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Welcome to
the Bass Pig's Lair! |
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[December 2004, revised June 2006] |
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I just installed a Behringer
DCX2496 Loudspeaker Management System, a phenomenal piece of gear that
replaces two EQs, an optical limiter and a Linkwitz-Riley crossover that I
designed in 1982. It packs more functions than anything I can think of.
Well, BSS Audio makes an similar product, but with the following differences
and it lists at over $3,000:
"...the DCX2496 has a lot more
processing power than the BSS as it uses very powerful Sharc DSPs. This is
the reason why the unit even runs on 96 kHz (does the BSS?). Check out also
the AD and DA converters which are high-quality Crystal/AKMs. The unit even
offers digital inputs and a memory card slot which BSS does not. We have
around 12 DCX in our fixed installations and they run flawlessly for more
than 3 years. Honestly I believe the value of the DCX amazing."
In the DCX2496, are sophisticated crossovers, multiple EQ filters, LP, HP &
BP with adjustable Q and center frequency, dynamic EQs, limiters and delay
lines. That last item is a nice feature. |
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With a large array of speakers,
it's all but impossible to have all sound wavefronts arrive at the same
instant in time, because of the varying physical distances to the speakers
from the listener. The delay line allows for this inequality to be
corrected. Not only can one tune the delays for more impact at the listener,
but one can move nulls around--I managed to reduce a severe problem with my
CD player skipping when the lowest notes of the pipe organ were played on
some recordings. All of these settings can be stored on flash media cards
for backup, transfer between units and unlimited configuration storage. Overall, the system sounds considerably better than ever
before, has more punch, better clarity of transients and a more natural,
uncolored sound with better imaging. |
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UPDATE
October 2005:
Electro-Voice EVX180B subwoofer
driver appears in Bass Pig's sound system.
The new EVX180B driver offers an
unprecedented 2" peak to peak
excursion (unprecedented when compared to competing mass-produced commercial
sound reinforcement drivers). Four of these drivers were purchased in October 2005
and two more in January 2006. Test results are
impressive. A whole new level of BASS.
Here are a couple of photos of the
new beast (note huge voice coil dust covers). |
Copyright 2006 MW Communications Systems, LLC
Here is the back of the magnet:
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SPEAKER
SYSTEM |
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This system has been radically
updated: Two new types
of 18" woofers are utilized in the system, each specifically designed to work over a
specific range of frequencies. Upper and mid bass, where most of the "kick" or
"punch" is perceived are the domain of the very fast Electro-Voice EVX-180B
woofers. Bass below 50 hertz is handled by the long-throw Bassmaxx ZR-18's
customized with dual-layer honeycomb-reinforced fiberglass cones with butyl rubber surrounds. The last range of frequencies, those below 25
hertz, are handled by the Bassmaxx sub-woofers. Everything you see here is from their
respective manufacturer's Industrial/Professional lines, plus four custom
specialized woofers built to the Bass Pig's specifications. When you're pushing close to
15,000 watts, you need speakers that are very unusual. |
Midrange and treble
frequencies required a careful balance of high-performance drivers and an
"in-line" approach to driver alignment. This was necessary to achieve a
phase-coherent sound-field which would allow the cross-fed interference pattern of the
Carver C4000 Sonic Hologram Generator to cancel unwanted sound arrivals perfectly, resulting in a
360-degree sound-field when such material was present in the recording. Each cabinet was
hand-tuned for precisely-matched phase and frequency response. The JBL E120 was chosen for
its 4-inch voice coil on an ultra-light aluminum former for incredible power capacity,
efficiency and transient response. Finally, the high frequencies are output by JBL 2403
Elliptical drivers connected to a phase/time matching network of my design.
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SYSTEM
CONTROL COMPONENT FEATURES:
Behringer DCX2496 Ultradrive Pro Loudspeaker
Management System
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3 analog inputs (one suitable as digital stereo AES/EBU input)
and 6 analog outputs for maximum flexibility |
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High-end AKM® 24-bit/96 kHz A/D and D/A converters for ultimate
signal integrity and wide dynamic range (113 dB) |
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Integrated sample rate converter for easy connection of external
digital signals with sampling rates from 32 to 96 kHz |
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Precise dynamic EQs for level-dependent equalization and
extremely musical parametric EQs, selectable for all inputs and
outputs |
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Several types of EQs (LP/BP/HP) for each input and output |
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"Zero"-attack limiters on all output channels for optimal
speaker protection |
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Four different mono and stereo output operating modes |
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Individual crossover filter types (Butterworth, Bessel and
Linkwitz-Riley) with selectable roll-off characteristics from 6
to 48 dB/octave |
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Adjustable delays for all inputs and outputs-allow manual or
automatic correction for room temperature, phase and arrival
time differences |
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Additional sum signal derived from the A/B/C inputs offers a
fourth internal input signal |
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Future-proof ULTRADRIVE PRO software enables single or multi
remote control via PC through RS-232 and RS-485 interfaces (www.behringer.com) |
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Link option via RS-485 network interface enables cascading of
several ULTRADRIVE PROs |
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60 user-defined internal presets storable via PC software or on
PCMCIA card |
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Open architecture assures easy software updates |
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Ultra low-noise 4580 operational amplifiers for outstanding
audio performance |
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Servo-balanced, gold-plated XLR connectors for all inputs and
outputs |
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High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction
for long life and durability |
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Internal switch-mode power supply for maximum flexibility (100 -
240 V~), noise-free audio, superior transient response plus
lowest possible power consumption |
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Conceived and designed by BEHRINGER Germany |
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Drawing of Midrange
& Bass Cabinets |
   
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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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See my smallest
PROJECT SPEAKER system
HERE. |
See my photography/video hobby page
HERE. |
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Bass Pig's Hottest Japanese CD Choices!
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See my Sony HVR-V1U video page
HERE. |
And that's all for
now, folks!
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