Decoder Man
Well-known Member
Years ago. A friend who operated an electronics surplus store gave me three CX decoders. At the time, neither he or I had any idea what they were. He gave them to me thinking I could use the enclosures for any projects I might be designing. Recently. I began going through my inventory to see what might be good candidates for Ebay, when I came across these three units. On a whim, I listed one and to my surprise received substantial interest from several Europeans. One gentleman provided a link to Wikipedia where I discovered what a CX decoder is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CX_(audio)
CX is a noise reduction system for recorded analog audio. It was developed by CBS Laboratories, a division of CBS, in the late 1970's as a competitor to other noise reduction (NR) systems such as Dolby and dbx, and was officially introduced in 1981. The name CX was derived from "Compatible eXpansion," a feature of the technique. The CX integrated circuit U2141B was developed by AEG-Telefunken, Germany, in 1982, by the same team who designed the High Com noise reduction system, a broadband compander with typically up to 20 db of noise reduction.
CX was originally designed by CBS as a noise-reduction technology for vynil LP records, similar to the earlier dbx system for dbx discs. CX required a special decoder connected to a stereo system, in order to fully reproduce the CX encoded sound on the LP. However, CX encoded records could also be played without a decoder, with a resulting (claimed acceptable) amount of dynamic range compression.
Relatively few hardware decoder boxes were sold. Making them extremely rare today.
The project was led by CBS Records group vice president Bob Jamieson and carried out by a team led by Dan Graveraux. The label predicted that CX encoding would become standard on all new LP releases but this did not happen. CBS struggled to gain support for the system from other record companies. The process was controversial among CBS executives and unpopular with some artists. Classical guitarist Liona Boyd demanded that the CX encoded version of one of her albums be withdrawn because of perceived shortcomings, even though Jamieson claimed that CBS had the technical means to overcome such objections.
Approximately 70 CX encoded LP titles were released by CBS in 1982 in the United States. In Europe many CX discs were manufactured in Holland with the catalog number prefix "CBSCX". The albums in this series also came in standard, non CX encoded versions. While the implementation of CX with LP's was quite unsuccessful and short lived, CX would later see success as the NR used for the stereo analog audio tracks on LaserDiscs. It was also used for the audio tracks on discs of the RCA SelectaVision CED Videodisc system.
Two of the units I listed sold quickly. The third is still listed on Ebay. If you would care to see what it looks like, check it out.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331164071549?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
I have a question. Were any SQ or CD-4 LP's encoded with CX??
The list of LP's encoded with CX is too large to include here. I recommend you go to Wikipedia to see a partial list.
CX is a noise reduction system for recorded analog audio. It was developed by CBS Laboratories, a division of CBS, in the late 1970's as a competitor to other noise reduction (NR) systems such as Dolby and dbx, and was officially introduced in 1981. The name CX was derived from "Compatible eXpansion," a feature of the technique. The CX integrated circuit U2141B was developed by AEG-Telefunken, Germany, in 1982, by the same team who designed the High Com noise reduction system, a broadband compander with typically up to 20 db of noise reduction.
CX was originally designed by CBS as a noise-reduction technology for vynil LP records, similar to the earlier dbx system for dbx discs. CX required a special decoder connected to a stereo system, in order to fully reproduce the CX encoded sound on the LP. However, CX encoded records could also be played without a decoder, with a resulting (claimed acceptable) amount of dynamic range compression.
Relatively few hardware decoder boxes were sold. Making them extremely rare today.
The project was led by CBS Records group vice president Bob Jamieson and carried out by a team led by Dan Graveraux. The label predicted that CX encoding would become standard on all new LP releases but this did not happen. CBS struggled to gain support for the system from other record companies. The process was controversial among CBS executives and unpopular with some artists. Classical guitarist Liona Boyd demanded that the CX encoded version of one of her albums be withdrawn because of perceived shortcomings, even though Jamieson claimed that CBS had the technical means to overcome such objections.
Approximately 70 CX encoded LP titles were released by CBS in 1982 in the United States. In Europe many CX discs were manufactured in Holland with the catalog number prefix "CBSCX". The albums in this series also came in standard, non CX encoded versions. While the implementation of CX with LP's was quite unsuccessful and short lived, CX would later see success as the NR used for the stereo analog audio tracks on LaserDiscs. It was also used for the audio tracks on discs of the RCA SelectaVision CED Videodisc system.
Two of the units I listed sold quickly. The third is still listed on Ebay. If you would care to see what it looks like, check it out.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331164071549?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
I have a question. Were any SQ or CD-4 LP's encoded with CX??
The list of LP's encoded with CX is too large to include here. I recommend you go to Wikipedia to see a partial list.