Topic: Would this fry my DPA's? also, comping pre's & A/D's

[justink]

i'd like to do a V3 pre and A/D comp with an Oade R-44 pre and A/D comp using one pair of DPA's.

i've seen people mention the best way to go about it is to have some xlr splitters to go from both pres (four) to the mics (two)...  but the only way to make it a legit comp and test both pre's is to have phantom power on both units. 

would powering two mics from four pres harm the mics?  how would it be a good comp if you're basically mixing the power of both pres to the same mics?  it doesn't seem to me that would be a conclusive test and you're actually adding another variable to the test by mixing the two pres to the same mics at the same time.

i'm thinking two separate tests are the way to go.  same mics, same location in a quiet room and play some dynamic music on a good system... like a movie theater if you have access or something the like.  record for a good 10 minutes, then repeat with the other pre and a/d...

thoughts?

[airbladder]

You won't hurt your mics, I have done a comp like this.  My understanding is that the phantom from both units won't let you do a true a/b; one pre's phantom can change the sound of the other source or something like that.  It won't hurt anything to try this test.  However, to do a true a/b you need to get a battery box to provide the phantom and run the splitter behind that.  The a/b you were talking about should also work. 

I have both a v2 and OCM R-44.  First let me say that I love my V2 and would rather run that in front of the OCM R-44.  The OCM R-44 sounds good on it's own and doesn't "need" a pre in front of it.  That being said the V2 has a cleaner more detailed sound while the OCM R-44 has a less detailed and warmer sound.  With DPAs it's just a matter of what flavor you want.  I don't have a golden ear or any formal education with music so that observation is just my 2 cents.   

Good luck with your comp and let us know what you think.

[airbladder]

FYI it should also work with the phantom coming form from only one pre but again not a "true" comp.

[justink]

i've given this some thought tonight, and i think i have a plan...  i just gotta find a suitable venue and time.  i wonder how much it'd cost to rent a movie theater for an hour after closing time?  $50 to a projectionist?