BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer

by BBE Sound

Product Features

• 2 Channel ganged stereo Sonic Maximizer
• Unbalanced 1/4" inputs and outputs
• +16dBu headroom
• Ganged-stereo Lo Contour and Process controls
• Bypass switch for comparison of processed to unprocessed signal
• 16dBu headroom

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 19 x 5.8 x 1.8 inches ; 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0002D0BTA
• Item model number: 362
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,561 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #4 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Signal Processors > Effects Processors > Exciters & Enhancers

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The 362NR combines our full-featured BBE SONIC MAXIMIZER™ signal processor with an independent, single-ended noise reduction system in a single rack-space unit.

Applications: Home recording Pro studios-dubbing, copying of "noisy" source material Instrument racks for guitar, bass and keyboards Improve sampling quality and fidelity

Features: Unbalanced 1/4" and RCA inputs and outputs Dual channel/ganged controls Threshold control Detector release time control BBE® SONIC MAXIMIZER™ signal processor and single-ended noise reduction\totally independent or can be used together.

Specifications:

• Process: Program controlled
• Bypass: 5Hz- 30KHZ
• Signal to Noise Ratio: 108dB process in/120dB process out 126dB NR in
• Total Harmonic Distortion in Process Mode: less than 0.1% at-1KHz
• Input Impedance: 47K Ohms
• Nominal Input Level: -10dBu
• Minimum Load Impedance for Full Output Level 1K Ohms
• Nominal Output Level: -10dBu
• Maximum Output Level: +16dBu

BBE 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 Sound
To 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 Phase
A 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!"

Product Description

The BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer delivers the sound-improving benefits of a Discreet Stereo BBE SONIC MAXIMIZER™ signal processor with the convenience of ganged controls With the patented BBE Process, music has a great "live presence". Unlike some "exciter" devices which add artificial harmonics to the signal, BBE adds nothing artificial but instead restructures it to faithfully allow all the detail and nuance to be heard. Highs frequencies are clear, naturally brilliant and finely detailed. Lows are tight, well defined and harmonically rich. Electric and acoustic guitars have sparkle, clarity and definition. BBE brings out the harmonic complexity so each note of a chord becomes more distinct. Electric & acoustic basses take on a rich, earthy "CD" sound. BBE yields extremely tight, punchy bottom end without sacrificing the presence, clarity and bite on the top end. Vocals cut through the amplified instruments so you’re no longer "buried in the mix". 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. Recording studios use BBE on individual tracks, mixdown, and of course in mastering. Mixes with BBE are fresh and sparkly, restoring instrument clarity and vocal intelligibility without appreciably adding level. BBE improves effect processing by expanding 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It makes your audio sound better, December 27, 2010

By 

Spralwers - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer (Electronics)

All I have to say is that this item definitely works as advertised. The description has plenty of tech talk that involves lots of physics, which I understand as a physicist and an electrical engineer, and that's great, but there's a more important question to ask here - what do you hear as a result? I'll summarize my experiences with this item:

It's an EQ, but it's not. There are two knobs on this device, "Lo Contour" and "Process." When you boost Lo Contour, you hear more bass frequencies. When you boost Process, you hear more of the higher frequencies. Sounds like an EQ right? But when you boost the lows on an EQ, all the higher frequencies sound muddier, or even get completely blocked out! And then when you boost the higher frequencies, all of a sudden the low frequencies get quieter. Then you're fighting a never ending battle to find the perfect balance. That's not what happens with this product. Once you've boosted Lo Contour and you're hearing your bass frequencies, you can turn the knob for process and all of a sudden, the higher frequencies punch through your speakers without blocking the bass frequencies! For instance, when I listen to "Sweet Child O Mine," Not only can I can hear and feel the low rumble of Duff McKagan's bass, I can also hear, with more clarity than ever, the sound of his pick striking the strings.

I have these hooked into my Alesis M1Active 520s and the music sounds much more rich. I always have to have this on when I'm listening to music. This has become an integral part of my stereo, and I will continue using products like these if I ever need to make more speakers sound better. You may still need a proper EQ depending on your set-up to make sure your speakers are outputting the right frequencies, but these will ALWAYS make your equipment sound better. 100% recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It does what it says, March 30, 2010

By 

The Barrister (Mary Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer (Electronics)

I own it. I've used this model on electric and acoustic guitars, and on vocals. Taking all the tech-speak out of it, the only way to really describe what this does is to say that it adds "sparkle" to the sound. This doesn't replace proper EQ - you still need to roll off some mids and take the boom out of the low end on an acoustic, for example - but it does help instruments and vocals cut through. It restores clarity to vocals and helps guitars "ring" with good harmonics without adding any other off-flavors (like chorusing or flanging). I currently use this in an effects loop on a Mackie mixing board to add depth and sparkle to the main mix in live settings (five-piece rock band, instruments miced or line in). I also use it for live solo acoustic work on both the guitar and vocals, and in recordings (direct in and mixdown). It is the best $100 you'll ever drop on a piece of musical equipment.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PRICELESS ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION TOOL, November 21, 2007

By 

Robert Szekely "Bob Szekely" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer (Electronics)

I've been using one of these in an equipment rack at home that I use to convert old analog source material: open-reel, 8 track, cassette and records. For those of you under 30, yes, that's what we called vinyl back in the days before consumer digital audio was available: there were two main categories - LPs: 12" 33-1/3 RPM, and singles: 7" 45 RPM. Plus, our parents even had old 10" 78 RPM shellac records in MONO (that's MONAURAL, not MONONUCLEOSIS)!

I use this setup to archive and preserve mostly rare, hard to find, or out of print material on record or tape before the medium they're on degenerates to the point where the signal can no longer be preserved with any quality.

Anyway, I use this along with a compressor/noisegate set as a limiter, and a graphic EQ set to restore lost frequencies and boost amplitude to max before distortion, to dub first to MD (minidisc). After the minidisc dub, I create track breaks, and the opticially dub to CD, after which I load the CD into my computer and rip the tracks to 192K MP3s.

It's amazing the quality I can obtain from an old well-preserved cassette or record with this in the signal chain. It really does make old songs sound new again. I have dubbed several recordings from well-preserved cassettes and albums, that other than the presence of slight surface/media noise, actually sound better than some of the hasty CD re-releases of old records that have found their way to market.