DBX Encoded LP Records. Are They As Amazing Sounding As Some Say?

August 17, 2019

#322

Gentle reader,

There were two main "Noise Reduction" systems developed to reduce tape hiss in conventional analog music sources. 

Dolby developed theirs exclusively for tape recordings. I don't know if it was available on 8-Track tapes, but cassette tapes, most definitely.

NOTE: If you are viewing this on a computer, clicking on any picture will open a second window over this one. You click through or use your right and left arrow keys to look at the photos. They will be larger than seen here. If you are viewing it on a device such as a phone or tablet, I do not know if that works the same way.
 

DBX,  or "dbx" as they chose their system's logo to be in lower case, does it differently than the several versions of Dolby. I won't go into how it works, there are sites and articles from people far more knowledgeable than I that you can read.

dbx, went one further by encoding LP records. It's quite ingenious, they record the music about 1/2 as loud as normal, and somehow encoded their signal in the music grooves. 

So, if you play a dbx encoded record without a decoder, it sound's much quieter that you would expect. 

But, if you have a dbx decoder, and turn it on, not only is the music much louder, the soundstage is taller, wider, deeper and one feels as if they are in the space WITH the musicians.

Above is a scan from a Digital dbx LP I just received. It succinctly explains the process and it's results.

Techmoan - YouTube  That is a link to a British chap who buys electronics, usually old technology, and does very in depth videos about them. He's wonderfully informative and enjoyable to watch and learn from. I watched his video on dbx and got inspired.

I had a dbx decoder some years ago, but do not remember the results. Here are photos of it:

It was fairly small and simple, I had it in late 2015 and sold it. This one was made from 1982-1986 and sold new for $160.

Keep in mind the size based upon the RCA terminals which are a standard 3/4" spacing, and compare the back to the one below.

Photographing shiny metal is very challenging. And the RCA terminals on this model are horizontal, but clearly it is larger.

This one, a dbx II model 122 and it's four channel brother, were made from 1976-1980 and sold new for $275. The four channel model was much more expensive.

I like it's design, especially the solid walnut wooden end panels. Normally, I open up electronics just to see what's inside. But this time, I left it alone.

I was able to buy it for the bargain price of $20. The seller assured me that it worked the last time he used it, but it had been stored for many years since.

Fortunately, HiFi Engine - Owners and Service Manuals had the owner's manual for free download. Because this one is much more complicated than the NX-40  I am glad I downloaded and printed it.

There was no room in my system to add this other than to the right of the turntable. 

I have a 7" TV attached to my OPPO universal player, which I use to make sure SACD and DVD-Audio discs play in stereo not surround sound. It has a tripod socket on the bottom for some reason and does not stand up otherwise. So, I adapted it to that piece of wood. Previously, the wood was perpendicular to the TV.

I searched through all of the classical and Jazz LPs and so far have found only three dbx encoded records, shown here. That is perhaps 60% of my LPs so I may find others.

Because my 1990's Dynaco PAT-6 preamp/tuner has fewer inputs than I need, I use this SONY A/V switch which works perfectly and silently to playback cassette tapes and my CD Recorder. Below shows how it was configured before installing the dbx.

Below is with the dbx II installed. As you can see, I believe better quality cables are a good investment and DO sound better.

To keep track of which way the signal would be going, I wrapped fiberglass electrical tape about the cables I was adding to the system for the dbx. I did not want to get them mixed up.

Before committing to use the dbx II, I simply hooked it up with the red cables. Above and below shows it in the system permanently.

The cables with the arrows I drew on them are one meter long, so I had to curl them one rotation to make them fit neatly. Double-sided Velcro, what a wonderful invention!

I snaked the thin brown AC cord from the dbx II around one of the cross braces and plugged it into the last free outlet in one of my Adcom ACE-515 power conditioners.

Here it is playing the record featured at the top of the article. Here are the other two I have but have not yet played.

I generally prefer classical music later than the baroque era as well as Mozart, Handel, etc. With exceptions, of course. But I did buy all three because of the dbx sticker even though I did not have a decoder. 

The one below, is the same one as at the top of the article.

As far as the Strauss family, I tend to not buy their music because so much of it was written for waltzes and is not exciting to listen to. However, the second side is a great tune.

