of a loudspeaker's transient and steady - state, or sustained, response.If a loudspeaker's amplitude response curve were linear, then the relationship between the high and low frequencies would be correct. And if a loudspeaker's phase response curve were linear, then the low and high frequencies would reach the listener's ears in their correct time order. This would result in faithful reproduction of the sound. However, this isn't normally the case.Why is Live Sound so Pleasing?When we listen to live music, all of the highs and lows reach our ears in the same relationship to each other as when they were created by the instruments. If this same live music were to be recorded and played back through a loudspeaker system, the loudspeaker would introduce frequency-dependent phase shifting. The inductance of the speaker's voice coil creates a stronger impedance as the signal's frequency increases, resulting in a time delay. Consequently, frequency components with large negative phase shifts (high frequencies) arrive at the listener's ear later than signals undergoing small phase shifts (low frequencies). The resultant signal is distorted in the time domain to the listener's ear. Audio material containing sharp transients (e.g., percussive and plucked sounds such as drums, guitar, piano and harpsichord, etc.) suffers the most from this phenomenon, making it seem unfocused, or mushy.In order to address these problems inherent in basic loudspeaker design, BBE Sound, Inc. has developed a circuit that has two primary functions. The first adjusts the phase relationships of the low, mid and high frequencies. Since a loudspeaker's natural tendency is to add progressively longer delay times to higher frequencies, the BBE sound processing system adds progressively longer delay times to lower frequencies. This creates a kind of "mirror" curve to the time delay curve created by the speaker, neutralizing its phase distortion.The second major element in the BBE system is the augmentation of the higher and lower frequencies. Loudspeakers tend to be less efficient in their extreme treble and bass ranges. Most sound-reproducing systems include a circuit for boosting high and low frequencies, showing an accepted awareness of the loudspeaker's efficiency problem. The BBE system, however, provides a dynamic, program-driven augmentation which combines with the phase compensation feature to restore the brilliance and clarity of the original live sound. The result is, as one professional journal phrased it, "The most hearable advance in audio technology since high fidelity itself!"