DBX Expander

Crem1:

I had a similar single band 118 at one time and did not like it in general for expansion in my system...too much pumping and breathing introduced with only a single band.

I did use it on occasion for compression in order to listen to recordings more effectively late at night at lower volumes.

I do use the 3 band 3bx for expansion in my system currently and would find it hard to live without on many recordings, particularly on vinyl.

Yesterday I played a vinyl copy of "Thick As A Brick" by Jethro Tull that I recently picked up for the first time. It sounded fantastic right off save that the dynamics were noticeably compressed. I switched in the 3BX and things took off without reservation from there. It was sweet indeed!

Just so that you guys know the 5BX offers NO upward expansion! All the expansion the 5BX offers in downward. the only upward expansion you perceive is the 5 bands of indepdently adjustable impact restoration. The 5BX is more of a compressor than it is an expander. The the crap quality of CD recordings these days the 5BX is an invaluable tool to compress the way oversaturated & distorting CD's being spewed out by the music industries these days.

The 3BX-DS on the other hand does provide upward expansion and does have 3 bands of impact restoration. If you are using vinyl, tape, RTR, or MP3's the unit you may want to use is the 3BX-III it's processing style is more aggressive than that of the 3BX-DS and geared toward analog sources. It offers 12db of impact restoration vs. the 10db provided by the DS unit. That said the 3BX-III can be made to sound bad if you are too aggressive with the transition level and expansion controls so keep them moderate. The 4BX uses the same processing style as tne Series III but comes in a bigger box and is remote controllable if the owner hasn't lost it over the years.

Another kick ass thing to try is to run dual 3BX-DS units, one for each channel. The VCA's in these units are mono-triggered so you can use some quality "Y" adapters and use one for left and one for right. Make sure that the transition level potentiometers on the rear of the units are in the same positions. The difference and performance will astound you. Better defined image, tighter response, and stunning impact. I have run this configuration with dual 5BX's, 4BX, and the 3BX-DS units are my favorite combo.

It has been said that Pioneer got the expansion thing right using stereo VCA's so try a EX-9000 expander as well. It is a three band unit, the bands are independently adjustable and it has two processing styles based on the music you are putting through it. The choices are "hard" and "soft."

Another unit that operates similarly is the BBE 1002 or ARS these units focus on high level detail and also provide a "lo contour" to boost the bottom end. Alpine and many other companies offer scaled down versions of the BBE process in thier units. A stand alone version for the home is much better and will make more than a subtle difference. The Pioneer and BBE units will usually cost you less that $100.

I have used these units extensively for over twenty years and never noticed any pumping or artifacts with them. I run an all Klipsch Heritage system so dynamics are off the scale, and the level of realism achieved has to be heard to be believed. Even at levels in the 125db to 130db range in the living room. I still use a DBX DX5 CD player that has built in processing and can play any CD-R out there.

Frzninvt,

Great information. Thanks!

I have a 3BX series II I picked up for a couple hundred about a year back on Ebay that I think is worth its weight in gold when a particular recording needs it. How is that similar or different from the others?

The 3BX series II was shrunk down by the use of IC's vs. the all discrete circuits found in the original wooden side 3BX unit. This is actually the least favored unit of all for whatever reason (some say it exhibited the pumping effect), not sure if the Series II still used Stereo or Mono VCA's but the stereo VCA's in the original 3BX caused the image to wander.

I owned one for a short period of time and found no issues with it. I prefer the later models because of the addition of the "impact restoration" function which really increases the realism of the percussion attacks. As with all range expander wise use of the transition and expansion levels provide the best results.

I don't hear those issues with it either. Impact restoration would be an interesting enhancement to try, though impact of percussion is certainly improved significantly just through expansion as is with the 3bx S2. Percussion has startled me and made me jump on several recent occasions with the 3bx switched in.