Chinese Delight or Yellow Peril? Phonic T8200 split band compressor

[jaguarmusicboy]

I'm in the market for a stereo tube compressor with potential for mastering application. I am a writer/producer with a mid level private studio and on the high end, I've been happy wiith my upgraded Manley Vari-Mu, and I covered the mid-end with a very servicable HHB Radius 30; But these are all single band compressors and even utilizing side chain features I can't match the utility of some of the better multi-band compressor plug-ins on the market. So I ran across an april '05 review of the Phonic T-8200 in Sound-On-Sound magazine and it definitely peaked my curiousity.

It's always a "pig in a poke" with the chinese stuff ... but rather than bashing them
reflexively for being the dumping demons and copyright infringers that they are, I've
accepted them as a fact of life. While some of their stuff is ABSOLUTE CRAP, other things - especially in the realm of tube gear - have surprised and impressed me. So I'm ready to take the plunge on this unit. Has anyone else had any experience with
this little bugger or am I the first? At $349.00 new it's tough to argue with.

[nathanvacha]

no, but if you get it post what you think of it afterwards.

[max cooper]

I think using the word "yellow" to refer to Chinese people/places/things has been in seriously bad taste for, what, four decades now?

Originally Posted by jaguarmusicboy

but rather than bashing them
reflexively for being the dumping demons and copyright infringers that they are, I've
accepted them as a fact of life.

Gee, that's very big of you.


It might be a good idea to start thinking of the general populace of China as a separate entity from the Chinese Government.

Lest they start thinking of each of us as lying, war-mongering hillbillies with poor vocabularies.

[krs]

For real Max.

Originally Posted by max cooper

Lest they start thinking of each of us as lying, war-mongering hillbillies with poor vocabularies.

I don't know about the Chinese, but that pretty much summarizes the Canadian position

[max cooper]

...not to mention that a lot of goods sold in the US of A are made in China these days, which means that a certain amount of the pollution due to manufacturing would be created here if the manufacturing were done here.

But the United States would certainly never do something as low and dirty as creating pollution.

[FPTG]

The Phonic T8200 will have you "whistling dixie" all day long! A perfect product for a RAP FREE studio.

[AlphaDingo]

y'all can go screw, you commie bastards! USA!USA!USA!


America. fck YEAH!

[nickp]

Originally Posted by FPTG

The Phonic T8200 will have you "whistling dixie" all day long! A perfect product for a RAP FREE studio.

Are you telling me that this Chinese product discriminates against black people?
-Nick

[Ruphus]

Bump, for the device.

[copperx]

My vote for the most politically incorrect thread I've read.

[tINY]

There are certain European companies (OK , one...) which infringe on pattents and "look and feel" trademarks more than the Chineese....

Anyway, many of the Chineese-made products are the result of foreigners who are drawn there fro the cheap labor. Some of them successfully set up good QC and some do not. For the item in question, I do not know.

I can't imagine anyone posting on the "Low End" forum would not be more interested in a plug-in type MB-comp. Who cares if it's not real time? You get the desired effect on the CD.....



-tINY

[nathanvacha]

Did jaguarmusicboy's post seriously offend anyone? Seems to me it was more of a comment on the usualy quality of many chineese made audio goods than the chineese race. Seriously. I get on hear to read about gear, not read people complaining about racism.

[tINY]

I think some people have been too conditioned by the "politically correct" among us. Anything that may be construed as racist, sexist, elitist, or culturally biased is Verbotten.

...I mean, not acceptable.


-tINY

[jaguarmusicboy]

First: To any who were offended by the title of the thread my sincere apologies. To FPTG: Good line! To KRS: Sorry to say it's not just a Canadian point of view. We are
currently the mosted reviled nation in the world (thanks Dubya, and all you morons out there who elected him TWICE!) To tiny: Just where do you think most of that Behringer gear is manufactured today? To Nathanvacha: I'm right with you pal.
Thanks for your support.

Now, for any of you who might actually be interested in gear: Here is a URL for
the Sound On Sound review which raised my curiousity about the T8200. Perhaps
it will do a better job than i have of stirring up some interest in what I think could
be a useful piece of equipment.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr0...coutboards.htm

And finally, for Copperx: Thankyou. But if that's true you really need to get out more.
Might I suggest some new threads?

I'll do my best to be as humorless and stultifying as possible next time. And heaven forbid I should ever catch any of you reading Hucklebury Finn!

[Tubefreak]

I have a T8200.

In short:
+ isn't really noisy
+ fairly easy to use
+ heard much worse compressors!
+ in/output options

- tube does nothing
- cuts mids, on all settings
- crossover filter isn't precise
- meters aren't precise

For a sweet deal I bought one. I read the SOS review when it came out and I was also triggered. Although you really should keep in mind that Paul White doesn't write many bad/critical reviews! Hugh Robjohnson on the other hand is more critical an therefor a bit more "reliable", if you know what I mean.

But how does it work? Well actualy quite nice. It's easy to set up, has good in/output options (TRS/XLR +4/-10db) and is easy to use. Most gear from Phonic/Behringer gets banged on, one because sometimes they are shite, two because it's easy. The compression sounds quite nice, both with soft and harder gain reductions. Thanx to the dual bands you can do some nice stuff to the mix.

