Topic: Busman or Oade mod UA-5

[jbell]

Wondering what mod and by who is the more preferred?  Thanks for the feed back.

[Brian Skalinder]

You'll find a lot of satisfied parties from both (and some unsatisfied from both...probably more from Doug, partly because he's been in business longer).  I prefer Doug's work, but not because I've compared directly (which I think few have).  More so because I started with Doug, before Busman got in the game, and I've always been extremely pleased...so no reason to leave.  Plenty of people like their Busman mods, too.

If budget is an issue, I believe Busman's mods are less expensive and/or he'll mod gear purchased elsewhere.  Doug's mods are usually a bit more expensive and usually require you to purchase the unit directly from him.

Not an easy decision!  I think most people who appreciate the price/performance value of modded gear would be happy with either.

[aaronji]

If budget is an issue, I believe Busman's mods are less expensive and/or he'll mod gear purchased elsewhere.  Doug's mods are usually a bit more expensive and usually require you to purchase the unit directly from him.

I think Doug has changed his policy with respect to mod'ing stuff purchased elsewhere.  On his site (the Upgrades page: http://www.oade.com/digital_recorders/hard_disc_recorders/upgrades.html), it says that he will not mod PMD620s and PMD661s unless they are purchased from him, but it looks like that is no longer an issue for many of the other mods he does.

[spyder9]

I've had stuff from both.  I had the first Busman modded unit of anything, when I bought his UA-5 a few years back.  Great stuff.  I also owned an Oade modded 660 that was top niotch too.  You can't go wrong with either, when it comes to a modded UA-5.

[jbell]

Thanks!

[caymanreview]

ive never owned anything done by busman, but ive owned a few oade mod devices, and used a few others

loved my oade warm mod ua5, really loved my oade warm mod firewire 410, and ive really been liking my oade ACM mod 671 as an all in one box. ran a oade Concert mod R44 part of the summer and had pretty good results with it too

Doug has always been good to me. But obviously that isnt always the case around here!

[jbell]

debating a UA-5 or just going for a 660.  I am leaning toward the 660

[paulbaptiste]

^ That was gonna be my reply.   
First off I have no experience with Oade's gear.  I ran a busman UA5 for a couple years and it sounded great. Damn near everything i've run has been modded by Busman in some way;  Busman Naks (sold, want back), Busman UA5 (sold), Busman 660 (still own), Busman Avantones (still own) and have loved every piece of busman gear. 
But with the small difference between the price of a modded UA5 ($300ish, granted they were going dirt cheap awhile ago) and then maybe 100-200 dollars more to get a great all in one box (used), for me it was worth it to skip that extra piece of luggage and have it all in one. Mics, Cables, Recorder-all set.  It's worth it. 

[jbell]

paulbaptiste I have been kicking around the idea of your 660 in the YS, but not sure I want to drop that much $ at the moment

[paulbaptiste]

^ I understand that.  Not trying to push you towards my gear by anymeans.  Was merely stating i went through the same scenario before and am glad i went with an "all in one" and wish i would have done that to begin with.  THere are many more options than my 660.

[jbell]

your 660 is very tempting

[dean]

I've had stuff from both.  I had the first Busman modded unit of anything, when I bought his UA-5 a few years back.  Great stuff.  I also owned an Oade modded 660 that was top niotch too.  You can't go wrong with either, when it comes to a modded UA-5.

Similarly I've got a busman mod ua5 and an oade mod r4 and am extremely happy with both.  They each sound different, but neither has any significant advantage over the other, as far as my ears are concerned.   

[jbell]

appreciated, I think I am going to grab an all in one box!  I am leaning towards a FR2 LE 

[MJ]

appreciated, I think I am going to grab an all in one box!  I am leaning towards a FR2 LE 

I bought a Doug HD Mod FR2 LE and love the device!!!   

[ldseeya]

I have a Busman Mod UA-5 (BM2p+ UA-5) and love its warm, transparent sound.  I just upgraded to a Busman mod HD-P2.  Busman mods are the way to go.  If you are interested in Buying a UA-5, Mine is for sale.  $300 plus shipping - OBO

[yug du nord]

debating a UA-5 or just going for a 660.  I am leaning toward the 660

Depends on if you want 16bit or 24bit....  the 660 is a 16bit all-in-one...  and the UA-5 is a 24bit two-in-one (pre/AD).

[jbell]

New gear is on hold right know, I am buying a house!  Also, not sure what all in one box I want to go with.  I can't seem to make up my mind.

[yug du nord]

^^^ah come on.....  you can't record a show with a house...   ...  congrats man!

[Javier Cinakowski]

Depends on if you want 16bit or 24bit....  the 660 is a 16bit all-in-one...  and the UA-5 is a 24bit two-in-one (pre/AD).

I'll take the 16bit adc of the 660 over any UA5 bit depth.

[GDfan]

PMD 661, so you can get both 24bit and an all in one box

[Brian Skalinder]

I'll take the 16bit adc of the 660 over any UA5 bit depth.

Curious if you have experience with and/or directly compared both?  I'm not very familiar with the 660's ADC, but I've always thought the modded UA5s sound outstanding.

[Javier Cinakowski]

I do have a good bit of first hand experience with the UA5 and PMD660.     Ive owned a a few stock, a Oade P-mod and a BM2P+ UA5.  I still think those boxes are fantastic and have no issues with the ADC.  Iv'e also owned a few more 660's than I'd like to admit as well.  My preference is the 660.    I think the 660's ADC does a fantastic job producing 16bit audio.  I think that chip competes favorably with its newer 24bit siblings, when dittherd back...  If 16 bit is all you need, the 660 is hard to beat.   If I was just getting into this hobby, I wouldn't be unwise to find a used ACM 660.   

[jbell]

Thanks guys for the the advice!!   TS members always provide the best feed back. 

[andyjah]

Can any one describe the difference in sounds between the two mods(Oade/Busman)? Warmth?Transparency? What each does for the sound. Just curious.

[stevetoney]

First, not to be wise, but you can probably get the best answer to this yourself by searching on LMA and listening to a number of samples of each.  However, the busman mod on the UA-5 is most closely associated with the Oade UA-5 T+mod.  These mods provide a very transparent, clear, direct, true sounding rendering of the source.  The Oade W+mod is, well, warmer sounding than the other two mods with smoother and deeper lows and less accentuation on the mids and highs, but with no less detail.  The biggest plus that I find in these mods is that the modded UA-5's provide a recording with significantly greater detail and clarity than the unmodded boxes.  The W vs. the T part of the mod is simply preference in whether you like a warmer coloration of the source or not.  Many people associate the sound of the Oade W+ mod to be similar to that of a tube amp in guitar amplifier lingo.

[dean]

First, not to be wise, but you can probably get the best answer to this yourself by searching on LMA and listening to a number of samples of each.  However, the busman mod on the UA-5 is most closely associated with the Oade UA-5 T+mod.  These mods provide a very transparent, clear, direct, true sounding rendering of the source.  The Oade W+mod is, well, warmer sounding than the other two mods with smoother and deeper lows and less accentuation on the mids and highs, but with no less detail.  The biggest plus that I find in these mods is that the modded UA-5's provide a recording with significantly greater detail and clarity than the unmodded boxes.  The W vs. the T part of the mod is simply preference in whether you like a warmer coloration of the source or not.  Many people associate the sound of the Oade W+ mod to be similar to that of a tube amp in guitar amplifier lingo.

Yep, that's a pretty good encapsulation, I think.