Jim, anything to say about the femto with schoeps?
Ok guys I've had a chance to play with this pre for a couple shows now and here's my thoughts.
First show I taped was a wash....it was also the first time using a edirol r44 and the recording occasionally overloaded(had the smooth dials on the recorder set well below 12). Otherwise the recording was fine but I won't distribute it for that reason.
Second time was for Wsp in NYC. Ran two rigs on the same stand about 30-40ft from stage 9ft high DFC.
Dpa4021(ortf)> sonosax sxm2> r44(ch1+2)
Schoeps mk4(ortf)> kc5> cmc5> audioroot femto(l)> r44(ch3+4)
First observation is that the femto had a hotter output. I always run my sonosax set to "lo" which is supposed to have a +6db-40db gain range. Treys femto is the "L" version which is also supposed to have a minimum +6db minimum gain. The sonosax dials were just below 12 and the femtos were at 9. The peaks were identical on the recorder. Could this be because of the different mics? Both preamps have similar gain range but 12/9 is a big difference...no?
Hard to compare the two recording since different mics were used but overall I prefer the schoeps>femto. Both sound good but the schoeps>femto has a nice balance of high and lows where the dpa sounds flat in comparison. The schoeps>femto is brighter and just better balanced. I'm liking what I hear from the femto. The bass is nice and smooth yet punchy. Sounds very similar to the eaa psp2 I owned years ago.
The build quality is excellent. All metal powder coated case similar to the sound devices preamps. The multicolor LCD is nice as it gives you battery level displayed in volts, and also shows your input levels. You should get just over 6hrs on standard alkaline 9vlts. You can run an external 12-18v battery as well.
My only gripe is the inputs/outputs are on the bottom on the pre which makes it hard to run in a bag without putting unwanted pressure on your cables. Wish it was setup more like a sonosax where the batteries insert on the bottom and input/outputs on the sides. I'd also be willing to give up the 12-18v battery option and have a unbalanced 1/8in output in its place. When talking to audioroot the designer said simply no room for a mini output:-(
This box belongs to trey and will be going back to him shortly.
I like it enough I ordered one for myself and will have it in a few weeks.
Thanks to trey for letting me take a test drive before I decided to purchase.
Regards,
Jim