500 Series Preamp Shootout Saturday April 12th.

[Bradahman]

Opinions??? ... Looks like you guys had fun.

[SecretAgent]

Sweeeeeeeet.

Platinum and orange MA5s look ace and the 583V, great Scott!

Could someone confirm what the toggle switch mods are on the purple Biz & Pants and why, who, when!!!???




Shame the Atlas Juggernaut didn't make it.

And guys....no bass tracking!!!!! (Sorry i'm a low end junky!) Only so much you can do in a day I suppose.

Lookin forward to the results. Good work you guys.

[matta]

Hey James,

Man those pics are to die for!

Looks like you guys had alot of fun and I can't wait to hear the results/comments. I can tell you I'm a proud dad to see our little Mint Julep in there, all the way from Africa!

Thanks to pan60 and Avedis for getting it to you in time for the shootout. As shared in Pan's review, the metal work is a bit rough as we rushed to get it out... the 'officially' metal work will hopefully arrive in the middle of the week for sign off and the metal knob should be black, not silver.

Scott's new pre looks the bomb, that man NEVER ceases to impress me

Thanks again for being willing to do this shoot out.

Cheers

Matt

[JTC111]

This was probably covered already, apologies if it was...
So where/when can we get the sound files from this shootout. I'm been ready to buy some gear but I've been holding off until I could hear the results from this (and you don't know how hard that's been ).

[CompEq]

Genemen,

Here's the list I scribed from last night. The Burl and the Chandler did not make the shootout as the Burl would not seat in the lunchbox and the Chandler (though in the pix) was not operating properly.

Mics:
Male vocal = Pearlman TM-1 (w/ Cinemag Xfomer & EF14 tube)
Female vocal = Neumann TLM49
Acoustic guitar = Audio Technica ATM-450
Electric guitar = Shure SM57

Preamps top row:
Purple Pants
Purple Biz
Brett Averill BAE 312
Bizzar Audio Mint Julep
API 512C
Shadow Hills Mono Gama

Single unit rack:
JMK Audio JM 130

Preamps middle row:
Avedis MA5 (gold)
Chandler Germanium (this was not working properly and not included in the shootout)
OSA MP1-L/DI
OSA MP1-L3/DI
OSA MP1-C/DI
OSA MP1-A
A-Designs P-1
A-Designs Montessi Gold
VSI M-1
La Chapelle 583v (this is a beta version and uses a Cinebag input Xformer)

Preamps bottom row:
Buzz Elixir
A-Designs Montessi Blue
A-Designs Montessi Red
Avedis MA-5 (red) this was not included in the shootout as the MA-5 (gold) already had been and the only difference is the color of the faceplate
La Chapelle 583s (uses a Jensen input Xformer)

As for audio files, please be patient with James. The files will be level matched and converted to MP3 at 192kbps. This should take about a week. It's gonna take a full day just to post them as you can only do 10 or so at a time and then have to wait an hour (basically, be glad it's his headache and not yours). Check the list of preamps, subtract the germanium and the 2nd MA-5, add two 'cause the Shadow Hills has 3 settings (nickel, discrete and steel) multiply by four sources and that's how may files need to be gone over, converted and uploaded. James, you're doing such a public service here for those that couldn't make it! Really, this is no small task. Everyone, enjoy 'cause you'll have lots of listening to do when the files are up.

[futur2]

Originally Posted by CompEq

Genemen,

The Burl and the Chandler did not make the shootout as the Burl would not seat in the lunchbox and the Chandler (though in the pix) was not operating properly.

ah ok, i was wondering about that when i saw they were missing in james list

[nosebleedaudio]

Thanks James and all involved in this, I know how much time is involved in setting this up...
The brewsky is on mesky..

[le purp]

[quote=SecretAgent;1984060]

Could someone confirm what the toggle switch mods are on the purple Biz & Pants and why, who, when!!!???





The new Biz Mk and Pants are described on page 4 of this thread.



thanks,
-andrew

[Berolzheimer]

[quote=le purp;1984506]

Originally Posted by SecretAgent

Could someone confirm what the toggle switch mods are on the purple Biz & Pants and why, who, when!!!???





The new Biz Mk and Pants are described on page 4 of this thread.



thanks,
-andrew

Those looked to be input impedence switches. In the interest of brevity they were left in one position, there were plenty enough variables as it was, I guess.

