Dbx (company)

dbx, Inc.
Company typePro Audio Manufacturer
IndustryAudio
Founded1971
Headquarters,
United States
Key people
David E. Blackmer, Founder
ProductsNoise reduction systems
Signal processing equipment
Compressors
EQs
Active crossovers
Loudspeaker management systems
OwnerSamsung Electronics
ParentHarman International
WebsiteDbxpro.com

dbx, Inc. is an American manufacturer of professional audio recording equipment owned by Harman International, a subsidiary of South Korea-based company Samsung Electronics. It was founded by David E. Blackmer in 1971.[1]

The original company goal was: "To get closer to the realism of a live performance." Its early products were based on the concept of using decibel expansion which gave the company its name.[2]

dbx is best known for the dbx noise reduction system,[3] a decibel companding system used for noise reduction in professional analog tape recording that was in competition with Dolby NR in the early 1970s; though their systems did not gain as much traction.[4] dbx is also the manufacturer of the Model 700, a unique but short-lived studio recording system, briefly popular in some circles as a mastering format.  Another early product was the eXpanded range DeciBel meter, a little solid-state meter that measured audio voltages both weaker and stronger than other bigger contemporary volume meters, built into an aluminum extrusion that was about the size of the meter itself, which was an earlier source of the company initials.  That dBx meter was related to their earlier CBS 600 extended range volume meter, developed and built at CBS Laboratories.

  1. ^ Hoffman, F. (2004), Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Volume 1 (revised ed.), Taylor & Francis
  2. ^ [1] Archived December 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "dbx History". Audioinvest.no. 2005-04-05. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  4. ^ Perone, James E. (2022). Music and Technology: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 53. ISBN 9781440878305.