fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (01/30/84)
Like *lots* of bass? I mean the kind that rattles your furniture and your
neighbors' tempers, the kind of bass that you can feel in your bones, that
fills you with dread as you enter a cathedral? dbx might have a processor
for you.
I purchased the dbx Model 120 Subharmonic Synthesizer over the weekend.
I wanted something that would improve the low frequency characteristics
of my system without simultaneously boosting allthe low-frequency garbage
you get with some records and sound sources. The 120 does this, and a
whole lot more.
The 120 is not merely a "speaker equalizer," or glorified loudness control.
My EPI 500's have no need of bass compensation. It does indeed boost low
frequencies between 30-150 Hz, but only by a modest maximum of 6 dB, which
the user controls through a single slider pot. However, the unit also
peels off frequencies between 30 and 110 Hz, runs them through a divide-by-
two circuit, and mixes them with the original program, to yield synthesized
bass a full octave below the program material that falls in the synthesizer's
bandpass. The amplitude of the synthesized octave may be boosted up to 8dB
above the program level, making the 120 a formidable source of low frequencies.
The 120 must be used with discretion. The sound can be made very unnatural,
or it can add a rich presence to the bass unobtainable by merely boosting
the low end with an equalizer. I've had little time to experiment with it,
but so far I'm pleased with the effects.
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fish