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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on February 23, 2006, 07:46:08 PM

Title: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on February 23, 2006, 07:46:08 PM
Lookin to get a pre.  Not to into the UA-5 anymore as I never knew about the no audio through.  That sucks.  I've been told the T+ would bring out the best in the 414's.  Anything else like it?  Wishin I kept my v2.   :-\
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: RebelRebel on February 23, 2006, 08:24:58 PM
the FMR RNP is  clean and detailed, and economical. I have heard it , though not in a side by side testing enviroment.

http://www.fmraudio.com/RNP8380.htm

dc ready(as long as the voltage range is within 9-12V)...only downside some  see is stepped gain(which isnt a downside to me)

 folks talk about it on gearslutz and other places. other than the usual suspects the only other one that I know of that is practical for field use is Jim Williams audio upgrades preamp which is 12-1500?Supposed to be clean as a whistle.

Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: F.O.Bean on February 23, 2006, 08:52:09 PM
v3 :)
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on February 23, 2006, 09:06:24 PM
Well it says that FMR is noisy.  Thats scary.  And ya we'd all love a v3 but I don't have 950.  More 5-6. I'll be on the lookout for a v2.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: johnw on February 23, 2006, 09:17:25 PM
folks talk about it on gearslutz and other places. other than the usual suspects the only other one that I know of that is practical for field use is Jim Williams audio upgrades preamp which is 12-1500?Supposed to be clean as a whistle.

I thought this was AC only. Does he have a new model?
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Kyle on February 24, 2006, 12:44:41 AM
Well it says that FMR is noisy.  Thats scary.  And ya we'd all love a v3 but I don't have 950.  More 5-6. I'll be on the lookout for a v2.
save your flow - you only need a little more :coolguy:
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on February 24, 2006, 12:50:28 AM
Ya maybe your right....... :-\
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: RebelRebel on February 24, 2006, 04:45:57 AM
folks talk about it on gearslutz and other places. other than the usual suspects the only other one that I know of that is practical for field use is Jim Williams audio upgrades preamp which is 12-1500?Supposed to be clean as a whistle.

I thought this was AC only. Does he have a new model?

Yeah, you are right John. I was looking at the wrong product.
Good luck with the hunt, Mark.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: shaggy on February 24, 2006, 06:00:50 AM
Sax
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Thom Joad on February 24, 2006, 08:12:15 AM
FWIW, I ran a FMR RNP for a while.  It's VERY transparent.  I was running it with Earthworks so it really wasn't the best combo. for most stuff (too bright), but for onstage bluegrass/folk, it was great.  I always wanted to try it behind a more colored mic. but never got the chance before I sold it.  I could never hear any noise in any of the tapes I made with it, but as always YMMV.  Also, I forget his name, but FMR is really a one man (and wife) operation down in TX, and the customer service is fantastic!!
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: thegreatgumbino on February 24, 2006, 08:21:06 AM
Not to into the UA-5 anymore as I never knew about the no audio through.  That sucks. 

Huh?  Someone care to elaborate?  I' m confused  ???
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Shawn on February 24, 2006, 09:01:11 AM
you could stay with a ua-5 and try the busman mod. I believe the goal of that mod is to make the ua-5 more "Transparent"

just a thought.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Patrick on February 24, 2006, 10:19:11 AM
Not to into the UA-5 anymore as I never knew about the no audio through.  That sucks. 

Huh?  Someone care to elaborate?  I' m confused  ???

I think he meant to say that he is not liking the UA-5 anymore because it does not have analog pass through capabilites like the v2/v3, etc. 

Right  ???
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: thegreatgumbino on February 24, 2006, 10:22:44 AM
Not to into the UA-5 anymore as I never knew about the no audio through.  That sucks. 

Huh?  Someone care to elaborate?  I' m confused  ???

I think he meant to say that he is not liking the UA-5 anymore because it does not have analog pass through capabilites like the v2/v3, etc. 

Right  ???

The UA-5 does have analog out  ???
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Brian Skalinder on February 24, 2006, 10:26:13 AM
The UA-5 does have analog out  ???

True, but it's not analog passthrough.  Analog passthrough = signal coming in from the mics, amplifying, and then outputting directly to analog-outs (no ADC/DAC involved).  The UA5 takes in the signal from the mics, performs ADC, then performs DAC, and then outputs to the analog-outs.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: thegreatgumbino on February 24, 2006, 10:50:32 AM
The UA-5 does have analog out  ???

True, but it's not analog passthrough.  Analog passthrough = signal coming in from the mics, amplifying, and then outputting directly to analog-outs (no ADC/DAC involved).  The UA5 takes in the signal from the mics, performs ADC, then performs DAC, and then outputs to the analog-outs.

Gotcha.  I forgot about that.  Thanks for the reminder, Brian.  +T
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Shawn on February 24, 2006, 11:10:33 AM
I missed the part about not wanting a ua-5 because of pass through, which makes my suggestion useless  :banging head:
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on February 24, 2006, 12:35:12 PM
Not to into the UA-5 anymore as I never knew about the no audio through.  That sucks. 

