BBE BMAXT vs. BMAX

[Bjazzman]

I was just wondering how these two preamps differ in sound. I know the bmaxt has the jensen di and has a tube. But from the basstasters clips these two sound pretty much exactly alike

 

[stflbn]

Well, Bmax-T is an actual Tube PreAmp. The plain Bmax is not.

I've not personally tested the plain Bmax, but I'm completely blown away by my Bmax-T. Fullness, warmth, Oooomph, color, compressions... all there.


I'm VERY happy with my decision.

 

[Bjazzman]

i understand that the bmaxt has a tube but still from the sound clips they sound the same. can anyone verify this?

 

[stflbn]

Well, I went with the Bmax-T because I felt the Tube clip WAS much warmer then the base Bmax and that was specifically what I was looking for.

I spent about 2-3 months researching, listening, asking questions of others who have different pre's etc. Ended up getting the Bmax-T and honestly loving the hell out of it. Well worth the additional dollars as far as I'm concerned.

 

[John D Harris]

I can tell the difference in the two clips on basstasters.

I have a pretty good sound card and a pair of Sennheiser headphones.

The BMax-T sounds more 3-dimensional & organic to me and a bit less 'dry'.

 

[4Mal]

i've had both. The MaxT has a much fatter bottom. The Max is dry and tight and a good sounding pre on it's own - but the MaxT would be my choice.

 

[amos]

'nother Bmax-T user here. I got a great deal on mine too, right after they came out, $299 for a brand new tube version with the jensen transformer. I love it. The compressor isn't my favorite, but for recording I just use a DBX 160a. The only thing you have to learn to get used to on the BBE Bmax or Bmax-T preamp is the interacting tone stack (EQ). It's based on the Fender Dual Showman; aka Alembic-F2B.

 

[afroman]

I owned both of them in the past. The BMAX is a straight up bargain at its price. Its super clean, solid sounding and very nice all-around preamp. Great for hi-fi sounds but a little more organic thanks to the passive EQ, IMO.

I later bought a BMAX-T. Never thought one tube could make a big difference. I was way wrong. More bottom, warmth, prescence and just a nicer overall sound. It was still clean but had a lot more character and organic flavor to its sound. The compressor and Sonic Maximizer on this preamps make them a great deal.

I ended up selling both and going back to a head setup. If you have the money I'd recommend the tube version, if not then the SS BMAX is a steal.