# So what exactly do "bass restoration" units do?



## Vital (Feb 23, 2010)

Never had one but always see them being sold/bought so i quess there's a reason they exist lol. Can anyone explain to me what it is they do??
From the "info" on them all i really see is that it's just another amp.... or an addition to the amp really, seems like they just boost up certain frequencies that can also be done via monoamp, headunit's or external eq. 

I could be dead wrong since i never had one of these but would appreciate someone expalining to me why i would need this.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

These things were really popular years and years a go when we had those things called cassette tapes. The cassette tape by design could not store information below 40 or so hertz. So these things took that 40 hertz and other frequencies and added harmonics (nice word for distortion) to attempt to recreate what was missing from the recording that should have been there.

Now guys use them with CDs to do the same thing, but for non "audiophile" type purposes.

That's the quick and dirty of how they work and why they came to be.


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## Vital (Feb 23, 2010)

So simply put:

If you already have a headunit that puts out decent 5-8V or an external line driver, decent eq be it external or in your headunit, your monoamp has subsonic filter and gain remote you really don't need one of these units, right? Since you can "distort" the sound all you want yourself lol.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

No, not really like that.


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## Vital (Feb 23, 2010)

AND i use original CDs as my music source 

btw - would ipods and other mp3 files played have major loss in lower frequncies?


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

No they shouldn't. It was the analog recordings that had problems/inability to have the low low bass recorded to them.

It would also help if you listen to the radio a lot since the radio doesn't transmit below 40 or 50 hertz.


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## ALL4SPL (Sep 30, 2009)

I may be off here, so bear with me my brain is getting old as I am. I THINK they were created in a fashion so they restored missing harmonics lost due to the quality of the recording available at the time, Cassettes. With the onset of CDs and more, they are merely toys nowadays and nothing of real importance. MP3's should be fine as long as the encoding is done at a high rate, 128k to me is TOO LOW. I prefer 320k for all my MP3s sure I lose a little space but the quality is worth it to me.


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## Vital (Feb 23, 2010)

thehatedguy said:


> It would also help if you listen to the radio a lot since the radio doesn't transmit below 40 or 50 hertz.


Whould the same apply to hd radio and xm/sirius?


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## SoulFly (Mar 15, 2011)

i bought one of those Waves maxxbass units and i really liked it. helped my fronts far better than bass boost could. but i think it works differently than whats been described here.


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## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

Just an FYI - the AudioControl Epicenter didn't produce harmonics (multiples of the fundamental), but actually used a flip-flop circuit to divide the incoming frequency by 2, producing a subharmonic fundamental.

Interestingly, I bought an RCA "Detonator" on eBay for $20 shipped because it seemed to look identical to the Epicenter. I just got it and internally it's nearly identical to the Epicenter, right down to the jumpers and component locations. It's as though China put the PCB on a scanner and literally copied the entire design. 

I'll post a full write-up. I suspect that AudioControl sued the pants off them. It might explain why it never sold.


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## Vital (Feb 23, 2010)

Post that ebay link


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## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

Vital said:


> Post that ebay link


RCA RC779D Turntable Bass Detonator - Bass Restoration | eBay

Also - it's the* same damn thing* for all intents and purposes. I'll post later in the Advanced Section.

I LOL'ed.


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## sirvent_95 (Feb 14, 2011)

If i remember my manual properly 
the epicenter claimed to recreate existing bass tones
an octave lower as a way to restore bass that was lost
in poor recording formats, like tapes.

I used one with a high end (SONY ES) tape deck I once had.
It was very adept at producing deeper bass without sounding muddy
or boomy. It had a very smooth, clean sound. Not like many other
'bass boost' options like loudness or others that muddy the sound.


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## WOOFERNTWEETER (Aug 16, 2010)

try the new piece from ZED it is called the RA killer killer piece and no distortion!!!


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

One reason they are used today is to recreate the missing bass from modern factory radios. As speed increases bass decreases, these units help fix that. Audiocontrol's lc2i has it built in and it's adjustable.


Jacob Brown
Owner / (hdme)
505.750.8358
Sent from my iPhone


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## ATOMICTECH62 (Jan 24, 2009)

If you listen to music like Motley Crue and Judas priest that has NO low end bass this piece will add low end extension that is amazing.It will remove bass from most rap because it has a 33hz high pass filter built into it,however the unit can be switched out of the circuit when not needed.


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## Bugflipper (Apr 16, 2010)

Do they promote clipping like bass boost would?


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## ATOMICTECH62 (Jan 24, 2009)

YES.


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## PPI_GUY (Dec 20, 2007)

envisionelec said:


> Just an FYI - the AudioControl Epicenter didn't produce harmonics (multiples of the fundamental), but actually used a flip-flop circuit to divide the incoming frequency by 2, producing a subharmonic fundamental.
> 
> Interestingly, I bought an RCA "Detonator" on eBay for $20 shipped because it seemed to look identical to the Epicenter. I just got it and internally it's nearly identical to the Epicenter, right down to the jumpers and component locations. It's as though China put the PCB on a scanner and literally copied the entire design.
> 
> I'll post a full write-up. I suspect that AudioControl sued the pants off them. It might explain why it never sold.


I bought one of those RCA Detonators in the hope that they were a direct copy of the old Epicenters. Got it for next to nothing and stashed it away. Might have to get it out and play with it! 
I wonder if the build quality is similiar?


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