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Important Safeguards ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………i
BBE Process Explained …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1-2
Product Description ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
Applications ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
Controls and Connections ………………………………………………………………………………………………………3
Specifications ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4
General Operation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4
Application Diagrams …………………………………………………………………………………………………………5-9
Service /Warranty / Maintenance ……………………………………………………………………………………………10
Calibration Procedures …………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Schematic Diagrams…………………………………………………………………………………………………………12-15
Congratulations on your purchase of the BBE 482 Sonic Maximizer—a two channel signal processor
that will benefit any recording or sound reproduction system. You now own a very unique signal
processing device with no equal in the audio world. Whether you purchased the BBE 482 for your
home studio, P.A., DJ system, or instrument rack, you will find the 482's rugged construction and
careful electronic design a welcome addition to your sonic arsenal.
Thank you for your purchase, and for the trust that you've placed in BBE. We are committed to
bringing you the finest products, with useful and unique features to serve your audio needs.
The BBE Process—"What it Is"
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 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.
BBE Sound, Inc. conducted extensive studies of numerous speaker systems over a ten year period. With this knowledge,
it became possible to identify the characteristics of an ideal speaker and to distill the corrections necessary to return
the fundamental and harmonic frequency structures to their correct order. While there are differences among various
speaker designs in the magnitude of their correction, the overall pattern of correction needed is remarkably consistent.
The BBE Process is so unique that 42 patents have been awarded by the U.S. Patent Office.
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