Whats the deal with DBX?

[gsilbers]

sounds like a start for a seinfield joke eh?

but wanted to know why DBX products have such a "dynamic" price range (boy, its getting worst with the jokes).

like the 160x price is really high and then there are model that sell around $200.

I like the 160 model but i havnt heard others so im afraid ill buy a really low end gear with other models beside the ever studio clasic 160.

how can dBX have such a price difference and still dont fall into categories like "art" or behringer. ?


any good dbx models out there i should be aware of?

[jhg]

the jbl/urei 7110 with transformer fitted. Dammit, I should never repeat this, I really want another one, on the cheap...

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by jhg

the jbl/urei 7110 with transformer fitted. Dammit, I should never repeat this, I really want another one, on the cheap...

what is that?

[nathanvacha]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

how can dBX have such a price difference and still dont fall into categories like "art" or behringer. ?

uh... well... because they make a range of products, some great, some decent, some that don't belong certain places but their stuff is of their own design and works day in and day out and fills the needs of a huge range of systems, small to semi-large. If dbx was a behringer, they'd have to go to the advertising trouble that behri- does. That's why they're $20 more on some of their lower stuff. It's still loads better, they just don't have to recoup their advertising dollars because people know their name. Many dbx products still don't belong in your recording/mixing room, though.

[dbbubba]

I am not crazy about using ANY of the currently available stuff on tracks that I want to deal with in the studio.
On the other hand, there are lots of people who like usinng things like Kepex, Gain Brains and DynaMites on GTRs and certian drum things.
I don't think that dBx 160x, 166, 266 are really any better or worse than those units.

You are painting with a rather broad brush when you use any of the "modern" dBx units.

We have a pair of dBx160s that we use in a drive rack for our larger p.a. rigs.
They sound pretty good, but when I have our Nexo rig up I kinda' wish I had a better compressor on the whole mix. I am mixing on a level where the dBx160s sound kinda' heavy handed.
I'd like to hear some "float" as I call it.
We do have Ashley 31 band on those rigs.
We had White EQs, but the Ashleys are easier to deal with and sound good enough.
(Two of the Whites will be coming home to my big monitors for minor tweaking,)

Because they just work, I put dBx products (comps and EQs) in all of our racks.
If anything, they just LOOK better!
That matters in the corporate AV world.

To be honest, it has always seemed that good sounding, easy to operate gear also LOOKS good, too! Maybe it's just a wierd prejudice I have, but as a rule, green, red and other "off" color stuff is usually inferior performance-wise. The Midas stuff is an exception to this rule and there are other pieces that are exceptions as well.
I can't stand Mackie stuff because I cannot read the writing on the stuff because they use grey on GREY for the silkscreened labeling!
Tiny buttons that you can't tell if they are up are down are another thing I hate!
In live situations that stuff can cause all kinds of headaches!

I will say that it is rare that I ever need better than dBx160s live!

My friend's have a million dollar plus EAW line array with big Midas consoles, PM1s or what ever is requested and they have a rack with over SIXTEEN dBx 160s in it!
It seems like the engineer for an Usher tour requested them.
Gotta' keep all of those drum samples and stuff under control.

Danny Brown

[kittonian]

The lower end DBX products (at least to me) aren't worth it if you are looking for great pieces to have in your studio (hence the lower cost and completely "prosumer" market they attack). However, their blue series products are phenomenal. The 160SL and the 786 are two incredible pieces that I think every high end studio should have in their arsenal (but again, with regards to price, they are quite expensive).

[edvdr76]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

sounds like a start for a seinfield joke eh?

but wanted to know why DBX products have such a "dynamic" price range (boy, its getting worst with the jokes).

like the 160x price is really high and then there are model that sell around $200.

I like the 160 model but i havnt heard others so im afraid ill buy a really low end gear with other models beside the ever studio clasic 160.

how can dBX have such a price difference and still dont fall into categories like "art" or behringer. ?


any good dbx models out there i should be aware of?

DBX makes a lot of good equipment. Some are more affordable than others. "Affordable" doesn't make it cheap, well at least for most of the DBX products. Of course not all their equipment is meant to be in the racks of a major recording studio. Having said that, I have quite a few pieces of DBX stuff that vary in price. I have a pair of the now classic DBX 160vu which by far is the best DBX compressor in the market. I also have a pair of DBX 165's which are also great pieces. Then I have 3 166's which are around $250 if you get them new. Those are great little stereo compressors. I also have a pair of 163's which you could probably find on ebay for $50 max. Those little compressors have a pretty cool sound to them and they aren't high end gear but again just because their affordable doesn't make them cheap. Sometimes adding a compressor like a 163 can add a bit of character to an otherwise boring sounding track. You'd be surprised what those little suckers can do.