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CX (audio)
Encyclopedia
CX is a noise reduction
system for recorded analog
audio. It was developed by CBS Laboratories
(a division of CBS
) in the early 1980s, as a competitor to other noise reduction (NR) systems such as Dolby and dbx
. The name CX was derived from "Compatible eXpansion," a feature of the technique.
CX was originally designed by CBS as a noise-reduction technology for vinyl LP
records. 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.
The project was led by CBS Records group vice president Bob Jamieson. 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demanded that the CX encoded version of one of her albums be withdrawn because of perceived shortcomings, even though Jamieson claimed that CBS had the technical means to overcome such objections.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 laserdisc
s. It was also used for the audio tracks on discs of the RCA
SelectaVision
CED videodisc system.
Almost all laserdisc (and some CED) players manufactured since the mid-1980s had CX NR capability as a standard feature, with almost all commercial laserdisc releases having CX encoding on their analog tracks as well. For the LaserDisc system, the CX companding specifications were changed, from 20db of noise reduction to 14db, along with moving the 'threshold' where compression/expansion changes from 2:1 to 1:1 from -40db to -28db - other minor changes were made as well. In addition, some of the LD's FM audio encoding specs were changed too, allowing more headroom and better high frequency response at high levels. These changes were made because, at the time of CX's adoption on LD (1981), the vast majority of program sources for mastering, such as 35mm optical and mag film soundtracks, as well as the IVC-9000 and the 1-inch C-Type video tape formats used for LD mastering, had S/N ratios such that undecoded playback would accentuate their noise to unacceptable levels. By lowering the total amount noise reduction achieved, undecoded playback compatibility was increased. Audible pumping and breathing effects during CX decoded playback were reduced as well.
For the CED VideoDisc, CX companding specifications were unchanged from those of the LP system because the CED system had much higher overall noise levels than the LD format, requiring the full 20db of noise reduction achieved with the unmodified system. The names given by CBS to the two different versions of CX were "CX-20" and "CX-14".
The theory of operation is described in .
Noise reduction
Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal.All recording devices, both analogue or digital, have traits which make them susceptible to noise...
system for recorded analog
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
audio. It was developed by CBS Laboratories
CBS Laboratories
CBS Laboratories or CBS Labs was the technology research and development organization of CBS...
(a division of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
) in the early 1980s, as a competitor to other noise reduction (NR) systems such as Dolby and dbx
Dbx (noise reduction)
dbx is a family of noise reduction systems developed by the company of the same name. The most common implementations are dbx Type I and dbx Type II for analog tape recording and, less commonly, vinyl LPs. A separate implementation, known as dbx-TV, is part of the MTS system used to provide stereo...
. The name CX was derived from "Compatible eXpansion," a feature of the technique.
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
records. 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
Dynamic range
Dynamic range, abbreviated DR or DNR, is the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a changeable quantity, such as in sound and light. It is measured as a ratio, or as a base-10 or base-2 logarithmic value.-Dynamic range and human perception:The human senses of sight and...
compression
Audio level compression
Dynamic range compression, also called DRC or simply compression reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds by narrowing or "compressing" an audio signal's dynamic range...
. Relatively few hardware decoder boxes were sold.
The project was led by CBS Records group vice president Bob Jamieson. 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
Liona Boyd
Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, LLD, D.Mus, CM, O.Ont, is a Canadian classical guitarist, composer, songwriter and singer. Boyd was born in London, England on July 11, 1949, moved to Canada with her parents when she was eight years old and became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1975...
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 laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
s. It was also used for the audio tracks on discs of the RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
SelectaVision
SelectaVision
The Capacitance Electronic Disc was an analog video video disc playback system developed by RCA, in which video and audio could be played back on a TV set using a special needle and high-density groove system similar to phonograph records....
CED videodisc system.
Almost all laserdisc (and some CED) players manufactured since the mid-1980s had CX NR capability as a standard feature, with almost all commercial laserdisc releases having CX encoding on their analog tracks as well. For the LaserDisc system, the CX companding specifications were changed, from 20db of noise reduction to 14db, along with moving the 'threshold' where compression/expansion changes from 2:1 to 1:1 from -40db to -28db - other minor changes were made as well. In addition, some of the LD's FM audio encoding specs were changed too, allowing more headroom and better high frequency response at high levels. These changes were made because, at the time of CX's adoption on LD (1981), the vast majority of program sources for mastering, such as 35mm optical and mag film soundtracks, as well as the IVC-9000 and the 1-inch C-Type video tape formats used for LD mastering, had S/N ratios such that undecoded playback would accentuate their noise to unacceptable levels. By lowering the total amount noise reduction achieved, undecoded playback compatibility was increased. Audible pumping and breathing effects during CX decoded playback were reduced as well.
For the CED VideoDisc, CX companding specifications were unchanged from those of the LP system because the CED system had much higher overall noise levels than the LD format, requiring the full 20db of noise reduction achieved with the unmodified system. The names given by CBS to the two different versions of CX were "CX-20" and "CX-14".
The theory of operation is described in .
Partial List of CX encoded LP's released by CBS
- The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
- Sandinista!Sandinista!Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side...
- Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
- 1980 - The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
- Combat RockCombat RockThe album received positive reviews from critics, and reached the number two on the UK Albums Chart, the number seven on the Billboard Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries...
- Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
- 1982 - Aaron CoplandAaron CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
- Copeland Conducts Copeland - Columbia Records 33586 - Lacy J. DaltonLacy J. DaltonLacy J. Dalton , is an American country and western singer and songwriter, known for her gritty, powerful vocals, which a number of critics likened to a country equivalent to Bonnie Raitt . She had a number of hits in the 1980s, including "Takin' It Easy," "Crazy Blue Eyes" and "16th Avenue." ...
