Bought my first 3bx in 1979 and will not have a stereo without one. I since bought used units as DBX quit making these in the latter 80's I believe. I have now a 3bx II and a 4bx which is really a 3bx III with a wireless remote. When I first hooked my initial 3bx unit up to my then pioneer spec1 and spec2 power amp/preamp system with klipsch cornerhorns, I was truly amazed probably didnt hurt that I also bought monster speaker cable an the Adcom XCLT line trace phono cartridge as well. All of the instruments were almost visually separated and in their own space, when quiet passages came up on the record or tape, you would hear nothing not even tape hiss is was amazing.......drums! wow how much better they sounded on any recording and amazing is all I have to say. Break to now and the spec1/spec2 units are gone and I have added a klipsch lascala center channel speaker and made the patch box to convert to 3 channel (L+L/R+R channels) and now have a Carver C5 preamp with Cambridge phono boxes and three Carver TFM-55 power amps all ganged as one channel putting out a 1000 watts a piece powering the three speakers in the system. Good and very good sounding equipment........but the star of the show? The 4BX even when listening through my Sennheiser 598 or Koss pro4 headphones its a joy. you can also instantly switch from expanded to no expanded listening to see what you are getting and what you are missing. I also picked up a Carver TX-11a Tuner.......wow! FM never sounded so good! So in closing........I highly recommend the DBX units and recommend to get at least a 3bx (although a very rare beast DBSX also made a 5bx which I hear was quite the listening experience) like another reviewer said the units should work even great for cd's....it does! Dont know why old time audiophiles dont see it wise to have one of these........but oh well different strokes for different folks...........but I am a DBX disciple!

i don't have one of these units and have never heard one. this isn't really a review. i just felt the need to correct what i see as a fallacy with some of the reviews that are here. people saying stuff like- 'you can use one of these expanders to make old analog recordings from vinyl/tape etc sound more dynamic like cds'- that's a joke.
yes vinyl and tape recordings were compressed in mastering, due to limitations of the media. but guess what guys? modern CD mastering is maybe >10 WORSE.
modern cds are mastered to be compressed to HELL and back. the funny thing is that cds don't have the same limited dynamic range of vinyl/tape, but yet they compress the audio before it goes to CD even MORE than it was for those more limited media.

if anything, this expander would benefit CDs more than it would the old vinyl/tape/etc formats. maybe you could use it to make your cds sound more like those!

Solid performer. Perhaps the thing to happen to a turntable
since the balanced tone arm! Controls are smooth, transition level is easily visible, expansion level is clearly displayed.

Perhaps a little to easy to over compensate when connected to decent equipment.

I bought my first dynamic range expander in the 1984 (the 2bx) and have enjoyed it ever since. I came across the 3bx several years later and boxed up the 2bx at that time and have never gone back. This unit has some phenomenal characterists. Not only can it restore the dynamic range of an LP (remember vinyl, kids?) but I find that it does wonders for FM broadcasts, stereo TV, as well as analog Sat. and cable channels. Modern digital media, such as CDs, DVDs, or digital broadcasts have more range to them from the start, so restoration isn't a key factor, as much as the occational compression.

Fortunately, many of these boxes are available on the secondary market, such as ebay, today. Expect to pay between $75 for older models with walnut sides, to $150 for later models w/ gold lettering. All of them perform admirably. But the 3bx and 4bx models with dynamic impact restoration are IMHO, worth the extra premium they command.

Similar Products Used:

dbx 2bx, dbx 224

DBX 150 TYPE I NOISE REDUCTION SYSTEM
RACK MOUNTABLE TAKING 1 U SPACE.

TRIM INPUT AND OUTPUT LEVELS ON FRONT PANEL

INPUT/OUTPUT CONNECTION TYPE : RCA –10DBv

BETTER THAN –35 DB SIGNAL TO NOISE IMPROVEMENT WITH 10DB OF HEADROOM.
INTENDED FOR USE WITH REEL TO REEL TAPE RECORDERS


THE SOUND: THE DBX 150 WHEN SET UP PROPERLY IMPARTS VERY LITTLE
PERSONALITY OF ITS’ OWN. THE CAVEAL OF USING A “COMPANDER” TYPE NOISE REDUCTION SYSTEM DUE TO “PUMPING AND BREATHING”,MODULATION NOISE IS NOT AN ISSUE HERE. IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE BIAS AND EQUALIZATION ARE SET CORRECTLY,AND THAT THE HEAD ALIGNMENT IS CORRECT. ANY DEVIATION IS MAGNIFIED BY THE DBX SYSTEM. UNLIKE DOLBY NOISE REDUCTION SYSTEMS, I.E. “B” AND “C” TYPE. THE DBX NOISE REDUCTION SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE AUDIO SPECTRUM. BY USING VERY AGGRESSIVE COMPRESSION AND EXPANSION PROCESSES’, ELIMINATION OF TAPE HISS/NOISE IS THE NORM.

