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SPL BiG 500 Series Stereo Image Control
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| SPL BiG 500 Series Stereo Image Control |
SPL's BiG is a double-slot 500 series module designed by the same minds that brought you the SPL Iron Mastering Compressor. BiG uses stereo information--audio with little or no correlation between the left and right channels and allows its manipulation using three simple hardware controls. The big thing about BiG is that its processing collapses accurately down to mono and is phase accurate--no matter how much you use.
A signal derived from the stereo L and R inputs of BiG is algebraically summed to produce a full-spectrum mono signal that no longer contains out-of-phase (non-correlated) information such as reverb and delays. This signal is processed through a specialized filter set that has three, interacting controls: Range, Stage, and Bigness. With all of these controls set at zero, BiG's output is identical to its input except for a slight increase in overall level. I tried BiG on full mixes as well as individual stereo instruments that had L/R channels of un-correlated sound. (i.e. True stereo recordings)
With the Bigness knob set to mid-way and both the Range and Stage controls off, I did notice hot percussive levels got compressed slightly and re-adjusting working levels downward ameliorated some of the loss of transients.
Keeping the Bigness control mid-way and the Stage full CCW at the Back position, I tried the Range control. The Range control selects the frequency processing range from full CW range or all frequencies in the Open position over to High or full CCW that focuses on the higher frequencies. Range set to High dials in a "fizz factor" with cymbal crashes (in the stereo drums tracks) and other bright sounds taking on a new clarity. Range set to Open seems to bring up the lower mid-range band and is noticeable on electric guitars and vocals.
The Stage control moves the frequencies set up in Range backward or forward in the stereo field with the effect of the sound either wrapping around you or it is positioned more in front of your listening position. The Bigness control adjusts the overall intensity of all processing. Lastly, there is a switchable 1.5dB @ 80Hz bass boost using a passive filter circuit similar to the Iron's AirBass function. For me, this can stay on all the time.
The new SPL BiG 500 Series module is distributed by Focal-Naim America in the US and Canada, sells for $649 MSRP and I want one!
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