- 16th Avenue - Columbia Records 37975 - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
- Blood on the TracksBlood on the TracksBlood on the Tracks is Bob Dylan's 15th studio album, released by Columbia Records in January 1975. The album marked Dylan's return to Columbia after a two-album stint with Asylum Records....
- Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
- (1982 re-issue) - Terumasa HinoTerumasa Hinois a Japanese jazz trumpeter. Currently based in New York, Hino is widely acknowledged as one of Japan's finest jazz musicians. His instruments include the trumpet, cornet and flügelhorn.-Biography:...
- Double Rainbow - Columbia CX 37420 - Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
- Glass HousesGlass HousesGlass Houses is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released in 1980 . It features Joel's first song to peak at #1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked number 4 on...
- Columbia Records 36384 - Charly McClainCharly McClainCharlotte Denise McClain is an American country music singer, best-known for series of Country hits during the 1980s....
- Too Good To Hurry - Epic Records 38064 - 1982 - Frank MarinoFrank MarinoFrank Marino , born November 20, 1954, in Montreal, is the guitarist and leader of Canadian hard rock band Mahogany Rush. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix, he is acknowledged as one of the best and most underrated guitarists of the 1970s.-Biography and career:After playing drums since he was five,...
- JuggernautJuggernaut (Frank Marino album)Juggernaut is the second solo studio album by Canadian rock guitarist Frank Marino, released in 1982. The original Mahogany Rush drummer Jimmy Ayoub was replaced by Timm Biery for this album.- Track listing :All songs by Frank Marino....
- Columbia CXAL 38023 - Johnny MathisJohnny MathisJohn Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
- First 25 Years: Silver Anniversary Album - Columbia Records - (1981) - Men at WorkMen at WorkMen at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
- CargoCargo (album)Cargo is the second album by Australian band Men at Work, released in 1983. . Rolling Stone magazine noted that while it lacked a blockbuster hit, "song for song, it is a stronger overall effort than Business as Usual."...
- Columbia Records 38660 - Randy MeisnerRandy MeisnerRandy Herman Meisner is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Poco and the Eagles...
- Randy MeisnerRandy Meisner (1982 album)Randy Meisner is the third album by Randy Meisner, released in 1982 .-Track listing:#"Never Been in Love" - 4:26#"Darkness of the Heart" - 4:18...
- Epic Records - 1982 - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the DarkOrchestral Manoeuvres in the DarkOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
- Orchestral Manoeuvres in the DarkOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (album)-U.S. release :The U.S. version, released in 1981, collects material from the first two OMD albums, but retains the sleeve-art of the debut LP. -Remastered CD release with bonus tracks:Virgin / DIDCDR2 -Notes:...
- DinDisc LimitedDinDiscDindisc Records was a short-lived independent UK record label, associated with Virgin Records, which issued new releases from mid-1979 through early 1982...
/Epic Records - 1981 - Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
- The WallThe WallThe Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
- Columbia Records 36183 - Freddie Salem & The Wildcats - Cat Dance - Epic Records 38018 - 1982
- SantanaCarlos SantanaCarlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
- Zebop!Zebop!Zebop! is the eleventh studio album by Santana. The album has had several releases, and several different colour backgrounds for the cover have been produced, including pink and red...
- Columbia CX PC 37158 - 1981 - SaxonSaxon (band)Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
- Strong Arm of the LawStrong Arm of the LawStrong Arm of The Law is the third studio album by heavy metal band Saxon released in 1980. This was released a few months after the classic Wheels of Steel and debuted on the UK chart at #11."Dallas 1 PM" was written about the assassination of John F...
- CarrereCarrereCarrere was a French record label which specialized in euro disco and pop. Claude Carrere was the founder. He started working with Annie Chancel in 1962 and renamed her Sheila, who remained his sole artist for a while. He set up Carrere Productions and the records were distributed by Philips...
CXBL 537679 - SaxonSaxon (band)Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
- Denim and LeatherDenim and LeatherDenim and Leather is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon released in 1981 . The name of the album and song was inspired by the popular attire of metalheads in the early 1980s, defined by denim pants and leather jackets...
- Carrere CXAL 537685 - Simon & Garfunkel - Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest HitsSimon and Garfunkel's Greatest HitsSimon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, released on June 14, 1972 two years after the duo disbanded.-Overview:...
- Columbia Records 31350 - The SincerosThe SincerosThe Sinceros were a new wave, power pop band from London, England, who recorded two albums for Epic Records, The Sound of Sunbathing and Pet Rock . Both albums were released worldwide and achieved moderate commercial success...
- Pet Rock - 1981 - T.V. Smith's ExplorersT. V. SmithT. V. Smith is a British punk rock singer-songwriter, who was part of the band The Adverts in the late 1970s...
- The Last Words of the Great Explorer - Epic BL 37432 - 1981 - TranslatorTranslator (band)Translator is a San Francisco rock band that had success during the 1980s. They created a sound that spanned updated British Merseybeat and stripped-down punk-like rock to psychedelia. Inspired by the Beatles and 1960s California folk-rock bands such as The Byrds, their guitar-based music was...
- Heartbeats And TriggersHeartbeats And TriggersHeartbeats And Triggers, Translator's debut album, was released in 1982 on 415 Records, distributed by Columbia Records. It contained the hit single, "Everywhere That I'm Not". Some LP copies of this album made use of the short-lived CX noise reduction system which was introduced by Columbia...
- 415 Records415 Records415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, Romeo Void, and Wire Train...
/Columbia Records - 1982 - Deniece WilliamsDeniece WilliamsJune Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s...
- I'm So Proud - Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
- 1983