DBX 117 and 119?

Coldsnow · 10th June 2003

Anyone ever tried these? What do you think and what did you use them for?

mig27 · 10th June 2003

I have a dbx 119 at home.
half a year ago, I had the opportunity to A/B it with a 160VU.
as a result I can say that the compression behaviour is virtually identical.
but you could also tell that the 119 is -10dB unbalanced consumer gear: it lacked transients, punch, and a bit of lo end and high end.

nevertheless, I really really like this box, not only because I'm a gear slut.
it's dirt cheap and has a nice ballsy sonic character (and wooden side panels, of course).
I like it a lot on electric guitars or for radical FX compression on drum loops etc.

there are rumours the 119 has been used extensivley on the last oasis album, but that's totally unconfirmed...

hope that helps.

michael

MIKEHARRIS · 10th June 2003

i thought they were used to 'recover' dymamic range in hi-fi systems

mig27 · 10th June 2003

that's right.
they had promotional claims like "bring the dynamics back to your music". (it's frightening how right they are with this claim nowadays...)

if my memory serves me well, the dbx 117 had a range from 1 - 1.4 (compression) to 2 - 1 (expansion).
the dbx 119 (and also the 118) on the other hand go all the way to limiting - they're the ones to get.

michael

Dan-O · 10th June 2003

I've never had the opportunity to compare the 118 -119 to the 160VU as mig27 has, but I use both the 118 and 119 regularly. Kick, snare, bass, gtr, you name it. They have lots of headroom, and sound great to my ears. The 118 has a coupler to connect another for quad as well. Cool. Worth ever bit of $60-70 I paid of them.

10th June 2003	#1
Coldsnow Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2002 Posts: 743 Thread Starter	DBX 117 and 119? Anyone ever tried these? What do you think and what did you use them for?

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10th June 2003	#2
mig27 Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2002 Location: Berlin Posts: 757	I have a dbx 119 at home. half a year ago, I had the opportunity to A/B it with a 160VU. as a result I can say that the compression behaviour is virtually identical. but you could also tell that the 119 is -10dB unbalanced consumer gear: it lacked transients, punch, and a bit of lo end and high end. nevertheless, I really really like this box, not only because I'm a gear slut. it's dirt cheap and has a nice ballsy sonic character (and wooden side panels, of course). I like it a lot on electric guitars or for radical FX compression on drum loops etc. there are rumours the 119 has been used extensivley on the last oasis album, but that's totally unconfirmed... hope that helps. michael

10th June 2003	#3
MIKEHARRIS Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2002 Location: MIAMI FLA Posts: 1,685	i thought they were used to 'recover' dymamic range in hi-fi systems

10th June 2003	#5
Dan-O Gear maniac Joined: Jan 2003 Location: Richmond, Va Posts: 260	I've never had the opportunity to compare the 118 -119 to the 160VU as mig27 has, but I use both the 118 and 119 regularly. Kick, snare, bass, gtr, you name it. They have lots of headroom, and sound great to my ears. The 118 has a coupler to connect another for quad as well. Cool. Worth ever bit of $60-70 I paid of them.