Aphex 204

It is so easy but a quick rad of the very well written manual is worth plenty.

Using it on whole mix in studio, perfect at low level late night mixes.
Enhanced listening experience without fatigue. That's what I wanted, that's what I got. Much better and quieter than my BBE which I sold immediately!
Not pristine but I can't hear any problem his.s.s

I bought it and it demo and it had a dodgy right channel. Two visits under warranty to the authorised repair cat and it's never missed a beat. Intermittent faults are always a hassle with any gear. Who can know...

Local repair guy was very good, called and kept in touch after I contacted the store.

I've been playing for 30 years.
I would replace it immediately if it were lost or stolen.
I just sounds sooooo good.
I mix and record funk, latin and electronica.
I also resurrect old cassette tape recordings. It adds missing detail to everything I record. It's hard to describe, but the word "missing" seems to fit best when it comes to what detail it reveals.
I can't use BBE since using this.
I use Aphex Bass Exciter as well. Just right for live gigs, and pedal boards. If I had a rack for live I would use a 204 there as well.

This is an easy unit to use, but play with the settings - possibilities are very rich. There is much this unit can do to add punch and clarity, but taking the time to understand how it interacts in your application is key. The manual is amazing and I recommend spending time with it.

Stomps the BBE 482 I had in my bass rig previously. This is so flexible in the ability to sculpt a sound. very unlike the BBE, where you have just a low and high control, resulting in mid scoop and noise, this unit lets you choose where you push and pull across the frequency spectrum. Start with the range of settings the manual suggests and then go nuts. Overall the difference in pre/post sound is substantial and you really don't fully realize this until you bypass the unit. The unit is very quiet, but as you push up the high end, it does add just a touch of hiss, but WAY, WAY less than my BBE 482 did!) A fantastic complement to my tube preamp.

So far so good.
Build quality is evident. The fit and finish (and weight) reinforce this. I use it in a modest 4 space bass rig rack at home and at church. Travels well and no issues at all.

I haven't had any need to get help with this unit. That said, customer support begins with the owner's manual and this is one of the best I've ever seen. Fantastic. On a separate note, I'm now looking for a particular used Aphex compressor. I emailed them looking for a copy of the manual and it arrived in the mail a few days later. Outstanding customer service.

This does great work in my bass rig, but I can imagine it being a super add to lots of other applications. Adds a great touch of depth, clarity and high end sparkle and is greatly tweakable, unlike any BBE product. Impressive product from an impressive company.

Take some tuning to make the best out of the unit. But once you find the sweet spots (varies on different type of music or even speaker types) you can sit back & relax.

From the Bose 802 speakres, accoutic & vocals are the best even without the Bose own active EQ. From the Peavey PR15, electric guitar & drums are awsome. This is the best bass boost(BIG BOTTOM) I have used period. Where are all the bass coming from without distortion? I don't want to know. I just love it. I'm impressed. The Exciter have a limited range, so dial it in along with a 31 band EQ. I like a little more on the top end. However, the sound is pleasant & not harsh. Be careful not to over use the Harmonics. You can hear too much back ground noises(distortion signals that was compressed in recordings).

Don't know yet. Just got it last week. But Aphex should be good for a long.

Don't need it yet. The 204 is simply a plug-&-play. NO problems.

I love the Big Bottom. It works great. I like a little more top end. I bought it from a closeout at a bargain. The best money I've spent Period.

It's very easy to get a good sound out of this, but too much is going to give you more than you need and your ears will be fatigued. There's nothing to edit, just 6 knobs per side, right & left. The difficulty in understanding how to use this is figuring out just what exactly each knob does. After reading the manual thoroughly, using it as a guide as you go, and messing with the knobs, you'll catch on.

I have an 8 track digital home studio, and I've been looking for some kind of mastering unit for the last few years, but I couldn't decide what to get. Should I spend big bucks on a TC Electronics unit, or go cheaper and get a Behringer? I'd used exciters on guitar tracks in previous studio excursions, so I checked out Aphex's website. After reading the spiel on the 204, I decided to pick one up. 200 bucks seemed pretty reasonable.

