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666666 · 13th November 2008

The DVC is a killer unit... I'd say it's the very best deal in pro-audio that exists when you consider dollar per quality. Both the pres and limiters are outstanding and the lay-out is extremely versatile. I'd say this unit WILL be in the history books as the cheapest way to get one's hands on professional level audio gear. I've never heard anything else in this price range (with 2-channels of pres and 2-channels of limiters) that I'd consider using on a pro-level production... but we use DVCs all the time around here, even when there are Neve's APIs etc available.

How do the DVC pres stack up against Avalon? Hmmm, interesting question. Similar but different!

Certainly cannot say one is "better" than the other as this would only be a false statement. They are BOTH excellent. Both the DVC and Avalon pres are on the "clean" side of the spectrum of course. But the DVC pres perhaps have a bit of grain and earthiness to them, where as the Avalons are a bit smoother, more velvety, maybe a bit more airy. The DVC pres are perhaps a tad bit more "aggressive" where as the Avalons are a tad bit more "high class". But I'm really splitting hairs here. Both are great and get used often along with APIs, Neves and GMLs. For a lot of things, you could probably interchange them and still be 100% happy.

Focusrite... can't comment here, never owned one. I've used some at different studios and never really got too excited by them, though I do not remember what models I tried... but I was never inspired to buy any. Had to work on a mix recently where some tracks had be taken in through ISA 110s (according to the tracking sheets)... the 110 tracks sounded "ok" at best, nothing great... maybe not the fault of the pres alone, but... in all these years I have yet to get my socks knocked off by a Focusrite. That's just my personal experience anyway, I'm sure they're good.

But, one thing I don't like about the DVC is that the pre gain knobs have no detents and zero resistance... once you get your levels set it's easy to accidentally bump a gain knob and knock out the levels. I guess this is one reason why the unit is not terribly expensive... they did take a few short-cuts like this. However, this issue is easily fixed with an O-ring modification... remove the gain knobs, place an appropriately sized O-ring behind the knob over the shaft, and reinstall the knob pushing in on it so it rubs against the O-ring... if done correctly, this mod gives the gain knobs a nice resistance.

13th November 2008	#8
666666 Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,560	The DVC is a killer unit... I'd say it's the very best deal in pro-audio that exists when you consider dollar per quality. Both the pres and limiters are outstanding and the lay-out is extremely versatile. I'd say this unit WILL be in the history books as the cheapest way to get one's hands on professional level audio gear. I've never heard anything else in this price range (with 2-channels of pres and 2-channels of limiters) that I'd consider using on a pro-level production... but we use DVCs all the time around here, even when there are Neve's APIs etc available. How do the DVC pres stack up against Avalon? Hmmm, interesting question. Similar but different! Certainly cannot say one is "better" than the other as this would only be a false statement. They are BOTH excellent. Both the DVC and Avalon pres are on the "clean" side of the spectrum of course. But the DVC pres perhaps have a bit of grain and earthiness to them, where as the Avalons are a bit smoother, more velvety, maybe a bit more airy. The DVC pres are perhaps a tad bit more "aggressive" where as the Avalons are a tad bit more "high class". But I'm really splitting hairs here. Both are great and get used often along with APIs, Neves and GMLs. For a lot of things, you could probably interchange them and still be 100% happy. Focusrite... can't comment here, never owned one. I've used some at different studios and never really got too excited by them, though I do not remember what models I tried... but I was never inspired to buy any. Had to work on a mix recently where some tracks had be taken in through ISA 110s (according to the tracking sheets)... the 110 tracks sounded "ok" at best, nothing great... maybe not the fault of the pres alone, but... in all these years I have yet to get my socks knocked off by a Focusrite. That's just my personal experience anyway, I'm sure they're good. But, one thing I don't like about the DVC is that the pre gain knobs have no detents and zero resistance... once you get your levels set it's easy to accidentally bump a gain knob and knock out the levels. I guess this is one reason why the unit is not terribly expensive... they did take a few short-cuts like this. However, this issue is easily fixed with an O-ring modification... remove the gain knobs, place an appropriately sized O-ring behind the knob over the shaft, and reinstall the knob pushing in on it so it rubs against the O-ring... if done correctly, this mod gives the gain knobs a nice resistance.