This would probably be the best suggestion, and the most accurate representation of the signal.
A splitter going into the two different decks while using the same mics would provide the same input to both decks, but the splitter would need to terminate in XLR's to input into the analog stage, the coax input would only test the A/D stage which isn't modded as justink pointed out.
Great points page & justink!
Yeah, I've got XLR terminated splitter cables for this specific purpose. I was going to comp the FR2-LE this way and then I sold mine...
I think a fairer test is using just a single pair of mics, and repeatedly switching which of two decks they are connected to over the course of a show, making multiple switches mid-song.
If your going to go to the trouble of switching every so often, why not just run splitter/"Y" cables?
If you have suitable cables and are sure they are sonically transparent, sure, go for it. How does phantom powering work through such a cable? Any weird changes in input impedance?
They're standard cabling that we use, but more importantly, both ends are from the same cable stock, so they "sound" the same and won't be a conflicting element. Running two decks against a single mic body will load the body more, however nothing drastic has been reported, there are probably some eletrical engineers or people with more intimate knowledge of loading that could shed some light on it. I got the idea when Dirk did it when he did file sets for people to listen to with pre-amps and this would be done in a similar approach (until then I didn't know it was possible). For running P48, just turn it on from 1 deck, not both.
As for ABX testing, it's the
closest we will get to being able to analyze audible differences in a somewhat critical fashion because the only different variable between two file sets will be the gain between the two (however small) and the mods. It's still just one situation (so nature recording, a club, outdoor PAs, crowd noise, etc could be other tests), but it's a relative sample of what we do.
At that point, the two questions to ask are:
- Can you tell a difference?
- If so (and it's not a guarantee), which do you prefer?
The later would most likely require additional tests to determine an overall average, but the former should be reasonably answerable off of one test for the majority of uses that people have here.
Back to your regularly scheduled "that comp would be useless" banter
It's a slow week so far, we don't have much else to talk about.