After mastering my first project with the 204 (an Acid Pro five song techno/trance CD), I can only say this thing is amazing.

But there are some caveats for those who might think a shoddy demo or a dirty mix can sound like a corporate release with the 204:

Dirty in will be dirty out. You want each track to be as pristine as possible. Multitrack cassette demos could be improved somewhat, but if you can spend 200 bucks on the 204 you might want to upgrade to a better multitrack recorder instead.

My operating theory is that every track should be as clean and as close to sounding the way you envision it in the final mix as you record each track. "Fixing it in the mix" rarely works. By watching your levels, achieving the best possible sound, and using compression/limiting and noise gates as you record, your final mix will be more professional, cleaner, and easier to master.

Having followed this philosophy, I then run the master mix through the compressor limiter to even out the peaks, go into the Aphex 204, and then into the master recorder (a Sony CD recorder).

The difference between no Aphex 204 processing and with it is like night and day. Using it judiciously I can get the stereo field, bass, and airy high-end crispness that I'm used to hearing on big studio CDs.

I have NOT used this unit on individual tracks, just on final mixes.

I can't evaluate this yet, I've only had the 204 for a week or so.

Don't know - never needed to contact Aphex.

I live in Spokane, WA, and I do techno/trance on Acid Pro, as well as rock projects. I play guitar and bass and use Acid or a Boss DR770 for drums. In my music I use tube guitar amps, an ART Pro tube preamp, and condensor mics for everything except guitars (dynamic SM57).

With every style I've tried so far, the Aphex is indespensible for getting that professional polish on the master mix. I'm glad I waited so long to buy something like this, as it took years to really know sound I wanted or needed. On the other hand, now I feel the need to remaster all my old songs. They sound fairly flat & somewhat lifeless in comparison.

I would definitely recommend the 204 for the purposes for which I'm using it.

The only thing that could make it better is a built in limiter, thus negating the need to run through one again - but I'm just lazy that way (and I want a better compressor-limiter :)

Just remember, a little goes a long way with this unit, particularly in the bass (big bottom) section!

It has an exciter and a big bottom. The xciter brings amazing sounds to lead, its really easy to get maximum level and strong harmonics. I would use this over an eq any day. The big bottom allows you to make seriously loud sounding bass without it clipping. This unit is great for lots of applications. I extremely impressed with its performance.

I am using this unbalanced in a rack setup. I route audio out from a pc and back in for external processing. There are also balanced inputs / outputs. I haven't had any problems with hum or noise. I turned up all the levels in my system without sound running through it and the aphex doesn't add enough noise to notice.
Im goin to give it a 7 as Im not sound engineer and i don't really know but it seems fine to me even on unbalanced.

Mine is second hand nothing has gone wrong with it, I can't imagine what would.

Drum + Bass. It would be awesome for anyone that wrote trnce with power ful leads. It is also brilliant for natural music as it empahsises it without changing the sound like an equlaiser. Its just brilliant.

Unit drops in to your rack, plug it up, and go. Excellent manual...doesn't take much before you realize good sound. Monitor your sound in the headphones and comapre it to your live mix...you'll hear the difference with and without the effect.

I use this in my stereo bass rig live and for recording. And I use it for mastering mix of CD work. Excellent piece. In a live rig, this should be placed right before the power amp in the signal chain. For recording...pick your spot!

It's the only one I have and I will be using it w/o a back-up. So far , so good. No indications that it will be finicky.

No experience here. I have two Aphex products and I hope I don't have to call upon them.

I put together a rack system to amplify and record extreme extended range bass guitar. The Aphex 204 is the enhancer I chose because of it's optical compression on their Big Bottom and their high end harmonic enhancement. When you play from Lo B to high Bb, from fundemental bass and sub-contra to piccolo...you want your tone to be there...this device helps it be ther with a sheen. A must have.

easy to use in a PA system.subtle.

