the BBE Sonic Maximizer differance - too good to be true?

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shackrock

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i made 2 mp3's of one of my band's songs. one has BBE Sonic Maximizer applied to it, one does not.
they are 128kbps mp3's, about 3.5mb to download.

please check them out and see which one you like better.

p.s. - i know that there is a little too much bass in both mixes, and that there is a bit of clipping - but it'll be taken care of by the end.


thanks guys.

oh yeah, and i think I like the bbe one better...it makes it sound a hell of a lot more "pro" and much more of a "warmer" mix.
 
I have BBE crap in my car stereo too....

To me it always sounds cool when you first switch to it...but, it hurts my ears in the long run.

I agree that the mix sounds "bigger"..but, I don't think this is the best way to get it.

The BBE to me makes everything sound too.....shifty. Like, shit is bouncing around...lots of extra non-audio energy that is just knocking everything around randomly.

It sounds kind of "furious" with the high frequencies.

it also sounds like it is burying your voice.

I am just listening on my cambridge computer speakers + sub thing. Be interesting to hear what others think.
 
I like the original better, it's got more space and dynamics. It feels like the song is "breathing" more. The BBE makes it sound very compressed, smooth etc. which is what more "professional" recordings are supposed to sound like. I can see how you like it, but I really can't stand it myself, especially for your style of music. I keep switching back and forth from one to the other. The BBE one sounds more "radio friendly" but all the life has been squashed out of it. Everytime I switch back to the non-bbe one I feel like I've been buried under ground all along and I can all of a sudden breathe again. This is just the way I feel about it though.


Anyone else?
 
It's certainly loud. It tends to sound like nu-metal, or anger-music or something, in that it's too much compressed, so it can be a problem for some, but others will surely like it. This compresses too much. I know it's easy to compress too much, because it makes it sound more powerful, but in closer listen, it buries a lot of stuff (including talent). And I'm writing this, when I haven't heard the non-maximised yet.

Well, I'm now listening to the non-maximised one. Well, this sounds equally loud, but has more mid-frequencies and less bass ones, I think. It almost sounds this is louder for whatever reason. I really think the difference is not that big, at least not on this track, since the original was so loud already. It sounds more like the maximised one just used different EQ settings. I like the non-maximised one more.
 
I like the way the non-bbe version sounds, its more raw. It goes better with the hardcore style of music.
 
i see

alright - I can definately see where you guys are coming from...

the BBE settings for that mix were set at 6 for LO and HI freq...

i think i might turn them both a lot lower (to begin with...may keep them at 1 or 2)...and maybe keep the LO higher then the HI to compensate for the lack of bassy sounds in mix?

well i'll try it out at my house


also - i'm finishing up the final mixes of some classic punk rock stuff - i'd like to post a sample of those to see which you guys like better for that style as well...i'll see what i can do when i get home

thanks everyone
 
the dynamics on the NON bbe seem to be much better. However, I'm listening on extremely lousy notebook speakers so......
 
I agree with everything SalJustSal said. In fact, it is as though he's in my head!

Interesting post too, by the way.






Cheers,
PopRocket
 
Sounds a lot better without the Sonic Maximizer.I used to have one of them and an Aphex Aurla Exciter and they fool your ears at first but in the end they make mixes sound like dog poo.
 
thanks guys - so i take it as a rule of thumb... "never use the maximizer"? haha
 
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