Great details, Jason. Thanks for posting them.
I'm a huge fan of the single volume + balance config. Though I have to say that it isn't such an advantage with stepped pots becuase they're easy to move in sync and the jumps are so big that it doesn't matter.
Thanks to Jason as well for asking all the right questions!
Freelunch...the single-dial stepped gain is customized based upon your needs...assuming you have a known pair of mics that you will keep for a long time, you will know what gain is needed for most taping environments. You can then customize your steps at any six choices. I run AKG 480's which have pre-attenuation pads on the mic bodies of: -10, 0, & +6 dB...if I chose a gain scheme such as 0, 12, 24, 30, 36, 42, this would give me the following gain choices:
-10, 0, 2, 6, 12, 14, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 32, 36, 38, 42 Advantages for me would be less "jump" from selection to selection, fine tuning adjusted through A/D, less likely to erroneously change the duel variable gains (my biggest complaint from running the SD MP-2). The biggest dB jump I will encounter within that range is going from +6 to +12.
Jerry has been gracious enough to communicate through numerous emails with me and Jason...and has been obviously open to numerous suggestions.