a noise reduction system that uses a companding noise reduction to reduce noise. Dbx is connected into a recording system in the same way that a Dolby system is. It provides up to 30dB of noise reduction, but unlike Dolby noise reduction, the dbx system works over the entire audio frequency range, using a 2:1/1:2 compression/expansion ratio. Dolby-encoded and dBx-encoded tapes are incompatible. Systems using dbx noise reduction are typically more expensive than systems using Dolby.