WHEN LISTENING TO JAZZ,SUCH AS JOE SAMPLE,”SAMPLE THIS”, THE PIANO TONES ARE ISOLATED AND YET FLOATING IN AIR. HISS DOES NOT MAR THE PERFORMANCE. BY THE WAY, THE TAPE RECORDER USED WAS/IS A “TECHNICS RS-1500US” RUNNING AT 15 I.P.S. USING MAXELL UD-35-180B. THIS IS IN 2 TRACK MODE. PETER KATERS’ IN PURSUIT OF HAPINESS RECORDING IS WELL FLESHED OUT. IMAGING APPEARS TO BE GOOD HERE TOO. DAVID BENOITS’ “LETTER TO EVAN” ESPECIALLY THE CUT WITH LARRY CARLTONS’ GUITAR SOLO IS VERY BELIEVABLE AND ARTICULATE AND WITH AMBIENCE INTACT. THE ATTACK AND DECAY OF THE NOTES ARE WELL PRESERVED HERE. THIS RECORDING WAS DONE IN 2 TRACK MODE AT THEIR STUDIO WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL MIXING,OR OVERDUBBING. IT IS A VERY WELL DONE RECORDING, I THINK AT LEAST.

I WAS RATHER CURIOUS HOW IT WOULD SOUND WITH STRINGS,AND I AM HAPPY TO SAY JUST FINE. GNP CRESCENDOS’ “STAR TREK INSURECTION” SOUND TRACK THOUGH DYNAMIC SOUNDED A BIT HARSH. THIS IS A 24 BIT RECORDING,MAYBE MY NAD CD PLAYER IS NOT TOO FOND OF ITS’ 24 BIT ENCODING. WHO KNOWS. ANYWAY, THE DBX UNIT DIDN’T ADD ANY OTHER UNATURAL ARTIFACTS THAT SHOULDN’T BE THERE. JUST NO HISS, JERRY GOLDSMITHS’ ORCHESTRA IN STUDIO “M” AT PARAMOUNT SOUNDED JUST AS IT SHOULD,BUT WITH ALITTLE LESS BITE,THANK YOU. SO IN A NUTSHELL, THIS TYPE 1 NOISE REDUCTION UNIT FUNCTIONS WELL,AND I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. ESPECIALLY WITH THE PRICE OF JUST $75.00 USED. IT WAS AND IS ONE OF MY BETTER BUYS WITH NO REGRETS. V.C.

I KNOW THIS IS NOT QUITE THE WAY TO DO IT,OH WELL,ON THE BY MY DBX TYPE 2 MODEL 228 IS ALSO CONSTANTLY USED IN MY PROJECT STUDIO. I HAVE HAD IT SINCE 1981 AND STILL ROLLS GREAT TAPES TOO. TOO BAD DBX NEVER REALLY TOOK OFF ON CASSETTES. CASSETTES DESERVE BETTER. I GUESS DOLBY "S" IS THE BIGGY NOW. OH WELL. HAPPY LISTENING ANYWAY. V.C.

The dbx 3bx-III was made from 1984-1986. It is a 3-band Dynamic-Range Expander with one-band "Impact Restoration".
It is a one rack space tall by 17 inch unit, and has the ability to have rack ears attached.

It has a black anodized aluminum face with white lettering, and matches the following models: The 200x, 400x and DAV600 Program Route Selectors, the 120x Subharmonic Synthesizer, the 20/20 and 10/20 auto-eq's, and several manual Eq's that I haven't bothered to catalog.

I have bought sold and serviced close to 100 of these units, so I can say this with confidence: they are reliable and built well. Beware of broken knobs - these are next to impossibile to find parts for.

Oh, and a little Series III trivia: Ig your unit has only grey inserts in the knobs, it was made for sale in the U.S. If it has a blue, red and green insert in the knobs, then it was probably bought in a base exchange by someone in the military.

If you have any questions , are looking for or have some dbx comsumer gear for sale, please feel free to contact me at mrdbx.com.

Thank you.

- Dennis Hutchins

still an awesome pro performer. Makes open reel tapes a joy,not a "hissing" adventure

It never took off along with its' type 2 brethren. Too bad too. Way better than any dolby,though I understand Dolby "S" is supposed to finally make everyone happy now.

Pretty awesome this dbx system. Incredible dynamics and elimination of hiss. I have had the type 2 model 228 for more than 19 years and it is still going strong. a tribute to Dbxs' reliability. The 150 I have still plays along too. Both mounted on my studio desk bridge,they help make my TEAC X-10/X-10Rs',and Technics RS-1500 sound just superb thank you. It is always nice to get what you pay for,but even better when it is a bargain. The used full rack 150 was just $75.00. I just checked the Harman International page and current half rack 150x costs $319.00 new. Yikes!! Allot of green for going professional I guess. Anyway,if you can get the cheap seats price on one,you can rest assured your noisy hissy tapes are a thing of the past.
V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Dolby B/C,super ANRS,Hi-com..(though only briefly.)

It was time to add this nifty product to the "other category" page.DBX manufactured a number of dynamic range expanders and "companders" (both compression and expansion).

The 3BX III is a three band expansion system. It's primarily designed to
enhance the dynamic range of formats that, owing to their media limitations,
are normally compressed (records and tapes being primary). You insert the 3BX into your tape loop and run your inputs through it (assuming your preamp has a selectable record-out feature.

I've owned this unit for 12 years. They are generally available on the used
market (especially the two band units).

I recommend the three band unit for those with large record collections who
want to give their LPs some CD-like punchiness by restoring the dynamic range
that is compressed to put the music on vinyl. Records usually have a dynamic
range around 65dbs vs. 90db for CDs. The 3BX III with moderate expansion employed definitely increases the dynamic range of LPs without introducing
strange aural artifacts (such as pumping or false dynamics).