Huh?  Someone care to elaborate?  I' m confused  ???

I think he meant to say that he is not liking the UA-5 anymore because it does not have analog pass through capabilites like the v2/v3, etc. 

Right  ???


You are correct sir.  Now if only someone could do a mod to make it work it would be fantastic!  You'd think it could be done.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Patrick on February 24, 2006, 12:53:19 PM
Not to into the UA-5 anymore as I never knew about the no audio through.  That sucks. 

Huh?  Someone care to elaborate?  I' m confused  ???

I think he meant to say that he is not liking the UA-5 anymore because it does not have analog pass through capabilites like the v2/v3, etc. 

Right  ???


You are correct sir.  Now if only someone could do a mod to make it work it would be fantastic!  You'd think it could be done.

It probably could be done, but I'm not the guy to ask for that.  It definitely would be cool to run an external ADC behind the UA-5 for some comps.  Although to my ears the ADC sounds fine.

I wonder what Roland/Edirol thinks of us tapers, we have literally destroyed their product with all the digi/Oade/busman mods, as well as replacing the knobs, installing a digi mod switch, etc!

Pretty funny if you think about it.

EDIT:  One of the things that I would really like for the UA-5 to do is be able to convert coax> optical and vise versa.  If someone figures out how to do a mod for that, I will NEVER get rid of my UA-5!!  Is this a pipe dream? 
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: bgalizio on February 24, 2006, 01:08:18 PM

EDIT:  One of the things that I would really like for the UA-5 to do is be able to convert coax> optical and vise versa.  If someone figures out how to do a mod for that, I will NEVER get rid of my UA-5!!  Is this a pipe dream? 

Couldn't you go coax in > optical out or optical in > coax out? The UA-5 isn't bit perfect (it resamples a digital input), though, so even if that works you're not passing on the same digital data.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: tms on February 24, 2006, 01:17:06 PM

EDIT:  One of the things that I would really like for the UA-5 to do is be able to convert coax> optical and vise versa.  If someone figures out how to do a mod for that, I will NEVER get rid of my UA-5!!  Is this a pipe dream? 

Coax-in mod on a UA-5?  Or coax-in to UA-5 plus an optical-out (or two)?  Either shouldn't be a problem.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: Patrick on February 24, 2006, 01:28:08 PM

EDIT:  One of the things that I would really like for the UA-5 to do is be able to convert coax> optical and vise versa.  If someone figures out how to do a mod for that, I will NEVER get rid of my UA-5!!  Is this a pipe dream? 

Couldn't you go coax in > optical out or optical in > coax out? The UA-5 isn't bit perfect (it resamples a digital input), though, so even if that works you're not passing on the same digital data.

No, you can't unfortunately.  :(  That's why I was saying that if the UA-5 had that capability, then it would be the ultimate all in one unit. 


Coax-in mod on a UA-5?  Or coax-in to UA-5 plus an optical-out (or two)?  Either shouldn't be a problem.

Well, it's already got a coax in, but that signal cannot be passed to the optical out.  The UA-5 basically cannot perform the function of a C02 or a ODL-276. 

It also cannot be blended with any of the analog ins, which is not that big of a deal to me.
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: tms on February 28, 2006, 12:41:14 PM

EDIT:  One of the things that I would really like for the UA-5 to do is be able to convert coax> optical and vise versa.  If someone figures out how to do a mod for that, I will NEVER get rid of my UA-5!!  Is this a pipe dream? 

Couldn't you go coax in > optical out or optical in > coax out? The UA-5 isn't bit perfect (it resamples a digital input), though, so even if that works you're not passing on the same digital data.

No, you can't unfortunately.  :(  That's why I was saying that if the UA-5 had that capability, then it would be the ultimate all in one unit. 


Coax-in mod on a UA-5?  Or coax-in to UA-5 plus an optical-out (or two)?  Either shouldn't be a problem.

Well, it's already got a coax in, but that signal cannot be passed to the optical out.  The UA-5 basically cannot perform the function of a C02 or a ODL-276. 

It also cannot be blended with any of the analog ins, which is not that big of a deal to me.


Ok, I'm confused.  Why would you run coax-in to a UA-5?  Was it originally to act as a pass thru to USB?

So someone might want to take the coax-in and pass it thru to one or more optical-outs for patching or something?
Title: Re: Good alternative to a T+ UA5 mod?
Post by: NJFunk on February 28, 2006, 01:44:22 PM

Ok, I'm confused.  Why would you run coax-in to a UA-5?  Was it originally to act as a pass thru to USB?

Exactly.  This is one of the primary functions of the box as it was originally designed by Edirol (before the taping community got to it...), so that people could work with a computer and other sound sources, be they analog or digital.  Half of the functionality of the UA-5 is disabled by the digi-mod that people do so that the unit works without the computer in that the USB connection into the UA-5 no longer works.