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5. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
5.1 Design Concept Of The ULTRAFEX PRO
The BEHRINGER ULTRAFEX PRO...
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increases presence and transparency. The program material will sound lively and natural again.
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improves the intelligibility of speech: voices become clearly articulated, text easily intelligible, the transpar-
ency of the vocal increases.
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provides a distinct sound improvement, particularly for instruments played in a percussive style - slapped
guitars or drums will sound incredibly funky.
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provides better stereo imaging: the sound becomes more differentiated, speaker setup poses less problems,
yet the signal remains fully mono-compatible.
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does not require any decoding process, since sound enhancement with the BEHRINGER ULTRAFEX PRO
is not created independently of the signal itself, and remains available even during numerous processing
or copying stages. Even digital recordings or CD replaying will gain from the use of the BEHRINGER
ULTRAFEX PRO.
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increases the listeners awareness. Even with low sound pressure levels, the ULTRAFEX PRO avoids
listening fatigue.
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finds useful application in Hi-fi systems by providing better resolution of the sonic image, due to its suitability
for the studio and its outstanding specifications. In particular, the processing of old analogue recordings
(disks and tapes) proves to be very efficient with the ULTRAFEX PRO.
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produces a more powerful and fuller bass which does not sound muddy. All recordings will benefit from
the dry and precisely defined bass contouring.
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produces an improved spatial enhancement and stereo effect intensity with the surround processor without
audibly colouring the sonic image.
5.2 Psycho-Acoustic Background
The term psycho-acoustics refers to the psychological aspect of hearing - in contrast to the physiological
transfer of impulses (transmission of nervous impulses). Psycho-acoustics examines the effect of sound on
the listener and the reasons for certain sonic impressions. How a sound is interpreted is influenced by a lot of
factors, most of them can hardly be measured yet are fairly important. For instance, those portions which are
responsible for the spatial localization of a sound. Nevertheless, they determine the quality of a recording to
an extraordinarily large extent.
There are also portions of the audio spectrum which we perceive as presence or naturalness. If this kind
of information is missing, the recording suffers from a loss in freshness, liveliness and spatial transparency.
Furthermore, natural harmonics are essential components of the sound. Often enough, they only represent
a minor portion of the signal and are easily lost. It´s the harmonic structure that makes a tone colour unique.
Without this structure, different instruments would not be distinguishable. When comparing acoustic musical
instruments, for instance acoustic guitars, you will note that even two instruments from the same series have
a different sound. Numerous factors determine the sound of an instrument: the design and materials to name
but two, but with such bearing on the eventual sound produced by that instrument.
From a physical point of view, a guitar produces a tone by means of a vibrating string which, in turn, sets air
in motion. The subsequent propagating sound waves reach the ear and are identified by the brain as a tone.
Since the string vibrates within itself, the tone consists of not only the fundamental oscillation but also
innumerable upper harmonics which are based on the fundamental wave.
The complex vibrations of the string are transferred to the body which, in turn, is also set in motion. The
combination of string and body produces the sound of the instrument. For example, certain harmonics may
be amplified due to resonance effects in the body, while other frequencies may be canceled due to the
properties of the wood.
5. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
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