When Aphex first invented the Aural Exciter, they can have had little idea that their work would inspire a whole genre of sonic enhancers, based on a wide range of operating principles. The patented Aphex process works by synthesizing additional high frequency harmonics related to the original signal, but BBE chose to travel a different route, basing their process on a combination of dynamic equalisation and phase manipulation. To augment the high frequency enhancement of the BBE process, the new Model 462 features a Lo Contour control which adds power to the bass end of the spectrum. Few details are provided to explain how this works, but reading between the lines, it appears to be another form of dynamic equalisation.

For those unfamiliar with dynamic equalisation, here's how it works: imagine an equaliser whose level of boost is related to the level of the signal being treated. When there's no signal present, there's no boost, and when the signal level is high, maximum boost is applied. Such an approach has many advantages; it can help emphasise transient sounds without adding any noise when the input signal is low, as would be the case with a conventional boost equaliser.

The phase manipulation side of the process is described as a linear phase shift across the whole audio spectrum corresponding to a delay of under 2ms. This is intended to prevent the high frequency detail from being smeared by the low frequency components of the sound and increases definition without boosting level.