As far as I know (and me experience using it with Alpine gear), BBE is just another one of those "decompression" things. It's basically a Loudness setting. It's a standard EQ jump in your high frequencies and low frequencies.

So in theory it does't do anything an EQ can't do, but sometimes depending on your gear it may be desireable to turn it on to make it easier to get the EQ you really want.

 

Did you find this?

Functional Overview

BBE High Definition Sound compensates for phase and amplitude distortion, restoring the brilliance and clarity of the original content material. The BBE High Definition Sound process begins by applying a linear phase shift across the full frequency range of the signal, which allows the speaker system to reproduce the transients and harmonics in the correct order. The BBE process then compensates for speaker amplitude distortion by progressively boosting lower and higher frequencies, and doing so within the context of the phase correction process. This efficiently creates a fuller, richer sound without excess equalization.

 

Yes I did... that's what made me ask this question. I'm not native english but to me it sounds like a whole lot of words for a static EQ setting . I guess I'm most interested by the reference to phase correction. Is it simple EQ or is there more to it...

 

Never mind, you already did. I can't get past the marketing.

 

i've found this. doesn't really get into a whole lot of detail and it doesn't really say what product it is referring to, but it is "a simple explanation of the BBE theory." it does seem to call the process, or whatever, a static EQ sort of thing.
this very question came to mind when i bought my HU and noticed that it had BBE. i've only three settings and off. the overall it does make the sound "really come to life", especially at lower listening levels, however the highs simply become too ear-piercing and painful and i've no way of taming them with the HU's EQ; parametric or graphic. whatever it's worth, i leave my at level 1 (the lowest) and tune after that.

 

i agree it makes the sound more "sparkly"...which would be nice to some people, however i don't think the original music was supposed to sound that way...which makes it kinda gimicky...in a semi legit way.

 

Glad this topic came up. I gave up on my factory Bose system through an ms-8 ( hi-level inputs ). Nothing sounded just right and was very frustrated as I couldn't find that sweet spot. I bought a Cowon J3 PMP to use as a source for the ms-8 through the aux inputs. I have been toying with the BBE options. I definitely prefer BBE std. The highs are a touch too sparkly with the volume up high, but I have not really had a chance to play with it yet. I am hoping to tame it down a bit, but overall very happy with the options through the pmp player.

 

I had BBE of for a few days but put it back on the -4 level. It's doing something right but I was strugling some esses and was wondering if those where a side product of the BBE processing. I swapped the back chamber on my space one tweeters and that seems to help. I am enyoing the sound I have now.

 

I use a BBE branded crossover in my band's PA. It's very much like an "exciter" adding overtones and such to make the sound more interesting, but not more natural. If the rest of my equipment wasn't so cheep sounding, I wouldn't use it. I do use it at very minimal settings. I have added exciters to my bass too. I guess in the end, if you like what it adds, use it.

 

This is very true.

While it may do nothing more than add some EQing, if it makes it sound better to you then who cares? I think you could likely get the same result from a normal EQ, but sometimes our inhibitions kick in and the EQ wave we may like just looks so anti-SQ that we don't want to use it.

 

I think the BBE processor in HU's works as the crossover peg_legs mentioned. It seems to add harmonics to a range of frequency's or at least "excite" them. It isn't easy getting that effect with EQ. I like what it does at moderate volume levels. The "excited" frequency's seem to fall into the range that a normal loudness setting would bump.

 

I have BBe 882 and I love it, used many years in home recording studio. now thinking of installing it in my truck.

 

do you have BBE processing and an equalizer?

try to make one sound like the other, there's a difference.

I used to use one as a part of my bass rig. Once I figured out that increasing my clean headroom and boosting upper treble/sub bass gave the same result, I ditched it. The BBE processing certianly does something, but IME proper EQ and gain structuring get pretty much the same result.

 

OMG, man this topic is talking taking me back. I had car audio 3012 model, which worked quite well. I hated to part with it, but I had so many in-line processors that floor noise was becoming difficult to handle.