[pan60]

thanks James for the shoot-out!!!!

Originally Posted by JTC111

This was probably covered already, apologies if it was...
So where/when can we get the sound files from this shootout. I'm been ready to buy some gear but I've been holding off until I could hear the results from this (and you don't know how hard that's been ).

please remember.
these are all top shelf pres!
they all sound great!
you will never truly know which one is for you until you try them yourself.
their is some many thing that effect the overall sound and performance, room ( good, bad? ), distance ( close, far ), vocalist ( like that guy, or gal, that sounds amazing into anything anytime ), and on and on.
i think
James would agree this maybe a great guideline but in the end you will need to try some of these pres yourself.

[Berolzheimer]

Originally Posted by matta

Hey James,

Man those pics are to die for!

Looks like you guys had alot of fun and I can't wait to hear the results/comments. I can tell you I'm a proud dad to see our little Mint Julep in there, all the way from Africa!

Thanks to pan60 and Avedis for getting it to you in time for the shootout. As shared in Pan's review, the metal work is a bit rough as we rushed to get it out... the 'officially' metal work will hopefully arrive in the middle of the week for sign off and the metal knob should be black, not silver.

Scott's new pre looks the bomb, that man NEVER ceases to impress me

Thanks again for being willing to do this shoot out.

Cheers

Matt

I for one am glad the Mint Julep made it, it sounded great!

[matta]

Originally Posted by Berolzheimer

I for one am glad the Mint Julep made it, it sounded great!

Berolzheimer,

Thanks for the kinds words! I'm glad it stood its ground. As you would have heard it is quite different from the other contenders in that it is uncoloured and transformerless giving it a pretty unique feel and sound and fits a gap I think the 500 series has been missing.

Cheers

Matt

[JTC111]

Originally Posted by pan60

you will never truly know which one is for you until you try them yourself.
their is some many thing that effect the overall sound and performance, room ( good, bad? ), distance ( close, far ), vocalist ( like that guy, or gal, that sounds amazing into anything anytime ), and on and on.
i think
James would agree this maybe a great guideline but in the end you will need to try some of these pres yourself.

I understand that, but I think this will probably give me a chance to rule out some of the choices. I wasn't going to use this to pick out "the one" ...picking out "the three" or "the four" would be nice.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by JTC111

I understand that, but I think this will probably give me a chance to rule out some of the choices. I wasn't going to use this to pick out "the one" ...picking out "the three" or "the four" would be nice.

i assumed you did i just wanted to point it out sometimes we give to much merit to shoot outs.
they are cool and for somethings, they help us narrow the choice of what we my want to audition.
with this line up, it is going to be hard ( IMHO ), to really narrow the group, they are all top shelve products!!!!!

[Berolzheimer]

Originally Posted by matta

Berolzheimer,

Thanks for the kinds words! I'm glad it stood its ground. As you would have heard it is quite different from the other contenders in that it is uncoloured and transformerless giving it a pretty unique feel and sound and fits a gap I think the 500 series has been missing.

Cheers

Matt

I'm someone who appreciates transparency I think more than a lot of others- I'm not always reaching for the transformiest, tubiest signal path- sometimes I have a great player, instrument, room & mic & I just want the preamp to pass that along. Other times I do want some color.
To me the Mint Julep was in in the same field sound wise as the Buzz Elixer & Mono Gama on "discrete" ( transformerless OP). All nicely transparent & open sounding, although each a little different- but all 3 were really good.

[Scott LaChapell]

James, that was a GREAT time... you hustled all night. It was awesome to be able to see, hear and touch all the 500 series preamps (for the most part, that is) all in one session. And let's not forget your heroic players and singers in the booth dishing out over and over...

The 583v is only a concept right now. It's not planned for production rather; I brought it as a show/display piece. James is correct; I hadn't used it on a single session until that night (I just finished it last Tuesday). And, I wasn't actually planning on it being used at all but when James wanted to try it out I thought, "What the heck."

The 583V's current amplifier configuration is that of the 583s with the exception of the output transformer (and the HP & LP filters). The 583s has the Cinemag nickle/alloy CMOQ-2H on the output; the 583v has the Lundahl LL1517 transformer. So far I'm very pleased with the Lundahl’s response. Also, the vacuum tube was an Amperex Bugle Boy as opposed to James' 583s sporting a smooth plate Telefunken tube. This is one of the strengths with the 583 preamp; picking up a couple vacuum tubes for swapping in/out will expand the sonic potential of the preamp quite a bit...

