I have done several A/B comparisons with kingkita who runs 480s into a V3, when our mics were together on the same stand, and we both agree that the WMOD 661 that I have, running line in from my external SD MP-1 preamps, is comparable in terms of clarity, noise floor, and overall quality with the V3.
Cool. Line-in performance is critical to me - as much as I might like to run without a pre-amp, I don't expect it will happen anytime soon.. I'd like to find an a/d equivalent or better than the 7xx. The r09 is not equivalent, but it is surprisingly good. And as I've mentioned many times before, it is surprising that the r09 has been preferred here in blind comps to the v3's a/d (which is quieter and cleaner). So as much as I like the v3 as a pre, I'm not so keen on it as an a/d.
I left out an important qualifier in my previous post - the differences I'm referring to would be most noticeable when recording something with a 3d soundstage. A bunch of horns, strings, bluegrass, etc. So on-stage or stage lip, and not through a PA. And the good playback is also critical - something that can image depth, outside the speakers, etc. The trumpet in the far back row may be the loudest sound on the recording, but does it still sound like it's in back? How precisely are the individual components of the drum kit imaged? How much of that remains when things get really loud?
Sometimes these subjective impressions require dozens and dozens of recordings in familiar venues, etc, before the opinion is definitive. So for me it is definitive (external pre-amps can sound better than the 7xx standalone), but still subjective.
So I don't think I can definitively compare gear for the cases I am most interested in if the recording is of a PA.
I have made SBDs unbalanced line in through the XLRs several times, using a pair of M-XLR to F-RCA adapters on the recorder, and made great recordings without any audible noise issues.
Good to hear. I wonder what was up with those reports I read?