There are a few buts. The tube circuit is really a joke and don't expect miracles. When you turn the timbre knob you'll mostly notice a higher volume and a boost of lows and highs. I highly doubt that the tube adds this, 99% certain that the volume/eq change is due to the path design before/after the tube. My Sebatron VEQC-2000 runs on tubes and yes, they do make a difference and add some (positive) colour. I have yet to try out the tube circuit with different brand/type tubes and see how it responds. It sure sounds a lot better then the variable tube circuits in the Behringer T195* series, which really does suck hard.

What I mostly noticed is that there is always a slight dip in the mids (between 700 and 1.5k) with the P8200 which I can't seem to restore with the unit it self. That's it's main down side imo, especially for "mastering". But on the other hand it makes DIY mastering easier, cause most people boost low/highs with diy homebrew mastering :D

The crossover filter doesn't work precise either, the pot on my machine changes little in the sound below it's 750 Hz position. And the meters aren't 100% accurate, as gain reduction starts with +3dB. They used the same meters for the gain reduction as for the in/output. This isn't a major draw back, since you should use your ears more then your eyes.

All in all, it's a nice unit to use and certainly not as bad as most people like it to be. No it's not a real valve compressor, no it doesn't really add character and no it's not really transparant due to it's mid dip. Is it worth trying: yes. Why? Because the multiband compression thingy is nice to work with. But if you really want accurate multiband compression, then I think you are better off with a good software version. Although no plugin lights up as nicely as the P8200 does. It's the only piece of rackgear my girlfriend likes to look at ;o)

Kind regards
Maarten van Helden

www.tubefreak.com

[Tubefreak]

btw, Phonic makes a 1HE solid state dual band compressor as well. I suspect it to be quite similar in design/quality as the P8200, but then without all the meters and the toob circuit.

[copperx]

Originally Posted by jaguarmusicboy

And finally, for Copperx: Thankyou. But if that's true you really need to get out more.
Might I suggest some new threads?

I'll do my best to be as humorless and stultifying as possible next time. And heaven forbid I should ever catch any of you reading Hucklebury Finn!

LOL, I never said I was offended. It was just funny to read all the "yellow" "rap" "black people" stuff all over in one thread.

Anyways, it was a catchy thread title. Just don't start saying "beaner", or I'll kill ya. tutt

[jaguarmusicboy]

Thank you TUBEFREAK! A very cogent and useful assessment of precisely the sort
I was seeking.

No one expects gear of this sort to perform in the way that a high end multi-band
mastering compressor would - tube or discrete SS; but some of this stuff can really
make a difference. I recently saved a project done by a friend of mine -
a SERIOUS writer/musician with an impressive discography. I ended up using a Behringer T-1954 ultrafex in the re-mastering process. We also used a lot of plug-ins and added a mixture of three different carefully chosen outboard verbs (as little as we could get away with).

The T-1954's spacializer was particulary useful. The tracks we had to work with had wonderful musicians and meticulous arrangement and production; but every ounce of life and vitality had been squeezed out of them in the mixing/pre-mastering process. Somewhere along the way there had been a hard drive failure resulting in data loss, and some of the stereo tracks had been badly re-created using dsp devices. The mono-compatibility problems were the worst I have ever heard with multiple parts disappearing when you pushed the mono button.

While we could not fix that problem (the horses were way out of the barn at that point) we did seriously re-animate the CD. We managed to create a coherent sound stage in the mixes and put the spark back into the project. This was really
seat-of-the-pants radical mastering; and the T-1954 was an important part of it.

The quirkiness of a piece like that or the TC8200 - if understood - is exactly what
makes it useful. So ... hats off tubefreak. thanks again.

I can sum up my limited experience with Chinese made gear with a short list of some winners and losers if anyone is interested:

Winners: NADY RSM-2 ribbon mics (check them immediately if you get one as you get about 48 hours to return them if they have been damaged in shipment - the ribbon elements are quite fragile and NADY does not warranty them past initial delivery).

When these are good they are REALLY good; I have two and I have blind tested them using some serious engineer friends as judges. I put one up against my pristene Wes Dooley re-built RCA 44BX. The RSM-2 won hands down on ALL OCCASIONS. All three engineers made me promise not to tell anyone they chose the NADY! Nice on horns, vocals, and outstanding on classical piano. I'm sure there are folks out there who have ended up with lemons, but my experience is that these mics are well worth their $160.00 discount price.

Also from NADY - their rediculous omni measurement mics ... the same model is badged for DBX and Behringer. At $49.00 each everyone ought to have a pair in their kit as back-up in case their B&Ks or Earthworks get dropped and shit the bed.

From Shanling, the SP-80 monoblock tube amplifiers (uses KT88s). Really nice sounding; seriously good looking too if that's important to you.

Losers: NADY QH560 headphones... Behringer multicom pro quad compressor/limiter

At any rate I'll post my impressions of the TC 8200 when I get one and run it through some sessions.

[Tomiboy]

For Christ's sake people, this self censoring stupidity has got to stop! Call a spade a spade and be done with it. If someone gets offended it's because they are too bloody sensitive. New aged, modern, mamby pamby, do-gooder, ******s need a good war to harden them the hell up..........Oh and I had the Phonic Pre in the same series and found it to be usable but not great. What would I know though, coz I'm just a snowflake, honky, who has no rhythm and suffers from white mans overbite when he dances. I have a big Wang though, he doe's my dry cleaning.

[Eric Pederson]

I try to avoid buying things "Made in China" because of all the news reports about tainted products

Lead poisoning yall.

Dont put anything political on these forums unless you want it deleted