So, what do I think of dbx? I, like Techmoan, was pleasantly blown away. I switched the "BYP" button on and off, and yes, the music is quieter by far, with the decoder off. 
But, like he said in the video, the music is so much more alive and airy. The soundstage is huge, closing my eyes I can see in my mind's eye where various instruments are located. I can hear musician's breathing.
I could go on and on with descriptions of my experience just playing this one LP. But, I won't. Suffice to say, I am so impressed that I went online and ordered several dbx encoded LP records! 
Two arrived today and I continue to revel in their incredible range! So, I just bought some others. Too bad few record labels were willing to buy into dbx. 
Prices are all over the place for them because there were so few made. I'm retired and on a fixed income, so I had to be choosy. 
Adding this dbx decoder, and it's very informative manual, to the system has encouraged me to play more records. So, it was $20 well spent.
  
Thank you for taking the time to read my humble words and viewing my images. It is your kind words and comments that keep me coming out with new articles.

Scott
August 17, 2019
#322

   

Going Old School Racing Sony Playstation2 in HD. Carbon Fiber Paddle Shifters. Retrotink too!

August 16, 2019

#321

Gentle reader,

I never intended to get into simulation racing. Oddly, it never crossed my mind. Even though after our young kids went to bed, Nancy and I "raced" each other on the primitive video game console we had way back then. Being a car guy all my life and loving sports car racing, I should have though of it.

NOTE: If you are viewing this on a computer, clicking on any picture will open a second window over this one. You click through or use your right and left arrow keys to look at the photos. They will be larger than seen here. If you are viewing it on a device such as a phone or tablet, I do not know if that works the same way. 

A coworker gave me a PC racing game around 2000 called Test Drive Le Mans. Since the 24 Hours of Le Mans is my all-time favorite race, I was intrigued. 

Later, my daughter bought me a SONY Playstation2 Slim and my son, Gran Turismo 3: SONY's "Real Driving Simulator". And I began the transition from PC to console. 

Soon after, I bought GT4 and the Logitech wheel set made specifically for it and the old PC one was donated.

I built two frames of structural aluminum with 1x12" wood to support the wheel and pedals. They were collapsible for storage. Below is one equipped with Microsoft's fine wheel and pedal set for the XBox 360.

My son and I started racing each other as well as individually racing the computer's AI cars.

My ever supportive wife bought me a nice gaming chair with pedestal and built-in 2.1 amplifier with speakers in the headrest and a "sub" beneath the seat.

I had to modify it with the thigh extension you can see here. I'm 6'3" with long legs and these were mostly made for kids.  

My son transitioned to an XBox 360 and Forza 3, then 4, while I stuck with my trusty PS2. I tried other racing titles with mixed results.

Eventually he moved out and I also switched to to a 360 and Forza 4 as well. The HD graphics were SO much better.

Forza 4 verses Gran Turismo 5  Is an  article I wrote some years ago, no photos except of game covers. I had my son-in-law's Playstation3 for a year while he was stationed in Okinawa and bought GT5 for it.

Eventually, the old PS2 would not recognize any disc except GT4 and the TV picture was crappy. So, I put it all away and forgot about it.

OK, enough background. Looking into the closet one day, I spied my PS2 Slim's box and for nostalgic sake, got it out. 
Well, it had completely died. No sounds, no image on the TV. Nothing. Sigh.

I started looking online (Amazon and eBay) for good working PS2 slim replacement consoles and bought one. 
Since I'd sold all of my PS2 wheels, I needed another one and bought the one you will see below that was actually made for GT5 on the PS3.

Well, the first console arrived and had issues, so I returned it. I forgot to remove my GT4 disc however and when I realized it, I just went ahead and bought another one for $5.00 via eBay.

And it's a good thing too. As that first console stated that my GT4 data on my memory card was corrupted (all those cars and credits!) and I had to erase it and start from the beginning. Crap.

WELL, the replacement game disc arrived and inside was the previous owner's MEMORY CARD!

He was GOOD! He had a large garage with some great cars, many with CRAZY horsepower figures.  And 2,600,000 in credits in his bank.

Below are photos of the screen showing his garage and cars. Starting with the MOST powerful and descending.

Page two:

Page three:

Page four:

Page five:

And page six:

Here is the new steering wheel I bought. One complaint I have (and others, too) about Logitech wheels is small shift "paddles" on the back of the wheel's spokes which can be hard to reach.

Above shows the "carbon fiber" paddle shifters I installed on it. Below shows the small lever one must press to shift up (right side of wheel) or down, (left side of wheel). 

Here is Microsoft's steering wheel with much more user friendly shift paddles, below:

Below, is the "paddle" that Logitech puts on their older wheels, between the screw holes. Their newer ones are much better and way more expensive.

