Post by ninworks on Jul 1, 2022 15:45:46 GMT -5
My GAS is really been bugging me lately. I want a genuine, 2 channel, AMS/Neve 1073DPX mic preamp with the built-in EQ. Dollar-for-dollar they aren't all that much more expensive than some of the clones and actually less money than some of them. BAE for instance. I have been listening to many different YouTube videos doing shootouts between the real thing and different clone models over the last couple weeks. This is the second time I have done it and keep coming back to the same conclusion. The real-genuine Neve unit sounds the best to me. There are those I keep reading comments from who say you can't really hear the differences on YouTube because of the audio compression algorithm they use on the videos. Poppychicken! It's all relative. Uncompressed audio absolutely sounds better but they are all being judged using the same platform so to me, the comparisons are valid. I even downloaded and listened to the uncompressed audio files in some of the shootouts and my conclusions were the same.
Today I watched another half dozen different videos doing shootouts between the Neve, BAE, Golden Age Project, Warm Audio, and even the Scheps and Universal Audio plugin emulations of a 1073 mic preamp. I listened to vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keyboards, EDM, rock, and dance mixes. The clones actually did very well in some situations on some sources. They even sounded as good as the Neve on some of them but none of them sounded as good on everything as the Neve did. None of the clones ever sounded BETTER than the Neve on any source although they were all pretty impressive. This was definitely an exercise in splitting hairs. There is a depth of field and transparency the Neve has that none of the others could consistently match. It was quite obvious on some of the keyboard-heavy techno mixes. After listening to the stereo mixes through the Neves some of the others almost sounded mono but they weren't. The BAE model was the best of the clones and stood up well to the Neve.
I can hear a difference. I had to really listen closely to distinguish some of the differences but they are absolute to me. The higher up the audio quality ladder one goes the more expensive the smaller increments in sound quality get. For no more difference in price of the Neve vs. some of the other high-end clones is, it doesn't make sense to me to go with anything other than the real McCoy. Some of the clones are half the cost but, I know how I am. I will eventually want to upgrade. So, I think I'll just eliminate a step and save up until I can get the best available for this style mic preamp. Then an upgrade won't be necessary. I have enough other preamps to get by in the mean time. One of these days when I'm doing a serious project I may rent a genuine Neve 1073 just to see how it will work for me. Blackbird Studios will rent one for $150 a day. That might be a good investment just to see if it's enough of a difference compared to my API to justify the expense of purchasing one. The API I have is a monster of a mic pre. It's just a different sounding animal than the 1073.
This is what I'm talking about. Yes, that's a LOT of money but you get what you pay for.
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1073DPX--ams-neve-1073dpx-2-channel-microphone-preamp-and-eq
Today I watched another half dozen different videos doing shootouts between the Neve, BAE, Golden Age Project, Warm Audio, and even the Scheps and Universal Audio plugin emulations of a 1073 mic preamp. I listened to vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keyboards, EDM, rock, and dance mixes. The clones actually did very well in some situations on some sources. They even sounded as good as the Neve on some of them but none of them sounded as good on everything as the Neve did. None of the clones ever sounded BETTER than the Neve on any source although they were all pretty impressive. This was definitely an exercise in splitting hairs. There is a depth of field and transparency the Neve has that none of the others could consistently match. It was quite obvious on some of the keyboard-heavy techno mixes. After listening to the stereo mixes through the Neves some of the others almost sounded mono but they weren't. The BAE model was the best of the clones and stood up well to the Neve.
I can hear a difference. I had to really listen closely to distinguish some of the differences but they are absolute to me. The higher up the audio quality ladder one goes the more expensive the smaller increments in sound quality get. For no more difference in price of the Neve vs. some of the other high-end clones is, it doesn't make sense to me to go with anything other than the real McCoy. Some of the clones are half the cost but, I know how I am. I will eventually want to upgrade. So, I think I'll just eliminate a step and save up until I can get the best available for this style mic preamp. Then an upgrade won't be necessary. I have enough other preamps to get by in the mean time. One of these days when I'm doing a serious project I may rent a genuine Neve 1073 just to see how it will work for me. Blackbird Studios will rent one for $150 a day. That might be a good investment just to see if it's enough of a difference compared to my API to justify the expense of purchasing one. The API I have is a monster of a mic pre. It's just a different sounding animal than the 1073.
This is what I'm talking about. Yes, that's a LOT of money but you get what you pay for.
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1073DPX--ams-neve-1073dpx-2-channel-microphone-preamp-and-eq
