BBE MaxCom Compressor, Limiter and Gate with Sonic Maximizer

I've had this in my home recording rack for a few days, and am very impressed. The compression is very transparent, much better than my old DBX, the noise gate also works well. It cleans up all the peaks (mostly from drums), allowing a higher overall perceived volume without distortion; I'm setting it threshold 0 dB, 1.5 ratio and 30 msec attack. The sonic maximizer effect sounds great, I am currently using it at around 11 o'clock, but settings for best sound vary with the source material' very powerful effect. I'm using it right before input into the power amp mixer. I'm still using an Aphex exciter for vocals, but the Maximizer further enhances clarity (both used sparingly). Definitely the most cost effective addition you can make to a home studio (or just your stereo, for that matter); it improves the clarity of the mix. Haven't tried if for live sound, but I'm sure it would help in most situations, especially smaller setups, to thicken and clarify the sound. I have tried the "auto" button, but opted for keeping things manual; very little difference if all settings and input volumes are reasonable, but it might be helpful if you had really weird situations. Suggested improvement: it's a little hard to see the position of the "channel on" and "auto" buttons, lights or toggles would be nice. In my rack, I didn't see the "channel on" button (of course, I didn't read the instructions, who wants to read when you have a new toy?), so I called customer support, was immediately connected to a tech (who had actually participated in the design of the box), who was courteous, knowledgeable and helpful, he took the time to explain the various settings for my set up. Very happy with this purchase.

Bought this unit with the mindset of needing a master noise gate and a limiter, the sonic maximizer was an added plus.The Good: The MaxCom comes with BBE's sonic maximizer which is pretty good for having cleaner highs and lows, which i've always found useful when I don't want to have to mess around with EQ to get a clean tone. The noise get on this unit does a great job as well for filtering noise, more so than any other stereo noise gate i've worked with. The unit can also be set up for stereo where the left half is the controlling side which is useful for post-mixer chaining.The bad: The 1/4th inputs are all unbalanced so if you're running a balanced setup you have to convert to XLR to keep a consistent balanced line. Also there's no input gain knob which forces you to push whatever is before it in the audio chain to meet the idea levels for the MaxCom. The last thing i have to say about it is its not much of a compressor, even when used in what the manual has recommended as a limiter setting, the unit does not limit perfectly and offend the audio jumps to much high than the threshold is set to.Great unit for live when you need something to clean up the the sound right before a mixer and something to gate the noise in the setup. Its also good for studio when you need a gate with some cleaning up of the audio and a little big of leveling the sound. I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 purely because how weak it is as a compressor/limiter. Overall good unit if you're looking for something to gate noise and to clean up the audio a bit, just don't rely on it as a compressor or limiter because your speakers will be blown if you have any spike of audio.

This unit is fantastic..a limiter/compressor/sonic maximizer in one space rack...It makes a huge difference in sound quality..I use the noise gate to kill any sound below -70DB's, the result is, no buzz in the speakers between programs, the compressor works great, and the Sonic maximizer phase shifts the "highs" so they stand out..worth every penny I paid....

Definitely worth the price you pay! It can do wonders for your sound, any sound, if used correctly! I have not learned the intricacies of such equipment yet, but even with just messing around with the knobs based on the manuals directions, I found quickly why the BBE Sonic Maximizer process seems to be so highly acclaimed. I think for this price every musician, in the studio or live, should have one! It truly does "clean up" your sound, I feel it brings more clarity to your music.

I bought this as a compressor for my bass rig, and immediately noticed I could hear the meter LEDs switching on and off in the signal as a note decayed. I contacted BBE via their Email on the website, they never contacted me back. Sent it back to Amazon, bought a DBX 1066 instead. It's a few hundred dollars more for the DBX, but worth every penny! I may have received a bad unit, but BBE was zero help, which is zero acceptable on pro audio gear I use to make part of my living.

This is a great combo for the mobile DJ. A single rack unit for a compressor and sonic maximizer. Some may poo-poo the sonic maximizer and classify it as a glorified EQ. This unit does a great job of improving the punch of your system and managing volume peaks. The result is a cleaner/tighter sound and reduced volume fluctuations as you mix from track to track. Overall you get a polished sound. Get it if you need it. You won't regret it.

Several decades ago I bought and used a BBE unit in my home studio. I had several people hear my recordings and state my sounds were the best home recordings they had ever heard (in terms of quality and not composition). I attributed the high quality to the BBE. Recently I decided to build another home recording studio, this time all digital, and start writing and producing music again. I had to have a Maxcom in the chain to make the studio complete. BBE has done a fabulous job with this unit. One might reason that combining all the features into one box would compromise the quality. They would be wrong... If you are into making music, you need this unit. You will be amazed by the sound. Like most things very useful, after using it on your first composition, you won't want to be without it...I highly recommend it...