Dbx 166

[TexRoadkill]

Anybody still using a DBX 166? I havent used one in years but there is one in a pawn shop nearby for $100. That's the listed price so I'm sure he'll go lower.

Any comments on the 166?

[heylow]

It's the older one, right? Not the XL, just plain old 166 stereo comp?

If so, I think they rule! I have one I use for kick and snare and sometimes bass. Bone head easy to use. I think the older 166, 163 and 160's are great comps for the dough and 100 bucks is a great price if it's in good condition.

If you get a chance, pick up a 163 off ebay. They go like 35 to 50 bucks and are the sm57 of comps....they work on almost anything and are great in a pinch.


heylow

[Joe E]

The 166 used price is around 100 bucks and is an all around good unit.

THe DBX 160's and 161's are opto leveling units and sell for 800 each or a racked pair for 1500 or so. THe 160 is a ballanced unit with barrier strips and the 161's are unballance with RCA jacks. The unballance unit is for inserts on a console and ballanced is used for inline use, like from a mic pre to comp, or a tape deck out to a comp. And of course any top of the line counsole with ballanced inserts.

[heylow]

For the record, when i said 160 I meant 160XT.....

Like these guys:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...item=865573163

These things are nice.....and more like 150.00 used.


heylow

[Tom Cram]

>THe DBX 160's and 161's are opto leveling units<

Nope, both of those units are VCA based. dbx has never made an opto levelling circuit, we're the VCA guys. You are probably thinking of 1176's and LA2A's.

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-Noam Chomsky-

[Joe E]

Thanks for the clarification....I knew that, not sure what I was thinking last night.

Anyway the 160 and 161 have a great classic sound.

Hey Tom how do the design of these differ from the newer DBX units?

Joe

[Tom Cram]

Not by much and by a lot. The circuit is the same, it has just evolved (or devolved depending on who you ask) from point-to-point wiring (160, 161) to PCB (160x, 160xt) to surface mount (160a). Parts, of course, change over time so that can have an effect on the tonality as well.

I have older dbx 165a's that I love and use on almost everything, but I know guys that absolutely hate them. I know guys that have 160x's that swear they are better than 160xt's. This is patently impossible, they are identical units. I did compare one of my 160x's to a buddies 160xt and they sounded different, it turned out his was way out of calibration. As soon as it was calibrated correctly, the two were indistinguishable. I've got a 119 that is the same thing as a 160VU, (just unbalanced) that I got for 40 bucks, as opposed to the 160VU that'll set you back 800 to 1000 bucks.

So, don't let the model numbers confuse you too much, if it sounds good it is good. dbx has been in business for 25 years or so. You end up with a lot of model numbers over 25 years

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-Noam Chomsky-

[fenix]

i have a 160a and i love it. I also have the 166 stereo compressor and that thing kicks ass on everything.