Tim Gillett said:
Beck, if you have perfectly matched NR encoding/decoding there is no way your recording will be "a little too warm with dbx". Neither will there be any "need to restore some sparkle on mixdown".
Perfect encoding/decoding never happens but it can be good enough that the misalignments are undetectable.
You say the encode/decode process was perfect (a strict impossibility) and yet you previously spoke of recordings "a little too warm with dbx" and of the need to "restore some sparkle on mixdown".
You seem to be disowning the very reason you were promoting the Sonic Maximiser which appeared to be to correct problems related to dbx. Your own words.
Tim
Your first paragraph above is simply absurd. Once again, you're addressing a topic you no little about. Don't you think it's a bit selfish for you to have to turn every thread into the Tim Gillett show? We spend a inordinate amount of time trying to help Tim Gillett keep up with the rest of the class.
It’s not at all fair to the experienced members that freely share their experience, and not fair to those with pressing issues in need of answers.
First of all, my original post wasn’t in response to yours, and was not addressing alignment issues. There is no conspiracy or contradictions in my posts in this thread either… sorry to disappoint you.
Secondly, your definitions of accuracy, transparency, perfection, purity, etc, would be more suitable in a field such as Metallurgy. The terms as you apply them do not relate to experience in the trenches of real-world recording.
I doubt anyone on this bbs is more aware or more meticulous about calibrating NR than I am. I’ve spoken in great detail about NR in previous threads going back years on this bbs, some of which you’ve taken from those posts and repeated in this thread.
We're talking 4-track on cassette here, with dbx Type II. We’re also talking about different products with a wide range of performance characteristics.
NR is not transparent… no processing is, least of all a companding. Dolby SR is not even transparent. For all practical purposes is can be pretty close, depending on the type used and the product it’s used with. This doesn’t mean it’s bad. It just means it may have to be compensated for. Most people tweak EQ without thinking of it as an effect. Well… it is an effect.
Capturing and reproducing music is all about understanding the capabilities/limitations of one’s equipment, and then using techniques and/or peripheral devices to address those limitations. NR is itself an add-on, designed to remedy tape hiss. You get signal-to-noise rivaling digital and dynamic range to burn, but there are always trade-offs.
The high frequency response of a typical 4-track cassette with perfectly aligned NR drops off as much as 2 to 4 kHz with dbx Type II engaged. I would never describe dbx on cassette as “airy.”
The high frequency response of the TASCAM 244/246 extends to about 17.5 kHz without dbx, but rolls off at around 15 kHz, down 4.5 dB with dbx engaged.
The high frequency response on something like the 414 rolls off at 10 kHz with dbx.
In addition, because dbx uses broad-band companding the headbumb frequencies around 120 Hz will be accentuated with each generation recorded with dbx engaged. Dolby doesn’t process frequencies that low.
Everything we use has pros and cons. I happen to be a fan of dbx… but having used it on narrow format machines for some 25 years, I know what to expect and how to work with it. And dbx on an open reel machine is an entirely different animal... not even the same conversation.
DEFINITIONS:
Perfect – As good as it gets for the device or system in question
Most of all Tim, I want you to think about this... "Flibber-squirrel." What are your thoughts? No wait, don't answer that!
Lay off, really... It's getting ridiculous. 
