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Okay, so a good many a time have I been on this website stating my displeasure with my previous experiences with my True Systems Precision 8 - how I thought it was brittle and edgy.

I humbly beg True Systems' apology and completely and totally recant all of my previous comments. The True Systems preamp is by far, one of the most musical pre's I've used. I only now realize what my problem was in the past.

When I originally bought my True Systems pre, I also had bought a round of 8 Schoeps Collette "Ext" bodies. I never liked the sound that I was getting from that combination and after about a year, sold the True. I also shortly after that point sold my "Ext" bodies and went back to my regular collette bodies.

Apparently, the "Ext" bodies did not work well with my True pres and I've been bashing them ever since.

I only recently got to use and hear a Precision 8 again and thought to myself "Gosh, this is NOTHING like the sound that I had been hearing." After some soul searching, I got another Precision 8 and put it through its paces last night. I made both a PCM (88.2 kHz) and a DSD recording (PCM went straight to DAW, DSD went into Dangerous D-Box and summed into Korg MR-1000). Both recordings have NONE of the strident qualities that I didn't like from my previous experiences. The resulting sound is full, present, smooth and fantastic. This 8 pack replaced an 8 pack of Millennias. I still love the Millennias - what they do on the bottom end of a recording is something magical. However, the Trues will probably get the lion's share of the work in my mobile setup from now on.

I just thought I'd make my mistake and apology known. Those of you who thought I was crazy before were right.

Cheers-
Jeremy

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Comments

JoeH Sun, 03/29/2009 - 18:23

not to worry, Jeremy; you're still aces 'round these parts! 8-)

It takes a strong man to admit he might have been wrong. (And a tough man to make a tender chicken, but that's something entirely different for another thread....)

I haven't ever worked with the True system pre's, so I can't comment, but this is a good example of how things can sometimes go with gear at that level of perfection and quality. Sometimes it's not what we THINK it is, and even the best of us can be tricked by one thing, thinking it's another.

moonbaby Mon, 03/30/2009 - 15:33

Well, I feel a bit vindicated by Jeremy's "coming out". I had purchased a P2 a couple of years ago (after seling my beloved DVC). It served me well for a special project I got roped into doing. I liked it for its' transparency ( and the cool phase meter), but I kept hearing folks at RO slam it because of its' "edginess". I never could hear that, and I thought that my hearing's topend was starting to vanish! I sold that box due to other factors, now I miss that one AND the DVC!! Thanks alot!

BobRogers Mon, 03/30/2009 - 16:51

All reviews have to be taken with a grain of salt. A negative review (as long as it's about something that doesn't fall apart) is simply a statement that someone tried and didn't get the sound they wanted out of the equipment.
As with Jeremy's case, that can happen even if the rest of the signal chain seems bullet proof. While positive reviews are subject to confirmation bias, in general I think they are more useful than negative reviews. At least someone tried the gear and liked it (perhaps temporarily). A positive review means the gear worked once; a negative review means the gear failed once. I only care if the gear will work for me.

Kind of lucky that Jeremy was in a position to retry a piece of gear that he'd had a bad impression of. Better luck that he was open enough to give it a second listen.

Cucco Tue, 03/31/2009 - 11:00

Man Mooney! I feel guilty as hell now... :-(

You got rid of two of the greatest pieces of gear in the world (I'm fairly certain that every piece of gear that is RED on front rocks - Fearn, Langevin, True, Focusrite Red...need I say more?)

Of course, I wish it didn't take me this much time, trouble and effort to come to that realization. Oh...and did I mention money?!?! How come every time I make a mistake like that, I feel the money getting sucked out of me??

BobRogers Tue, 03/31/2009 - 17:55

The DVC is beautiful. The pres are great and the the optical limiter ... I have not yet learned to dial in the optical limiter absolutely perfectly. This is probably a good thing, because it is very nice musical compression - sooo good on vocals. If I really could use it perfectly I'd probably have to go out and start buying really good outboard compressors - and sell my children for medical experiments.

Cucco Tue, 03/31/2009 - 18:12

BobRogers wrote: If I really could use it perfectly I'd probably have to go out and start buying really good outboard compressors - and sell my children for medical experiments.

I've tried that. In this economy, 1 child will only get you Focusrite Platinum. In many cases, it's just not worth it.

jammster Tue, 03/31/2009 - 18:53

Cucco wrote: [quote=BobRogers] If I really could use it perfectly I'd probably have to go out and start buying really good outboard compressors - and sell my children for medical experiments.

I've tried that. In this economy, 1 child will only get you Focusrite Platinum. In many cases, it's just not worth it.

So at that rate what would, say, two kittens get you?

A couple ART tube mp's? :lol:

Your right, its just not worth it, I just payed $250 today to get them spayed. I could have gotten a presonus studio channel instead. :)

Man, you guys I like what your saying about the Langevin DVC.

Perhaps I can get one someday?

RonanChrisMurphy Sun, 05/03/2009 - 14:47

Davedog wrote: Are you going to put this review on your site?

Which unit are you reviewing?

An upcoming episode I am planning is "A quest for the ultimate $500 or less mic pre" any one that has suggestions for other strong contenders, please let me know. I am interested in mics that meet the following criteria:

It must be something that can be purchased new in the united states for $500 or less (Not interested in anything that cost $501 or above).

It must be something that sounds really good "stock". I am not interested in pres that sound good once you swap the tubes or get a black lion mod, etc.

500 series modules do not count

BobRogers Sun, 05/03/2009 - 17:08

The two I own that fit the specs are the GT Brick and the FMR RNP. I find both useful, but would be (pleasantly) surprised if they won a large shootout for the "ultimate" sub $500 pre. I'd love to see them compared to others in the same category. (Let's hope the winner is not the "ultimate" low priced pre. Isn't someone going to build a great pre out of used tractor tires?)

My general reaction to the whole category is that even pretty crappy pres will sound OK if you baby them enough - and even the best in the category need to be babied more than the pres a notch up. So to get a good sound out of any of them you have to know what you are doing. On the other hand if you buy, say, an API 3124 you have to work really hard to find bad place to put the knobs. When someone says, "this $300 pre is better than that $350 pre" I always wonder if the $300 pre is really better or if they just lucked into finding its sweet spot really quickly.

Anyway, good luck. I look forward to the review.