1,2 Unity Zoom What am I hearing?

Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 6:11 pm

We outgrew the old Tascam 8 channel board in TV Studio A, so we got a Mackie 24-4 VLZ PRO. I miss the transformers, and 100MM faders on the old Tassie, but I did not expect this...

It seems these xdr advanced mic pre's get to unity and wham, like rise time city. Sounds like an expander with the threshold set to unity, and the output set to infinity. Anybody else notice this?
I bet these pre's would be great on drums. They are piercing with voice overs. It is like trying to find that sweet spot on a digital buss. A tick too much and wham Sad

. Maybe my ears are starting to go. They seem very radical to me. Have you noticed anything like this from these pre's?

--Rick

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 1:24 pm

VLZ stands for very low impedance (z)

At 120 ohms, dynamics are artifically exaggerated and the frequency response is altered wildly with different cables and microphones. I suppose the design was voiced for lower noise. Always a tradeoff.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:20 pm

I have a SR24 vlz, but not with the XDR pres.. I haven't noticed this. I even went and plugged in a mic to check for this after I read Ricks post. I don't hear it. This must be something that happens only with the XDR series. Another thing I have noticed. I also have a 1604 vlz, and the pres in the SR24 sound waaaaay better that the ones ithe 1604. Is this my imagination??? Kurt

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:53 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Mahusive:

...dynamics are artifically exaggerated and the frequency response is altered wildly with different cables and microphones.

Your choice of words nails it, that's exactly what I wanted to say. Smile

Thanks,
--Rick

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