Dynamic Paddle Shifters is a company that makes superbly engineered and constructed paddle shifters and other things to improve racing wheel/pedal sets. I HIGHLY recommend checking out what they sell. The prices are amazing as is the quality. I chose simulated carbon fiber finished paddles.

Here is one paddle installed. They even supply "wear strips" to adhere on the factory paddles. The screws are nylon so they should not cause physical wear on the wheel's shifters.

If you look closely above, the paddles are leaning way back from the wheel.

More evident in these photos.

Above shows them prior to my adjusting the screws/nuts supplied installed but loose. Note the smooth curves and lightening holes the drilled in them. Just like the real things.

Above shows after I adjusted them. There is still room for my fingers and the are exactly where I need them.

Much better placement now, as you can see.  

Logitech includes a shifter on the right side of the "dash" pulling back shifts up, pushing forward shifts down. Simulating a sequential racing transmission.

With the paddles being so long, one can still reach and operate them even while rotating the wheel. Much better than the original shift levers.

So, now I have a working Playstation2. But the picture is still crappy. First thing I tried was a "component" video cable. The PS2 puts out 480P video. The factory cable only has the red/white stereo audio plugs and yellow "composite" single video plug. So the component cable with red/green/blue plugs improved it, but not much.

Research steered me away from the simple and cheap Chinese ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) device and suggested: RetroTINK

RetroTINK goes beyond the mass produced Chinese ADCs by adding a "jitter" filter circuit and other things that smooth out the 480P signal when seen on an HD screen.

My XBox 360 is positioned console behind the TV. How it receives and sends signals to and from the steering wheel and the console, I do not know.

So there is no room to fit the PS2 setup back there, I placed it next to me on top of the shelf I built.

The PS2 Slim's name is obvious as it's much smaller than the original PS2. To do that, they removed the hard drive from the circuits and equation.   

The aftermarket component video cable is seen here (above and below), thicker than the original and grey/black web covered.

I wire-tied the yellow cable even though I could have just plugged it into the RetroTINK.

Component video cables above and the stereo audio cable on the right side.
A Micro USB cable power supply is needed for RetroTINK and the Type C mini HDMI cable to supply the digital signals to the HDTV.

Above, we are looking over the top of the TV and down at the inputs of the HDTV and other inputs.

Does the RetroTINK work as promised? It does, it is not HD quality, no but the picture is much better.

When I transitioned originally from PS2 to XBox 360, the learning curve was steep. Both companies use physics to have each car handle as lifelike as possible. Microsoft's physics are much harder to battle.

Going back to 2005 or so as I have, I find that it is somewhat easier to avoid sliding off the courses while racing on the PS2 with Gran Turismo 4. Plus, unlike Forza 4, if one wanders off track, in GT4 your car does not slow down like you drove into a lake. You simply bounce along the grass trying to get back on track like in real life.

The engine sounds have never been as realistic in any of SONY's Gran Turismo versions I have tried as they are in Forza. But one gets used to it.

I re-bought Enthusia and TOCA Race Driver 3 for the PS2. Both are more demanding that GT4. I have not tried either since RetroTINK has been installed. But am looking forward to it.

I hope you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane. I am. It's refreshing and although I spent more than I should have, it's worth it to me.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my humble words and view my images. It is your kind words and comments that keep me writing and shooting.

Scott
August 16, 2019
#321

Klipsch KG4 OR Cerwin-Vega! LS-12 Speakers?

August 14, 2019

#320

Gentle reader,

Thank you for taking the time to view my humble blog. It astounds me that so many people do read it! When I began this sojourn, it was just something to do. I had no idea it would take off. 

NOTE: If you are viewing this on a computer, clicking on any picture will open a second window over this one. You click through or use your right and left arrow keys to look at the photos. They will be larger than seen here. If you are viewing it on a device such as a phone or tablet, I do not know if that works the same way. 

It's been quite a while since I have written about the audio systems throughout the house. Mainly because I haven't changed anything. That is until last night. Below is what I did in the listening room.

Below shows what speakers I had in the listening room some time ago. Klipsch KG4s ($10 find) on the outside and somewhat rare Dynaco A25XL speakers closer to the shelves.

The same thrift store where I found the Klipsch speakers I also found a pair of Tannoy C-88s. Both are brands I have never come across in the wild before. 

