It seems like a good concept, but I don't think it can tell you the whole story. Your room, how you mic things (even .5" makes a difference), your mic selection, your A/D, yada yada. The best way is to obviously listen to a pre yourself in your own environment, or if that isn't possible trust someone who you know has been using the stuff in the trenches. IMO, there are better pre's than the one's you mentioned for either more or less cash. Seems like you are leaning towards something a little cleaner. I would go for the Millennia Media or a Great River, both have different ways of approaching that type of sound. Good Luck.

I bought the 3D Audio CDs back when they first came out and kudos to Lynn for the nice initiative.

However, I found it difficult to separate the differences in the individual performances from the differences in the mic pres.

In other words, you're constantly asking yourself: Do I prefer this mic pre track because of the pre itself...or because the grain of the voice is more pleasing, or smoother/rougher, or sung more in-tune, or with more/less vibrato, or more/less chest/head voice, etc...than the other takes?

It's an interesting exercise, but I would not recommend making purchasing decisions based on it.

Jon

I had the same impression. Great idea, and very useful, but I think for me it's most useful in figuring out which mic pre's I'm just _not_ interested in.