A couple question for Dan Alexander.

I was seriously thinking about checking out your 1073 clone but after researching it I am curious:

1) Why do you use a wall wart on your preamp? A wall wart seems like a curious choice for an $1150 piece of gear. Do you sell a version with an internal and chassis' grounded powersupply?

2) I did a bit of lurking on ********* and Pro Sound Web and found a few people that question build quality and mention substandard wiring. Is this coming from whiners or have you had (and hopefully corrected) quality control issues on the preamp in the past.

...... I did a bit of lurking on *********

Geez I just mentioned Gearslu***. It's another gear forum. Why is their name censored? Wow!

I don't know if you caught it but about a year ago there was a big “to-do” about the use of that word (the "GS" word) in letters to the editors pages in several of the recording publications. Since there is a chance (hopefully) that some readers may be under aged here at RO we endeavor to provide content without wording that may be “considered” objectionable. Now I know the occasional "F" word and others slip through the cracks. This is usually left up to the individual moderators of the thread to deal with but in the case of that site and a couple of others something has been put in place by the webmaster (I believe) to censor/ prevent those words from appearing. I hope that explains it to you .... Fats
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ahh just call it GS...everybody whos anybody will know what that means...this is called RO everywhere else...and then theres Homrec or HR...and many many others...these would be politically correct....

Point well taken Cavedog, I mean Davedog .... Fats

Okay .... fine ... every place has it's own wierdness

So back to the subject. What about the Dan Alexander preamp - Build quality and wall wart.

I don't have anything against him or his stuff. Just like to check it out completely before I drop over a thousand bucks.

I will contact Dan and ask him if it would be possible for me to "borrow" one of his pres for a couple of weeks and compare it to my Amek/Neve 9098's. If he agrees I will post a mini review of the piece. I will also ask Dan about the wall wart. I imagine his answer will be 24 volts is 24 volts. Many companies use wall warts for power supply as it keeps manufacturing costs down by not having to shield an internal supply and (the main reason) for wide compatibility through out the world. Want to send one to the UK? Fine, include a supply that is compatible. Japan? Same unit, different supply. It keeps things simple. I will keep you all posted on the review piece. .... Fats
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ok...the power supply seems to be a nonissue. gml and brent averill sell all their products with external supplies; for good reason. it reduces hum and simplifies manufacturing..and furthermore, it's ul rated, which means its safe to use....could someone tell me a downside?

weve sold about 125 units with these supplies and not one has gone down that im aware of.
im not aware of any grounding problems....no one has called and complained or asked for help, so I presume it's also a nonissue....
as far as wiring and internal construction is concerned....there's 2 distinctly different packages . the first 300 -400 of them were completely point to point wired and had a chasis made of old neve metalwork. we regularly had them come back for repairs, but i havent had one back in quite a while, so i presume they are all happy or have been thrown away for useless junk.....
the package we sell now uses a custom stainless steel chasis and has signifigantly less hand wiring. These packages have proven to be more reliable in general ; probably partly due to the fact that it has all new parts except the trannys....and personally I prefer the current package and construction by far. Electronically and specs wise, they are identical...

Aside from this, the units are sold with a 6 months parts and labor warrentee and are fully return guarenteed...ive had two returned in the last 2 years, one from a guy who made his judgment of the unit as a bass di thru his trusty ns10s...now who can tell me the low cutoff frequency for ns10s?
If one has a wiring problem, or any other problem, we are prepared to remedy it, period. Anyone who wants to see what the package looks like internally needs only to log onto http://www.danalexanderaudio.com and click on the preamp pics for an internal view. please refer to the january issue of pro audio review for an objective response to our unit. dan alexander

Fats,
It would be cool if you could an A/B test. I'd be real interested to hear your thoughts on an A/B test.

Dan,
Thanks for your responses. I try to research every piece of gear I buy and the opportunity to get answers from the head honcho is much appreciated.

On wall warts: I have had gear that uses wall warts function well but I have had them cause plenty of problems too. I always steer away from them if I can and if the only difference between 2 pieces of gear is one has a wall wart and the other doesn't, I always buy the one with the internal power supply.

Here are 2 downsides to wall warts:

1) Haven't you ever had a wall wart cause hum. I sure have.

2) How do you achieve chassis grounding with a wall wart?

(By the way, the wiring / build quality concerns came from posts by Jay Kars/MadMoose on Gearslu** & Pro Sound W**)

FloodStage,
I am hoping this will happen. While I haven't received an affirmative on this idea from Dan Alexander, he did Email me requesting my address. I am assuming that was to send me an example of his pre for me to test. It's a case of wait and see for the moment. I'll keep you all posted. Fats
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Excellent! :D

Know of anyone using DA's pre up in Toronto, Canada? Sure would like to get a test run on them. Look forward to your reveiw Fats. I'm somewhat interested. And thanks to Dan for his replies. Liked your site of vintage gear btw.

Cheers :c:

A couple other pres in the $1000 area that look interesting. All of these are 4 channel units BTW

Sytek - Mike S is currently selling new on Ebay for $789 on ebay + 14.65 to ship & insure
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2511594113&category=3278

DavisSound - $950 + shipping
http://www.davisound.com/TB6.html

Sebatron.com - $1260 including shipping
http://www.sebatron.com/products.html

Any comments on their sound?

regarding the Summit half rack stuff, I haven't tried the preamp yet, but have the TD100 direct box and TLA50 compressor. The TD100 gave very good results in the studio with my Zon Lightwave fretless 5-string. The TLA50 I just love...I choose the td100/tla50 combo over my Avalon737 for guitar and bass recorded direct. I've also used the tla50 in my live bass rig (Ashdown/Epifani) and it sounds great there too. imho it is a great balance of simplicity and flexibility. The metering is helpful (especially the turning red on clip like an old CB radio meter), and I like the color of the sound.

oops - can't delete posts here?

Anyone a/b'd Alexander/Averill and or OSA stuff? I'm in a similar situation, but I cant find many OSA users/reviews. I know they are API based units, but I'm wondering how colored they are. I currently have a Buzz and am very happy with what it does. Now I need a colored pair/lunchbox whatever to balance the Buzz with. I am leaning in the API direction, and am very curious about the "Mutant" with the Lundhal (sp?) tranny. Also what's the scoop on this Davisound stuff? Anyone?

Originally posted by Cedar Flat Fats:
..... snip .... While I haven't received an affirmative on this idea from Dan Alexander, he did Email me requesting my address. I am assuming that was to send me an example of his pre for me to test. It's a case of wait and see for the moment. I'll keep you all posted. Fats

Any News on th D/A pre?

No I haven't heard back from Dan Alexander. I am wondering why he wanted my address. Oh well, I have received a 4 channel vmp - 4000 pre amp from Sebatron which I will be reviewing. Just from looking at it and reading the documentation I am beginning to think this may be a perfect solution to a decent front end for a DAW. Sebatrons approach is the uncolored / transparent /neutral approach but it is also noted that by daisy chaining 2 or more channels that tube coloration can be achieved. Best of both worlds. I am looking forward to recording with this 4 channel pre. It is actually quite affordable at $1497 or $375 per channel. At the per channel price that is less than many low headroom "affordable" pres being marketed. I am beginning to think that Sebatron just may be the best high quality mic pre amp value around. I will keep you posted. Look for the review soon ... Kurt