dbx 224x Up and Running

[Acoustic]

I got my 224x last week and had the time last night and this evening to get it connected thru the dbx400xg to two decks at this time. The Nak CR-5 and the Teac A3300SR. Last night I made a recording on the Nak with Fuji DR-II tape from NPR station KANU of some jazz on my Yamaha CT800 tuner. I listened to this evening and was very impressed with the quality of the sound. I assume with the lowered noise floor is why the dynamics were increased. There was no noticeable loss of frequencies in the music anywhere and very much lowered tape hiss. I listened to the whole 45 minutes of the tape and was impressed. Keep in mind this is from someone who rarely made it through and entire song when experimenting with Dolby B or C... because there were to many compromises in the music for the reduced tape hiss return.

Now I am taping to the Teac on Maxell UD35-10 tape from the same set up. And I must say that from monitoring the recording I am getting favorable results.

Some thoughts: I think the set-up will be used more for the R2R since the playback of the tapes is on the same rig all the time and a dbx decoder is needed for proper playback. And since I mainly go from main rig to bedroom systems with my cassettes... I am already on the lookout for another dbx unit. The dbx223-DS doesn't have the 12" vinyl input but since it has capabilities for two decks without another source router needed...that might be more desirable for me in my bedroom system. Here's some pics:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2785092605_d5d78876c1.jpg

The wiring was oh so fun!!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/2785992486_3fc772eeb2.jpg

[Scorpion8]

Awesome! I picked up a dbx unit awhile back (228x if memory serves me) that I don't have hooked up yet. I plan on using it with probably my Sony reel-to-reel so I'm interested in what results you get and opinions.

[Acoustic]

Does it look like this...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2785261893_a4d5606432_o.jpg

If so it's a 224x noise reduction unit and a dynamic range expander all in one. http://www.vintagedbx.com has a chart of the units, some manuals and docs... they say it's 'rare'. And have the value all over the place at $30-200 for the 228.

[Scorpion8]

Does it look like this...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2785261893_a4d5606432_o.jpg

If so it's a 224x noise reduction unit and a dynamic range expander all in one. http://www.vintagedbx.com has a chart of the units, some manuals and docs... they say it's 'rare'. And have the value all over the place at $30-200 for the 228.

Yup. That's it. Pretty sure, although it's 3500-miles away from me so taking a look is kinda hard right now. But that fits the bill exactly. Rare? I got mine for $40.

[Acoustic]

Yup. That's it. Pretty sure, although it's 3500-miles away from me so taking a look is kinda hard right now. But that fits the bill exactly. Rare? I got mine for $40.
Sounds like a good deal to me. Give it try when you have time... I'll bet you'll like it.

I listened to side one of the R2R I taped last night... 1 1/2 hours. It sounded real and very good... like it should be. Again I rarely made it through a song using Dolby B or C but dbx sounded 'real'... no veiling or loss of a part of the frequency spectrum like I noticed with dolby. I'm already looking for another decoder for my other rig.

Does anyone know the story of why dbx didn't catch on to stomp dolby? Was it that the decoding had to be on every deck? Was dolby just to the 'standard' when dbx came out? Or was it perhaps that it was to late in the ballgame and home stereo's were already dwindling because of CD's? Just wondering... like usual.

[revcom]

There were actually two problems with the DBX type systems. One was the DBX systems have a tendency to breath and pump at low levels of music. Second, music encoded with DBX is almost unplayable without being decoded via a DBX decoder. Music encoded with Dolby B, on the other hand could be played back without decoding and still be OK with just more highs and some hiss. The Nakamichi High Com II noise reduction system is thought by some to be the best noise reduction of that era, however due to it's high cost, it did not catch on. The DBX and Nakamichi systems had a noise reduction of about twenty to twenty five DB as opposed to the ten DB of the Dolby B. I have two Teac AN-180 Dolby units, one dbx 224x-DS and one Nakamichi High Com II, none of which are hooked up.

[Acoustic]

Welcome to TH revcom. Is the reason you have none hooked up because you prefer no noise reduction? That is the way I've been until the dbx. Just two days into my usage...... and my opinion is that it sounds as if I am using no noise reduction. In other words no compromises in the music because of the use of dbx.

[revcom]

Actually, I have just not had time to hook my system back up. I originally had a Revox A77 MK 1 with no noise reduction back in the 60s connected to a Marantz quad amp. This system has not been connected for about twenty years. I decided to hook every thing back up and also bought another A77 MK lll to go with my old MK I. While I was at it I thought I would try some noise reduction at the same time. I started by acquiring the Dolby Units, but the more I read it appeared that the dbx was less trouble to record with since I do not normally swap tapes with anyone. However the more I dug into noise reduction, the more the Nakamichi High Com appeared to be the best, so I finally found one of those on EBAY and bought it. So now I am going to try out all three and try to determine which is the best for my use. Should be interesting.

