06-12-09: Phasecorrect
Dbx ever make a encode~decode unit 4 playing reg lps that could benefit from nr?
I sold audio when these came out. The dbx LP system was a fixed compression/expansion scheme; I think it was 2:1 compression and then 1:2 expansion. At the store (1975) we got a demo LP and hooked it up. Before the music started there was dead silence at the speakers and we thought we had a disconnect. Then the music came out and it was really lifelike and dynamic.
I always did feel like CDs were unnecessary; if the industry had taken the same care to master and press LPs, especially if the standard had moved on to dbx, we would have solved the noise floor/dynamic range problem without going to a completely new playback system. dbx would have simply required an outboard decoder to switch in for dbx LPs.
At that same store, we often used an adjustable dbx Compander set to 1.4:1 expansion to add dynamics to compressed-sounding LPs.