Here's a link to the model I had used: http://www.bbesound.com/products/manuals/3012_manual.pdf

If I recall correctly, the BBE feature was on aftermarket head units and only had on and off activation switches. It does not compared to my dedicated processor (3012) which offers more controls and features. If you're looking for more clarity in your low to medium level sound system, I highly recommend BBE products. If you're in the high end, then your dual 30 band EQ will do the job.

 

A bump with more info:

(This a quote from an article of Paul White in SOS magazine)
PHASE MANIPULATION
BBE's Sonic Maximizer system is based on the premise that most audio systems introduce unwanted phase shifts into the audio signal, resulting in a lack of clarity. To remedy this, the BBE processor splits the audio signal into three frequency bands, then applies different delays to each band to restore the original phase relationship of the harmonics making up the sound. On the models I've used, frequencies below 150Hz are delayed by around 2.5ms, while those between 150Hz and 1200Hz are delayed by about 0.5ms. Frequencies above 1200Hz are not delayed, but do have some form of dynamic control (compression/expansion) applied to them so as to enhance transients. Unlike the Aphex process described later, the BBE principle does not add new harmonics, but rather attempts to realign the relative phase of existing harmonics, as well as using dynamic processing to emphasise transients.

Essentially, the controls comprise a low-end EQ control to help balance the bass end against the enhanced top end, and a Definition control. LED metering shows the extent of the dynamic processing applied to the HF band and, on the models I've used, there has also been an Auto/Manual button. In Auto mode, the dynamic treatment of the HF band is determined by the dynamics of the mid-band signal; in Manual mode, the high band is subjected to a fixed degree of dynamic processing. The Definition control affects only the dynamic, high-band processing level -- the inter-band delays are always active when the process is engaged.
Setting up a BBE Sonic Maximizer usually entails selecting Auto mode, adjusting the Definition control to bring up the high end, then using the Lo-Contour control to make up for any lost bass end. Overall subjective brightness is increased, but the sound lacks the incisive (and sometimes fatiguing) edge of the harmonic exciter.

 

BBE revisited...

I finally figured out why EQ couldn't do what BBE does. Basically BBE is just an EQ, with the addition of some active control. It adjusts the lows and highs depending on midrange level. More midrange means more boost in lows and highs. Low boost is centred around 50 Hz, high boost around 5 kHz.

That's the reason it feels more alive, it sort of mimics what you'd hear in a live performance (lol). When the midrange is swamped with more sound the drummer steps up to the game and pounds a bit harder, and the singer gives a bit more power too. At least, that's what it sounds like. Now I know why I liked it. It gets used in mixing and mastering to spice up a dull sounding demo.
You need very low settings to get the best results.
So it is basic EQ, but a dynamic controlled one. No parametric EQ setting will sound the same.
It only works well at lower listening levels and makes it kinda impossible to turn up your system past a certain point. But it does make the lower listening level a lot fuller sounding without cluttering up the sound. So it works kind of like a loudness setting, but one that's a bit more clear. No harmonics are added to the sound, it's not adding distortion.

The phase shift alone does not seem to do much that is audible. With the further processing disengaged the phase shift is very low. The EQ part will no doubt introduce it's on phase shifts. A BBE plugin with the low contour and processing off does not notably clean up the sound, at least not on most systems. Most do not notice any kind of difference. But with both knobs turned up just a tiny bit things change rather quick. Not much level of BBE is needed to make it sound way different. That explains the preference for the lowest setting in the car. The mixing pre settings are giving low values too. It (BBE processing) gets some use on recording instruments or voices to give them more body. Use with care

Hope that helps someone...

 

Had it 20y ago on Alpine ERA-G 320 processor.... Alpine suggested use of BBE filters among with Surround functions. I never liked it for normal music reproduction. There were 3 filters, and you could manipulate each one of them.......

 

I still am using this in an alpine 3342 EQ. It's incredible, and I can't get rid of it as it just sounds too good. I posted on an alpine forum asking people for a good android smart radio, or something else new to get updated, and everyone told me nothing will sound as good and to keep this is I liked the sound.