Karaoke Forums

I have an api a-801 mixer/amp and Yamaha S115 speakers for a home setup. I borrowed my mom's bbe 362 and ran it through the pre amp loop and definitely want to add a bbe to my system. I was checking out the bbe 362 and noticed they have a bbe maxcom which is also a compressor/limiter/gate. I really don't know anything about compressors, limiters/gates but was wondering if I should get the bbe maxcom or just keep it simple with the bbe sonic maximizer. Because the api a-801 is an all-in-one unit, I am not sure if adding all the extras would be a good idea or bad idea. I would be running it through the pre loop on the back of the api a-801. I would appreciate your opinions. Thank you in advance.

This is just one opinion but I have had no luck with my BBE 362. Before I bought it I read all the literature about how great my sound was going to be with all of the "phase/time correction" that the Maximizer was going to do for me.

It just made my system sounded more "tinny" and "metallic", certainly not an improved sound! I intentionally got the 362 thinking that it'll be simpler and easier to learn how to use properly than the higher models, and obviously I never succeeded in learning how to use it properly, but I tried all the adjustments and could never get out of the "tinny" mode.

Then I read on some other DJ forums that others didn't have much luck with the all the Maximizer models either, so maybe it's really hard to use and/or worthless?

All I know is now my BBE sits on my shelf gathering dust. I probably should put it up for sale!

PS. I'm not familiar with your mixer so can't comment on your particular situation, but what improvement did you hear with your mom's model that made you "definitely want to get one"?

Well you don't really want to run a compressor on the outputs - which the preamp out is going to do - unless you are using it for speaker protection only, then you really only want a limiter. Where you'd really benefit from a compressor is on the mic channels only for most karaoke situations. The 362 should do just fine, or if you need individual adjustments for 2 channels, the 482 is a good choice.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Sounds like you had it set too high. Very common mistake with these units is people really think of them as a tonal contral, which they really are not. In an in/out comparison, you really should only minimal improvement - which sound contrdictory, but is it's primary function. The lo contour & presence adjustments are more for studio use in restoring old recordings and adding punch to some instruments & vocals.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Thank you, Lonman. What does the compressor do for the mic channels? Also, do you have a recommendation for a compressor? The api a-801 only has 1/4" mic inputs.

I would just go with the BBE 362 as well. I have one on my mobile system. Keep the contour knobs between 10:00 and 1:00, typically around 11:00.

For home karaoke, I'm think you would find yourself not using the extra features of the maxcom. Home karaoke would typically be at much lower volumes/SPLs than a club system, so the limiter and gate functions would probably not be needed. Read an article on gain structure and learn to set up your system correctly and you'll save the need for these functions. Compression is a nice feature to have on the vocal channels, but again, with home karaoke and only having a limited number of people singing on your system, I think you'll find you need a very limited amount of compression on the vocals.

If you want a good separate compression unit, check out the DBX 286A. This unit also has a great pre-amp you can use for the main vocal channel that will be an instant upgrade from the one on your mixer. Again, for home karaoke, though, I think this a bit of overkill!

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C Mc
KJ, FL