I bought this for my electric guitars. My bass player has the bass Xciter and I thought this studio version would help my 2 amp setup sound better. I didn't notice much difference, so I plugged my old jumbo Guild with that Fishman pickup I'd been planning on replacing because of the flat, plankie piezo tone into my PA. Holy mackerel. i couldn't put my guitar down for hours. I've got a decent PA with a BBE sonic maximizer, tube compression and TC Electronic effects, but it had never made an acoustic instrument sound anywhere near this good, except with a good condenser mike, Shure SM81, and a tube preamp and to tell the truth this is better. Now I'm reconsidering replacing the piezo's. I had to dial in the highs and the mids on my mixer. Having said all that as you're tweaking the controls you can hardly hear any change but when you start playing series of notes and chords the sparkle kicks in. I need to run the whole board through it.

seems solid and simple. so far no problem.

never dealt with them, doubt i'll need to.

I play Rock, Blues, Jazz and country. I've been playing 25 years. I'd have to replace this if, god forbid, anything happened.

Simple to use, though good monitors help when using this for mixing so that it doesn't get overused. Having both -10 and +4 operating levels is very useful. Can be used in mono, dual mono, or stereo. Obviously good for both high and low-frequency instruments, vocals, or across an entire mix. Good manual, too.

It's very clean, and adds both good top and bottom harmonic content in a different way than eq does. I've had very good results on electric guitar "wall-of-sound" type rock, and pop, rock, hip hop mixes in general. It can sound harsh if overused, of course, and, despite what the company seems to claim, it does add acoustic energy. (They don't actually claim that it adds no energy at all--just less, but my experience is that you have to watch levels in any case, and that it's easy to overdrive the next device's input with even moderate levels of the 204 in place.) I haven't found it useful for adding high frequency content back into a noise-reduced recording (during restorating from, say, tape). I find it just brings the hiss back in that case.

Fine in regular use over the past couple of years.

No experience.

I also use the BBE process, and the Aphex ProTools plug-ins. These are all useful tools for mixing popular styles of music. The 204 can add a lot of life to an otherwise dull recording so, in that sense alone, it's a winner.

Easy to use and easy to understand. However, it may take some time to really master it.

I use this as an insert in a digi001 setup. Every single track in a mix benefits from it. In fact, the aphex does a very good job of helping all the different instruments/sounds ring through individually in the mix and rounds out the overall sound.

It also can give mono tracks a nice stereo sound by running them through both channels, each having been set to different frequencies.

The aphex particularly shines on vocal tracks and drum tracks.

It seems very reliable, at least, it has been for a couple years for me. I wouldn't gig without a backup just because it's too vital in the studio too risk using it live, unless you can afford to buy another right away.
Personally, I feel that it is a little extravegant to use it in a live setup. It would be ideal, but not at all necessary for a professional performance. Although, a dj might really appreciate it in a live setting.

If you are building up a studio, consider this one of your first necessary purchases. I consider it as much an essential as compressors, gates, equalizers, and such.

If I could make one suggestion, it would be that they add a Q control to control the width of frequency response. Also, it would be helpful if you could get a version with the ability to dial up two frequencies on the same channel for the exciter section.

This is definately better than any product claiming similar results. Better than the BBE, etc.

the aphex 204 is very user friendly, just turn a few nobs and go!

I've used it on my roland vs2480 and my motu 896 running DP3. The aphex that i got is somewhat defective so i'm having to send it back for a new 204. By the way the tech support at aphex is very friendly and supportive. Anyways, the machine did enough so that i can make the comparison. The mix coming back from the aphex had a lot more dimension and smoothness than the original mix had. unlike the bbe the aphex can literally save a recording, but don't use it like mad man. be sane with the controls!

best!!! really.

great machine!!! it was used in hundreds of hit albums, i did the research, and it is totally worth the 'list' price.