I was unsatisfied with the treble response of the Tannoy speakers and upgraded to better and more efficient tweeters. I detailed the changes in this article:

Tannoy C-88 Twin Tweeter Transplant Step By Step  

I removed the Dynaco speakers from the system and put the C-88s in their place (above). Because Tannoy put a base on the bottom of the cabinets which are smaller in area that the cabinets, I added spikes to stabilize them. Which they do.

For a brief history of the stereo system and some of the countless changes I have made since 2001, please look at this article:

Forty Three Plus Years Perfecting My Home Stereo System Dynaco to Dynaco Quality Cables 

The C-88s became my favorite speakers and the Klipsch sat unused for the longest time.

At a loss about what to do with the now forlorn A25XL Dynaco speakers gathering dust in the back of the room, I took them to the living room and replaced the stand mounted smaller speakers used along with matching large center channel speaker for movie/TV watching enjoyment. I'd previously suggested doing just that to my wife and she didn't want "big speakers" in the living room. So I waited a week and made the swap. She actually likes the look (once she noticed) and the sound now. "Better to ask forgiveness...."

In "the office", a small bedroom we designated from the beginning to have our PC and a couple of desks in, I have a humble system that sits right next to the computer.

Atop the JAMO amplifier/speaker switch is an Insignia HD Radio which I have a nice cable plugged into the headphone socket. It makes a dandy FM tuner and being "Hybrid-Digital" the music sounds great with "no static at all, FM!"

I have four pairs of speakers in here. The two BOSE 301s my wife bought me years ago to replace the large speakers in the living room, (see a theme here?) are on brackets near the ceiling. 

Directly beneath them were the Cerwin-Vega! LS-12 speakers which were another thrift store find and also the first (and so far, only) C-V speakers I've come across. 

On top of those are a pair of the cult-followed Radio Shack Optimus PRO LX4 speakers. On top of those are my highly modified Minimus 7W speakers of which all that remains of them are the cabinets.

Here they are "naked", in a shot I made when introducing them to you. And yes those are the same woofers. For more information on the transformation of the humble Minimus 7W speakers to amazing, please look here:

Converted my already upgraded Minimus 7 speakers to ribbon tweeters!

SO, since I wanted to use the Klipsch speakers more and found that I use the C-V speakers SO much in this room, I decided to swap them.

The C-V LS-12s have two large rear-facing reflex ports at the bottom edge and the KG4s each have a 12" passive radiator on their back wall. It's not easy to see here, but the speakers are quite far into the room. In THIS room, there is not a lot of room. So, giving the C-V speakers ports enough room was not possible.

This is a simulation-racing rig that sits on the far side of this very desk. As you can see, it is a tight fit. The right speakers can just be seen in the back of the picture on the left/top. 

This is a wide angle shot which distorts the shape of the BOSE speakers. The door seen (with gate) is to the listening room.

That's Heidi, one of our Dachshunds. The Klipsch now in place with the smaller speakers on top. All are coupled by Quake-Hold brand of reusable adhesive. Fantastic stuff. It also holds the Klipsch and Dynaco speakers to their respective stands.

The Klipsch sit out from the wall five inches to allow their rear passive radiators to do their thing. Since they vibrate and do not pass the actual air compressed by the rearward movement of the woofers (like the C-V's do with their rear ports) I feel that they have enough space to work.

The left BOSE 301 speaker, above.

The right BOSE 301, above.

Stuck in the corner sits the right Klipsch speaker and littler ones on top. Both pairs of large speakers are quite heavy. The Cerwin-Vega! models even more so. Fortunately my arms are long enough to be able to reach down and hook my fingers in one of the rear ports.

I had to disassemble all of the racing rig (above) and drag or carry the pieces out of the way. The 42" TV is plasma so really heavy. Then pry (Quake-Hold! REALLY works!) the smaller speakers off of the top of the C-V speakers. I wiggled the beasts out after disconnecting their cables. 

Same with the listening room. Except I had to remove the right Tannoy speaker or risk hurting something by trying to lift the Klipsch speaker from behind the left edge of the stereo rack. 

So, once again, here are the now, all-black, speakers in the listening room. The C-V's will enjoy breathing room and they match the C-88s. With all of the brown in the room, it is a nice contrast.

Just for fun, here is a fisheye shot of the office with the now all wooden veneered speakers. Heidi is on guard while Gretchen snoozes. No matter where I am in the house. The dogs are between me and the door. They take their duty seriously.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my recalling my little adventure. I feel good about it and plan to fully test the large speakers in their new rooms.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to read this and view my images. Your kind words and comments encourage me to keep writing and shooting.

Scott
August 14, 2019
#320