Shootout

Here are some comments posted by LJIII Shootout participants. The full audio record of the comments that day as they happened was recorded and posted by Janet Dagley Dagley at: www.biglisten.com.

> And the 2480 is the most GAS-inducing machine I've seen yet. The
> entire room was virtually incapable of telling for sure, during an A/B
> blind test, the difference between a tracks recorded using a
> Millennium mic pre and tracks recorded using the VS mic pre. Laura
> even tested our ears in advance to see who among us could still feel
> the pain induced by tones at 16, 17 and 18 kHz (I was one who could
> feel the pain of each tone, but I couldn't have said for sure which
> track came from which mic pre). Many of us can still hear the high
> tones, but few could tell the difference in the input chains.

I thought the pre-amp "shoot out" was fascinating.

I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion. I could hear a difference
between the two, and I remember that others did too.

But, the consensus seemed to be that there wasn't a heck of a lot of
difference.

Most people said the Millenia sounded a bit shrill compared to the 2480 pre.
And I admit that i thought the 2480 pre sounded better: warmer, more mids,
and a bit fatter.

I've been pondering this since Saturday. I'm wondering if a different
source material (not just solo piano or solo guitar) would have made a more
obvious difference? What would a mix of 16 or so tracks with one pre sound
like versus the other. I think the Millenia would shine in such a
comparison, because the mids wouldn't muddy up the mix. Then again, what
the hell do I know?<g> And there is such a thing as EQ which is way cool on
the 2480. There are a lot of variables to consider. Time and other jam
agenda items didn't allow for this.

Hear, here!
I still have my piece of paper. What I remember (as one of those with golden ears, snicker , snicker) is that A (the Millenia) was more airy and transparent. To my ears, the piano, a gorgeous instrument gorgeously played, sounded "realer" through the Millenia - both the top and bottom were there. I preferred my 12 string through the VS, probably because, since it was less accurate, it sounded a bit less bright, as the Guild does when played. I have noticed that my guitars sound different when I'm in front. From behind, we acoustic players miss some of the brightness from
the strings and pick or fingers. The mic picks that up, not what we hear unless you add a mic over the top. I never tried that, but I've seen it recommended.
They both sounded terrific. The new machine is incredible - I am speechless with painful GAS.

My concise two cents on the shootout:
The Roland pre's sounded warmer and "tighter" to me, and I preferred them over the Millenia, especially on the piano. There seemed to be more transients (maybe some slight buzzing) through the M. The piano through the Roland, to my 52 year-old-ears, appeared to be more like what a professional recording sounds like.
It was a toss-up on the 12-string.
I believe there was also a consensus that, because of the above characteristics, the 2480's pre's may be better suited for ensemble recording...as opposed to single, or just a few, instruments.

As we said while there: Laura and Roland made their point...I think all of us got it!

Carl Chimi:

I thought the Millenia sounded "clearer" and "crisper" than the 2480 pre. I was kind of amused because the 2480 pre had more perceptible bottom, and I thought that might cause more people to think it was the Millenia. To my ears the 2480 pre was less accurate, less detailed, and more boomy. I heard that difference immediately, and that's why I said right at the beginning that I was sure I knew which was which.

However - the differences I heard, while perceptible, were not very big differences at all. Very minor.

The 2480 looks more like a real all-in-one solution than the 880 or 1680 ever was.

From what I remember ( for some reason I didn't write anything down ( )...... the piano did sound "more natural" on the Millenia... and the Guitar better on the VS.......... the piano was a little "brighter" on the VS pre's.... note necessarily a bad thing, it depends on the final sound you are going after.... just as the Guitar sounded fine on the Millenia.........
I preferred the VS's pre's over all....I think we found out was the VS pre's can hold their own pretty well..... Rickster's idea of see how it hold up in a multi track recording is an interesting idea........ if we had all day to just do equipment tests :):):)...... but the fun ( well it was all fun) part of the day was jamming with a room full of people who were really
enjoying themselves :):):).........

My experience was this. "A" was 'better'. The Millenium let the transients pass in an uncluttered manner. With the 2480 internal mic preamp the high end was very slightly muffled and stifled (remember slightly). The bass emphasis that some characterized as an enhancement came across as more of a low mid pronouncement that you would probably need to roll off. The 2480 also added a 'knocking' to all of the low mid transients. This was most evident when Nancy's piano part was played back All of the hammer strikes were too emphasized. While the Millenium sailed through the same part with no additional coloration. There was no 'air' when the 2480 played back the piano. There was plenty with the Millenium. The Millenium was not boosting highs, the 2480 was just losing a little high end, you could hear it working. The 2480 mic pre was a bit labored in getting the sound out, while the millenium let it slice through with more ease.

With Tony's twelve string, this mid 'knock' was less evident but instead resulted in loss of clarity with some of the content coming from his 4th and 5th strings being somewhat muddled. (We are talking small differences here, just trying to characterize it in words for those who were not there.) There was more sheen to the guitar with the Millenium. More of Tony's energy came through then and (while acknowledging that we were listening to a different performance) the 2480 would probably not allow you to mix the guitar as upfront as you may desire because of the clouded transient issue. Finally, if you take a 'garden variety' condenser mic (any 1/2") and record a guitar, then record the part again with SM57 dynamic mic - that differece in clarity (although nowhere near that wide of a difference) is what the two preamps sounded like (to me).