I believe the vacuum tube difference contributed more to the contrasting sounds between the "S" and "V" variants than the output transformer.


Thanks again James!

Originally Posted by James 'LA' Lugo

Yup, 583V. I think we were the first to hear it. I'll post mp3's by the end of the week. I loved it. Scott is an incredible designer. Both of his 538's were stunning (acoustic guitar and vocals is where they really shined). The S was a bit bigger and a hair more 3D but the V had the forward presence and insane articulation, it killed on acoustic guitar.

s

[Scott LaChapell]

Hey Rick,

Yep, it's a beta unit that I'm having some fun playing around with. This is the first iteration and there are a couple/few visual details that MUST be fixed (toggle switches need mounting nuts, gray paint behind the gain knobs was supposed to be black, not goofy gray-blue?? ...). And yes, it does feature HP & LP filtering, currently and 70hz and 8Khz respectively.


Who knows, maybe there's a market for it...

Originally Posted by RickTheStick

Looks like you guys had fun. I was wondering if that was another LaChapell model. ...with a meter and rolloffs!

[Berolzheimer]

Originally Posted by Scott LaChapell

Hey Rick,

Yep, it's a beta unit that I'm having some fun playing around with. This is the first iteration and there are a couple/few visual details that MUST be fixed (toggle switches need mounting nuts, gray paint behind the gain knobs was supposed to be black, not goofy gray-blue?? ...). And yes, it does feature HP & LP filtering, currently and 70hz and 8Khz respectively.


Who knows, maybe there's a market for it...

Yeah, and he's gonna make that low pass tunable!! Right, Scott?

[Scott LaChapell]

PAUL!

Darn it, I forgot to come back with your bottle of water! Sorry about that, I flaked out (now there's a California term...)

Sorry, the variable low-end adjustment function will be reserved for the EQ module, the LP filter will focus on a fixed frequency... maybe I should start a poll for the most popular/preferred LP frequency setting?

Originally Posted by Berolzheimer

Yeah, and he's gonna make that low pass tunable!! Right, Scott?

[ulysses]

Originally Posted by le purp

We shipped the new Purple Audio Pants Preamp
and the new version of the Biz - The Biz Mk.

I hope you make about 5 revisions to that new one, and designate them alphabetically.

People would go nuts for the Biz Mk E.

"Oh baby youuuu, you got what I nee-eed..."

[JTC111]

Originally Posted by pan60

i assumed you did i just wanted to point it out sometimes we give to much merit to shoot outs.
they are cool and for somethings, they help us narrow the choice of what we my want to audition.
with this line up, it is going to be hard ( IMHO ), to really narrow the group, they are all top shelve products!!!!!

We'll be broke. We'll be living in squalor, eating catfood, and depending on the generousity of passing strangers to get through each miserable day. But we'll have some really awesome pres!

[pan60]

Originally Posted by JTC111

We'll be broke. We'll be living in squalor, eating catfood, and depending on the generousity of passing strangers to get through each miserable day. But we'll have some really awesome pres!

sad but true

[pramrod]

Originally Posted by ulysses

I hope you make about 5 revisions to that new one, and designate them alphabetically.

People would go nuts for the Biz Mk E.

"Oh baby youuuu, you got what I nee-eed..."

but you say she's just a friend, but you say she's just a friend OH BABY YOU...

[AllAboutTone]

Glad to see that the Purple Pants is in the shoot out.

[Aearth]

Come guys which pre had the best vibe????????????

nIC

[lrieves]

Originally Posted by AllAboutTone

Glad to see that the Purple Pants is in the shoot out.

+1! i wonder if it is more versatile than the biz, i've been seeing what all different sounds i can get out of my biz but could only get fairly minute variations... it's a great sounding pre and i will never sell it, but i guess i had heard too many people rant and rave about how different the dual switch could make the tone... maybe it was just the application i was using it on (acoustic guitar) but i just didn't see where anyone could say it can get such a spectrum of tones... although the dual switch DOES give it incredible dynamic versatility.

in short, i'm anxious to hear the pants!

[NathanEldred]

I never said that, I guess no one notices.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by James 'LA' Lugo