[Scorpion8]

So now I am going to try out all three and try to determine which is the best for my use. Should be interesting.

We'd love to see a comprehensive technical post regarding that.

[braxus]

Acoustic,

You have the same combo I will be running too. A 400XG with 224X. I don't know how much use the 224 will get, but its nice to have.

[Acoustic]

I'm on day 4 of using the dbx in my setup. I'm probably going to end up encoding all tapes that I know I am going to playback on my system with it... that is how impressed I am with the results. Best results are on the Teac R2R compaired to the Nak. But I think that's because the Teac just needs more noise reduction. It really lowers the noise floor on it. I am going to find a 224x-DS for my bedroom setup. It doesn't have the disc decoder in it but you can hook up two tape decks to it without an additional source router.

Are you going to be hooking up yours anytime soon??:-?

[jbeckva]

Are you going to be hooking up yours anytime soon??:-?

Yep, soon as I get it in from PR. Took a snipe off of ebay for a decent price not too long ago (sorry if it was someone here!). Hopefully it works.

That was my response to the Technics RS-B57R fiasco I just went through. After researching that deck, it would appear to me to be a decent enough one to try out dbx again (I had a Pioneer CT-S88R "back in the day" that really shined with dbx).

So I get it in, unbox and hook it up. Plop a tape in and do (get this) a 1-2 minute test recording. Sounded FANTASTIC! So I was thinking "great... finally got me a dbx deck again that I can be satisfied with".

At that point I wanted to see how my TDX SA-X would do (2nd best to a metal formulation that really does shine). Hit the eject button - the damn door wouldn't disengage! Come to find out the mech needs a TOTAL rebuild... not only were the ATS switches snafu'd, but it has a bad habit of "almost" eating your tape by refusing to engage the pickup reel sometimes. I'm "blank tape disadvantaged", so I'm not going to take any more chances of a munching occur!

I was disappointed, to say the least. Almost cryed after hearing that "pristine" output from my quick dbx record session.

My current deck is a Yamaha KX-W602. If I'm not mistaken, the metal freq response is 20 to at least 19 (maybe more.. I forget). Nothing at all wrong, so instead of taking another chance at a whole deck I'm going for the 224x outboard unit. Hope it works! *hope*

[braxus]

Are you going to be hooking up yours anytime soon??:-?

Not until my buddy from the US brings all the stuff I sent to his place across the border for me. If that is early September, then it will be by the end of that month when my new rack is built and brought here to stay.

[Acoustic]

Yep, soon as I get it in from PR. Took a snipe off of ebay for a decent price not too long ago (sorry if it was someone here!). Hopefully it works.
So your the one who got that 224x-DS that was in PR. I guess you (and I) were lucky I fell asleep Sunday evening and didn't get a chance to snipe it myself! Let us know how things turn out when you get it.

[jbeckva]

So your the one who got that 224x-DS that was in PR. I guess you (and I) were lucky I fell asleep Sunday evening and didn't get a chance to snipe it myself! Let us know how things turn out when you get it.

Yeah, whoever won would've paid a handsome price heheh. Nah.. I'd set my limit according to what I think I can get away with when der-wifenstein found out... *eyepop*

Just got it in today. That was FAST shipping from PR man... Here she be..

http://www.compautomation.com/images/dbxu.jpg

Dbx.. gotta have it man. Sounds absolutely AWESOME. Now I need to get some more blanks. I need to make that trip back to the parents upstate - My mother says she has a whole slew of old stock in the back of her store. Wonder what goodies there might be in there.. *reelspin**reelspin*

[Acoustic]

Yeah, whoever won would've paid a handsome price heheh. Nah.. I'd set my limit according to what I think I can get away with when der-wifenstein found out... *eyepop*

Just got it in today. That was FAST shipping from PR man...

Dbx.. gotta have it man. Sounds absolutely AWESOME. Now I need to get some more blanks. I need to make that trip back to the parents upstate - My mother says she has a whole slew of old stock in the back of her store. Wonder what goodies there might be in there.. *reelspin**reelspin*

That sure was fast. Glad no one spoiled the others party (and I got some well needed sleep*Spin*). Is this your first time using dbx? Let us know what goodies you find at your mothers store!

I'm goin' after another one on Saturday for the bedroom system.*hope*

[jbeckva]

That sure was fast. Glad no one spoiled the others party (and I got some well needed sleep*Spin*). Is this your first time using dbx? Let us know what goodies you find at your mothers store!

