Introduction; Feature List - BBE MAXCOM Owner's Manual

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations and thank you for your purchase of the BBE MAXCOM. You have acquired an extremely efficient
and universal dynamics processor. It's unique circuit design makes MAXCOM the ultimate dynamics processor:
intelligent program recognition, interactive expander/gate and a fourth generation BBE® Sonic Maximizer™.

FEATURE LIST

• SONIC MAXIMIZER
Loudspeakers have difficulty working with the electronic signals supplied by an amplifier. These difficulties
cause such major phase and amplitude distortion that the sound reproduced by speaker differs significantly from
the sound produced by the original source.
In the past, these problems proved unsolvable and were thus delegated to a position of secondary importance
in audio system design. However, phase and amplitude integrity is essential to accurate sound reproduction.
Research shows that the information which the listener translates into the recognizable characteristics of a live
performance are intimately tied into complex time and amplitude relationships between the fundamental and
harmonic components of a given musical note or sound. These relationships define a sound's "sound".
When these complex relationships pass through a speaker, the proper order is lost. The higher frequencies are
delayed. A lower frequency may reach the listener's ear first or perhaps simultaneously with that of a higher
frequency. In some cases, the fundamental components may be so time-shifted that they reach the listener's
ear ahead of some or all of the harmonic components.
This change in the phase and amplitude relationship on the harmonic and fundamental frequencies is techni-
cally called "envelope distortion." The listener perceives this loss of sound integrity in the reproduced sound as
"muddy" and "smeared." In the extreme, it can become difficult to tell the difference between musical instru-
ments, for example, an oboe and a clarinet.
BBE Sound, Inc. conducted extensive studies of numerous speaker systems over a ten year period. With this
knowledge, it became possible to identify the characteristics of an ideal speaker and to distill the corrections
necessary to return the fundamental and harmonic frequency structures to their correct order. While there are
differences among various speaker designs in the magnitude of their correction, the overall pattern of correction
needed is remarkably consistent.
• INTERACTIvE COMPRESSOR
The Interactive Compressor successfully combines the concept of a "Hard Knee" compressor with the charac-
teristics of a "Soft Knee" approach. The "Soft Knee" mode with its "Soft" control characteristics is the basis of the
"inaudible" and "musical" compression of the program material, while the "Hard Knee" function is a prerequisite
both for creative and efficient dynamics processing and for limiting signal peaks reliably and precisely. This func-
tion is required to protect subsequent equipment against distortion.
• THE AUTO FUNCTION
The MAXCOM incorporates an AUTO function for intelligent program detection. With the help of the AUTO func-
tion, the attack and release times are derived automatically from the program material. Adjustment errors can
therefore be effectively prevented. This feature lets you compress the signal heavily and "musically" in dynamic
range without any audible "pumping", "breathing" or other side effects, providing you with optimum results.
• MANUALLY ADjUSTAbLE ATTACK AND RELEASE CONTROLS
The response of a compressor and the quality of the dynamics processing largely depend on the control times, i.e.,
the attack and release functions. When processing signals from individual instruments such as drum, guitar etc.,
and when using the compressor to protect the audio system against signal transients, it is imperative that the control
times be user-adjustable. The MAXCOM offers this feature by providing both ATTACK and RELEASE controls.
• ADAPTIvE EXPANDER/GATE
A basic problem in the use of a compressor is the fact that the noise floor is highly amplified during quiet sections
or when there are music pauses. This effect is exaggerated when the compression ratio is inappropriate. An
adaptive Expander/Gate has been integrated into the MAXCOM. The gate is automatically adjusted dependent
on the program material. The result is an expander which is less critical of adjustment and which is more tolerant
in the presence of those signals which appear slightly above the noise floor.

INTRODUCTION