Topic: MBHOs and preamp combo questions

[stevetoney]

Over the last couple of nights, I've of course been watching this thread closely so that I can make the best decision possible up front hopefully without spending extra money on a decision that I will regret a couple months later.  Obviously, I appreciate everyone's feedback and if you go back over the threads there is a consistent theme.

****Try everything out yourself and reach your own conclusion based on what your own likes and dislikes are.****

To that end, instead of investing my own money in testing everything, the next best option is to spend some time with existing tapes.  So, I've spent spent at least four or five hours the last couple nights researching this question on Live Music Archive.  My methodology was to download two songs from at least three shows each from all of the most popular MBHO-preamp combinations (six songs from each MBHO-preamp combo).  Then I compared each of three shows to get a general idea what are the specific aural characterisics of each preamp with the 603a's.  Then using at least one of the files that represented the most representative, I compared between the different popular preamps.

I'm at work right now, so I don't want to provide details from memory, but there are a couple of general conclusions I can provide right now.

Conclusion 1)

The combination of the 603a's with a specific preamp had fairly consistent aural characterstics from venue to venue and recording to recording,  In other words, while it's obvious that the venue, mic location, etc has a significant amount to do with the quality of a specific recording, that doesn't necessarily influence all that much the aural characteristics that result from the combination of these mics with a specific preamp.  The general preamp characteristics were fairly consistent from one rig to the next.  (very bright...warmer...not as defined...etc.)

Conclusion 2)

These mics sound quite nice though all of the preamps that I listened to.  So, although I'm new to the world of MBHO's and haven't done a comparison of these mics to other comparable products, based on this listening experience I do have a healthy respect for these mics through most anything you throw at it.  However, there are definite sonic differences that are clearly dependent on which preamp you use.  Based on the consistency I discovered in Conclusion 1 above, there are also some reasonably defined conclusions that can be made about what can be expected in terms of sound resulting from a specific combination.  Knowing what you like in terms of sound, those general conclusions should be able to help hone your preamp focus. 

(FWIW, based on this excercise, I'm pretty sure I now know now what I want to buy.)

When I get home tonight, I'll post the specific thoughts and conclusions that I have on each combination.

Steve

[marc0789]

These questions are for the MBHO owners or former owners out there.  As soon as they arrive, I'll be the owner of a pair of MBHO-603a actives thanks to deadveg on this list.  He's mentioned that the Sound Devices MP2 is the preamp to go with and I notice that the MBHO-603a > MP2 combo is very popular with the MBHO owners that have posted shows on archive.org.  But but I blew my budget for the next little while on getting the mics, so have snagged a DIY digimod UA-5 and Nomad JB-3 from tradja to start out with. 

So first question is...what I can expect with the UA-5 in combination with these mics versus a higher end preamp?  What sonic differences will there be?

With all the talk about how great the warm mod UA-5 is, was it a waste to bother with the DIY digimod UA-5 for about half the price? 

I'm also wondering, in the future assuming I do upgrade the preamp when money comes available (and depending on what you experienced folks advise), should I consider keeping the UA-5 just to supply phantom power for the mics or is there a downside to using the UA-5 in front of a higher end preamp that maybe doesn't supply phantom power?  (Course it's probably a moot point since most of the better preamps do also supply phantom power.)

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Steve

I got your PM Steve. I personally have never tried the MP2, and have only run the MBHO's with the m148 witch is a transformer based pre like the MP2 and is quite warm. IMO this is a great combo. The 148 really tames the harsh highs of the HO's and really cleans them up. I can definitely see myself sticking with them for a while.

I would just do some testing and see what you like. You will find out what you like eventually. Good luck and +T.

Harrison

I've run the mp-2 quite a bit, but imo it's pretty loose in the low end. I've never run the 148 with them, but I did run the eaa quite a bit, and thought that was a tighter sound, while still warm. I imagine the 148 would sound really nice paired with the bhos.

[OOK]

I would go 648A insted of 603a.  A little cheaper they sound the same to my ears......

True, but with the 648A's you are not as flexible because the cables are attached to them permanetly. With the 603A's, you can use whatever mini xlr cable you want. This comes in handy when do both stealth and open. (I have three sets of cables, 1m, 5m, and 20m.)

I do not know this to be true.  When I was first buying a set they werent like that as far as I knew.  The difference between the 603a and 648a  were that the 603a were transformerless and had a voltage converter so that the mics could accept anything from 12 volts to 48 volts.  The 648a's have a transformer in them and only accept 48 volts. other than that they are the same.

[rodeen]

Hey Steve how the heck are you!  FYI, I owe a large percentage of my Stevie Ray Vaughan collection to Steve Toney!  A class act all the way.  Great to see you on the taperssection.com!

Congrats on the gear, you'll love the HO's.  I agree with Brian.  If you already have a UA-5, use it for a while and figure out what you like.  They are a terrific value and you already put your money in the right place, the mics.

-Rick

You already have the UA5, so stick with it.  Use it.  Listen to the results.  Decide what you do and/or do not like about its sound.  Then once you've built an upgrade budget, decide what gear to move to based on your experiences, what sonic characteristics you like in your MBHO > UA5 setup, which you don't, and evaluate the options within your budget.

[rowjimmytour]

I like the Ho's>V3 combo Svenkid has made so far and this guys got a collection of mics but always seems to go Ho's when he wants a sure thing. I never heard a MBHO>UA5(busman 2+) recording yet but I sure like the mod busman did for my UA5 and can definetly hear a difference.
Peace

[stevetoney]

Hey Steve how the heck are you!  FYI, I owe a large percentage of my Stevie Ray Vaughan collection to Steve Toney!  A class act all the way.  Great to see you on the taperssection.com!

Congrats on the gear, you'll love the HO's.  I agree with Brian.  If you already have a UA-5, use it for a while and figure out what you like.  They are a terrific value and you already put your money in the right place, the mics.

-Rick

Hi Rick...it's been a good little while since we crossed path's.  Didn't you and I talk once about putting together an SRV archive site?  Glad someone else has taken that on and made it a reality. 

Anyways, thanks for the kind words.  Wouldn't it be great to have Stevie around to record through those new mics?  One can only wonder what music he'd be making these days, but no doubt it would be great even though I'd have to forgive him for being non-taper friendly (maybe by now he'd have seen the light).

On the subject of the thread, I'll be posting the results of my listening test tonight.  I didn't get to it last night because...me...tipped...too...many...Slovenian...brewskies!

Steve

[hoyt]

I'm catching up on my HO posts today! 

I did a few comparisons previously with different pres.  I ran omnis one night with m148 > mod sbm1, then the next night, same location mp2 > mod sbm1.  Personally, I prefered the m148, but don't own one myself.  Then a few month later I got a 722 and ran a split comparision with mp2 > mod sbm1 versus the 722.  I think I even had a few where I did the mp2 > 722 vs just the 722.

I posted those here at some point I think, but I'm sure the links are dead now.  The mp2 is pretty easy to pick out of the mix, I think it helps the MBHOs calm down a bit, but the thought of having no preamp won my vote.

No matter what you put behind the MBHO's you should be pretty happy with the output, but try to borrow some other pre's to play around until you find the right match for your ears...

--hoyt

[sleepypedro]

howdy, HO fans.

for the record, i ran mbho > sxm2 for a short while a few years ago.  i don't think i circulated any of the recordings, but in the interest of science if anyone would like to hear some samples, let me know and i'll hook it up.

i definitely prefer mbho > mp2.