I'm goin' after another one on Saturday for the bedroom system.*hope*

I had a Pioneer CT-S88R back in the 80's for a little bit. It did sound great when it was functional - I had it repaired once, and then just let it die when the mech started acting up bad. It was pretty close to the top I think for 2 head'ers.

I was hooked on dbx then. It was the only way to tape then as it is now IMHO - the results are virtually indistiguishable from the original. Music doesn't lose any "punch" either.

Good luck on that one Saturday! Yeah - hope to find some good brands there, we'll see. I got a theory that given the area around it, the ones left were the most expensive - most around there are looking for a bargain to tape a few songs on a boom box, etc.

And maybe I'll find my old MA-R heheh

[hakka26]

Hmm. I think I have a 224 around someplace. I still have a cassete player in my everyday driver so I didn't bother with the DBX.

[Acoustic]

Hmm. I think I have a 224 around someplace. I still have a cassete player in my everyday driver so I didn't bother with the DBX.
When I was researching dbx I've heard that obsticle nearly as much as the one about tape traders. Since I live 5 minutes from work I don't bother with anything other than FM. And on trips I have enough CD's and my mp3 player I play thru the car stereo. This way I can take advantage of what dbx has to offer on my home stereo's.

[Eldorado]

I just picked up a 224x the other day. Was on the way home from work, dropped in at a secondhand store, and just on the very remote off chance, I looked for a DBX unit. They had a 224x for 3000 yen. This is the same place I bought my reel to reel deck, but it's in no way a specialist in this kind of equipment, that was the only deck I've seen there in 18 months. So I was pretty surprised to find the dbx. It was sold as junk (no return, no guarantee, only basic information - ie worked when switched on) for 3000 yen. I'm going to see if it's in working order this weekend.

[Acoustic]

Great... sounds like around $28US... not bad, if it works, of course. Have you had dbx before or any experience with it? I am one month into ownership and I am still pleased with the results I am getting recording both R2R and cassette. Did you get a a users manual or need one?

Right now I am listening to Jazz with Bob Parlocha that I recorder over the past week. Three hours on a Maxell UD-35-10 3600' tape at 7 1/2ips both ways with auto reverse. Sounds sweet!!! *reelspin* *reelspin*

[Eldorado]

For me, the price was fine, it's a risk I'm happy to take. I looked on Yahoo auction and in Rakuten (shopping site for Japan very roughly equivalent to Amazon, although there's an Amazon Japan as well.) No dbx, so it could be months before I find one. I don't live in Tokyo so I don't have too many chances to get to Akihabara, where I probably could find one.

I tried it out yesterday, and there are problems with it. A lot of crackle. It may just need cleaning, I cleaned the inputs and outputs before using, but no luck yet. Maybe just needs more cleaning, or maybe it really is screwed. We'll see.

[jbeckva]

For me, the price was fine, it's a risk I'm happy to take. I looked on Yahoo auction and in Rakuten (shopping site for Japan very roughly equivalent to Amazon, although there's an Amazon Japan as well.) No dbx, so it could be months before I find one. I don't live in Tokyo so I don't have too many chances to get to Akihabara, where I probably could find one.

I tried it out yesterday, and there are problems with it. A lot of crackle. It may just need cleaning, I cleaned the inputs and outputs before using, but no luck yet. Maybe just needs more cleaning, or maybe it really is screwed. We'll see.

Try shooting the pots and switches with deoxit. Man that's a bummer.

[Acoustic]

Sorry to hear that. Are you getting any music thru the crackle? Deoxit just might be your ticket. Hope things get worked out.*hope*

[Eldorado]

I get music through the crackle, so that's a start. The problem became noticeable on the second tape I made, where I turned the play and record levels up to about the halfway point.

I assume you're saying I need to get the cover off and spray some of the parts inside.

[Acoustic]

Sounds like (perhaps) the record/play settings were set by the last owner and hadn't been changed for a time... then when you adjusted them the oxidation is preventing proper contact. And, as suggested, cleaning the record/play pots and while your in there the switches, should stop the crackle.

I can see that happening in these dbx units because after you get your record/play levels proper to your set-up most of your level(s) adjusting would be on the deck. And then rarely moved. Or in your case, you don't know how long this unit has been sitting around oxidizing. Even just twisting those record/play controls a bunch of times will give you a better indication if they are the culprits.

[Eldorado]

That's really helpful. Thanks! I'm going to try to get it sorted when I get home.

[Eldorado]

I removed the cover, and sprayed the relevant parts inside. Everything now seems to be working properly. Recorded one tape so far, and it sounds great.

Thank you for your help.

[Acoustic]

Great to hear you got her goin'.*Hi5* Looking forward to your impression of dbx NR. I still am impressed.*check*

[Eldorado]

Me too. Where'd the hiss go?