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→Is The BBE Sonic Maximizer Simply a Bass and/or Treble Boost?
BBE on the other hand claims the unit is compensating the signal for phase misalignment and timing delays between frequencies that is inherent in the nature of speakers. See their own description of their product:
{{quote|[http://www.bbesound.com/products/manuals/882i_manual_rev4.pdf BBE 882i Reference Manual]|Loudspeakers have difficulty working with the electronic signals supplied by an amplifier. These difficulties cause such major phase and amplitude distortion that the sound reproduced by a speaker differs significantly from the sound produced by the original source.
In the past, these problems proved unsolvable and were thus delegated to a position of secondary importance in audio system design. However, phase and amplitude integrity is essential to accurate sound reproduction. Research shows that the information which the listener translates into the recognizable characteristics of a live performance are intimately tied into complex time and amplitude relationships between the fundamental and harmonic components of a given musical note or sound. These relationships define a sound’s “sound”.
When these complex relationships pass through a speaker, the proper order is lost. The higher frequencies are delayed. A lower frequency may reach the listener’s ear first or perhaps simultaneously with that of a higher frequency. In some cases, the fundamental components may be so time-shifted that they reach the listener’s ear ahead of some or all of the harmonic components.
This change in the phase and amplitude relationship on the harmonic and fundamental frequencies is technically called “envelope distortion.” The listener perceives this loss of sound integrity in the reproduced sound as “muddy” and “smeared.” In the extreme, it can become difficult to tell the difference between musical instruments, for example, an oboe and a clarinet.|[http://www.bbesound.com/products/manuals/882i_manual_rev4.pdf BBE 882i Reference Manual]}}
However, BBE fails to go into detail on what exactly the product does to fix this outside of generalizations such as their description of the problem above, and what to expect when using the products. Many perceive no difference in tone unless dialing up the low contour and process controls, which reduce relative midrange frequencies and make guitars more difficult to hear in a mix. So what's actually going on? [http://jvmforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6146 Here is an excellent analysis of the ''Sonic Maximizer's'' circuit on jvmforum.com.]