And its preamps are on PAR with my Schoeps VMS preamp!
Seriously?!?!? I really like my 70D, but that seems hard to believe. My FP24 is definitely a superior preamp to the stock 70D; after the modification it's about a tossup like I said. I've never had the pleasure of using a VMS though so I can't really challenge you too much on that. EDIT: It looks like you are using VMS > 70D, so that preamp must be at least some benefit over the stock 70D, right? http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=174394.msg2184129#msg2184129
OK, back to the issue at hand...
The one caution on the 70D preamps that I throw out there to all classical / acoustic recording people: The HIGH+ gain range is so noisy it is nearly unusable. Jim Williams has said that this is due to the transistors in the input stage. The good news is that you'll probably never need to actually use HIGH+ for music recording (up to +63 dB which is a lot). HIGH goes up to +51dB of gain, and the noise floor is still decent there. But you probably won't even go that high. I find myself using the MID range (up to +36dB) most often for solo piano, or small chamber choir and instrumental ensemble recording; LOW (up to +21dB) for louder classical stuff (large choir, brass, organ, etc.). If you really need more than 50 dB of low-noise gain, you need to step up to Sound Devices or something of similar quality (and expense).
Here's a couple of recent recordings I've made direct into the 70D. Note that my unit has been modified so it's a bit more transparent than stock, but it's a subtle change so this should still give you a decent idea. Both of these recordings have had gentle iZotope RX noise reduction to knock down the loud HVAC rumble found in both venues.
1. Pro woodwind quintet, huge modern cathedral-like church with 5-second+ decay. I was able to record in my preferred location, which was a tall stand right behind the conductor.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r57qbct32lxfmo4/AACaNPqEQiZCXtdVWTkuWWCLa?dl=0
DPA 4061 at 50cm > Naiant PFA > 70D (MID gain)
2. Choir (amateur amalgamation for a benefit concert), brass & perc (pros), organ (pro on a rented digital Allen). Small HS auditorium. This was forced to be from the balcony because of union rules so the choir sounds a world away, but you can sure hear everyone else.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iy8y3nzkpw9jod7/AABZzysfCdF3yPjQ9D5XOZzia?dl=0
"Faulkner II" array of 47cm/90deg CM3 (wide card) with 67cm/90deg X-Q (omni) > 70D (LOW gain)
They are definitely DIFFERENT for sure, and I DO prefer the VMS preamps most of the time, but $850 for 2 channels of preamps, it BETTER sound better lol
I think the VMS + 70d preamps sound VERY similar! As always, YMMV!! They both have fast transients and loads of detail IMO, but for $200 for FOUR channels of preamps, well, its a NO brainer IMO
That's why I now have [2] 70d's
That said, I would have NO PROBLEMS running both of my setups into the 70d preamps with another Naiant PFA
Noah Bickart runs his 4 channels of Schoeps directly into his 70d as well, and his Phish sources sound GREAT! Like Pohaku said, modern all-in-ones have REALLY come a LONG WAY IMO and running external preamps is more for their "flavor" than actually NEEDING them, at least with the 70d
As always, YMMV
Here are some recordings where I ran BOTH setups, so you can judge for yourself if the VMS is "better" than the 70d preamps
BTW, the caps were exactly 4" apart, as the way they sit on my Vark Bar when running both setups
Lotus 12.30.2015 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-12-30.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Lotus 12.30.2015 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-12-30.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16EarPhunk 6.19.2015 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/earphunk2015-06-19.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16EarPhunk 6.19.2015 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/earphunk2015-06-19.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16PPPP 12.18.2015 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/pppp2015-12-18.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16PPPP 12.18.2015 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/pppp2015-12-18.mk4.nbob-kcy.pfa.70d.flac16Big Something 5.29.2015 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/bigsomething2015-05-29.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Big Something 5.29.2015 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/bigsomething2015-05-29.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16Lotus 9.6.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-09-06.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Lotus 9.6.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-09-06.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16Lotus 9.5.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-09-05.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Lotus 9.5.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-09-05.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16Broccoli Samurai 9.4.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/broccolisamurai2015-09-04.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Broccoli Samurai 9.4.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/broccolisamurai2015-09-04.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16Zoogma 9.6.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/zoogma2015-09-06.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Zoogma 9.6.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/zoogma2015-09-06.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16BoomBox 9.5.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/boombox2015-09-05.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16BoomBox 9.5.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/boombox2015-09-05.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16Phish 8.7.15 Blossom Music Center mk41>VMS>70d
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzaK8joEP_fMWkJ4Mmk3Tmk2WGc&usp=sharingPhish 8.7.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzaK8joEP_fMdEtJQWN2SlRXcEE&usp=sharingPhish 8.16.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzaK8joEP_fMaEtZZ29fYXZubTA&usp=sharingPhish 8.16.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzaK8joEP_fMdjEtOEdwbmpfR0U&usp=sharingNew Deal 9.4.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/tnd2015-09-04.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16New Deal 9.4.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/tnd2015-09-04.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16Aqueous 6.19.15 mk41>VMS>70d
https://archive.org/details/aqueous2015-06-19.mk41.vms02ib.70d.flac16Aqueous 6.19.15 mk4>PFA>70d
https://archive.org/details/aqueous2015-06-19.mk4.pfa.70d.flac16