This is the part of this job that I LOVE! I get to be one of the first people in the industry to get my hands on one of the hottest pieces of technology around in prototype form. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Today, we are reviewing the MaxxBass Technology from Waves. This is a sneak peak at the future! Patrick has laid out the history and functions above, so I will try to stay on point with the sound of this device.

When Casey told me about another black box that was going to change the way audio is done, I gave him the obligatory “Uh-huh.” (At some point Casey had to shake me awake as he was telling me about it.) To say the least, I was a little surprised when he actually showed up a month later with this box under his arm and that little grin of his that tells me I’m about to have a tasty course of my own words to eat.

As I was saying, the tech editor shows up with a prototype demonstration unit of the
MaxxBass processor from Waves. No, you can not have one....yet. (ed.- actually, now you can!) The demo unit is designed to be installed into the low level RCA leads between a head unit and the amplification. It has few adjustments, so that makes it simple to set up and use. And, as I understand it, the processor will be built into electronics like amps and pre-amps, which will either have pre-set parameters or minimal controls, just as the demonstration unit does. This unit has three knobs and a button. The knobs are “Input Level,” “Intensity,” and “Frequency.” The button is a simple bypass switch to turn the circuit on and off.

To test this new device, I set up a pair of the USD Audio D-62 WaveGuide separates, that feature a pair of USD Audio 6.5” midrange/woofers, a pair of horn loaded compression driver tweeters called the WaveGuides, and passive 2-way crossovers for the front channels. For the rear channels, I set up a pair of Alpine SPR-176a 6.5” separates. I powered the system with a Crossfire VR-142 amplifier in stereo at 35 watts per channel with the MaxxBass in the RCA line.

I decided to give the MaxxBass a wide selection of recordings for the test. I listened to rock, folk to rap, classical and jazz. Heck, I even played the radio and used XM Satellite service to see if I could trick the MaxxBass unit into failing to achieve its stated objectives.

I started with the unit in the bypass position to get a mental setting for what the speaker system sounds like not processed. I put in 10,000 Maniac’s album “In My Tribe.” Track 7 is “Peace Train,” a track that opens with a strong 30Hz bass beat and a rhythm guitar. With the MaxxBass defeated, the bass line was “missing”. I restarted the track and turned it on and the bass line was clearly audible. Interesting, I thought. I spent the next couple of minutes fine tuning the MaxxBass, which was quite easy to do.

Restarting the track again I switched the unit in and out a number of times as the track progressed and, each time, I was rewarded by a fullness of the subwoofer information being added to the system, without the addition of a subwoofer. The effect of the unit was not that of a loudness contour or an equalizer or even a BBE. It was very much like having a small subwoofer turned on and off. It was almost weird, in that I could hear the subwoofer information, but I did not get the pant-leg shaking effect of a subwoofer.

And the more I listened to the MaxxBass, the more I found myself decreasing the Intensity level. Which is exactly what Patrick told me I would be doing once I got into the test. At 0:50 into" Piece Train” there is a drum kit, bass drum series of kicks. You can hear the mallet striking the skin and you can hear the skin noise, but without the MaxxBass in the “on” position, the actual tone of the bass drum was gone. The unit made the kick drums “fundamental” tone hearable on the 6.5” speakers with which I was testing.

Then I put in some rap, looking to see if I could overload the unit and get some kind of distortion or break-up from it. But I found that I could play the speaker system at a higher volume level with the MaxxBass on. Next came jazz. Sandy Liarag of Boston Acoustic gave me a great CD that Boston had produced called “Music for Bottom Feeders.” I have never been able to find another copy. A side note: It would be great if Boston would rerelease all of the CD’s that they produced in the ‘90’s. On the third track, “Music makes the World Go Around” I started listening for any artifacts that the MaxxBass may add or subtract from the playback. At 1:30 into this song, there is a loud staccato piano note that will jolt you. I went back and forth with the MaxxBass unit in and out of the signal path to hear if there was any degradation to the sound, and I could hear none.

At this point, I began to wonder if I was losing it. So I called my trusted sidekick Tuna in for a listen (Tuna is my long suffering employee, Henry Sudit.) Now, to Tuna, if it don’t bump, it ain’t worth having. I asked him to have a seat and listen to the track and just push this button on and off, then tell me what he heard and what he thought. Tuna listened for a bit, then pronounced that the button turns on a subwoofer. When I showed him the system was just 6.5” speakers---well, his exact quote I do not think we can print, but it went something like this, “Holy Bombastic Bass, Batman! That could not possibly be just 6.5” speakers!” You get the idea.

As I listened to more material the results just kept coming back the same. The MaxxBass does what Waves says it does. It improves the bass response of small speakers in a real and dramatic fashion. And now I have a number of applications in my mind for sound-off cars that I am going to go out and start testing right now, because the MaxxBass guys are going to want this unit back soon! I would too. It is impressive technology. I fear that MaxxBass will give its largest benefits to the OEM guys. It could be coming to a Ford or Chevy near you soon.

(©2004 by Car Audio and Electronics. Reprinted with permission)