Topic: Warm Mod UA5=Grace Sound, Presence Mod UA5=Apogee

[bhadella]

Just wanted to clarify since I couldn't find a definitive answer online till I spoke to the Oade guys.....

Warm Mod UA5=Grace/V3 flavor
Presence Mod UA5=Apogee/Minime flavor

Since I love the ADK TL>V3 sound, I think a Warm UA5 is in my future!!!

[Chuck]

Just wanted to clarify since I couldn't find a definitive answer online till I spoke to the Oade guys.....

Warm Mod UA5=Grace/V3 flavor
Presence Mod UA5=Apogee/Minime flavor

Since I love the ADK TL>V3 sound, I think a Warm UA5 is in my future!!!

So that's what Doug said?
It's weird, because I think a lot of people thought it was the other way around. It always made more sense to me W Mod=Grace though.

[bhadella]

I think the confusion is that people tend to think of the V3 as being as transparent as the V2......The pre-amp function of the V3 is very transparent, but the A/D does have a warmness to it.

I've never listened to a minime and thought it was as bright or forward sounding, but that is the description the Oades gave me.

[Brian]

either way ADK TL > w-mod is a nice combo. i just starting running it myself and have been very pleased witht the sound overall. however i've only used cards and hypers so far. can't wait to bust out some spaced omnis or run blumlein at a sweet jazz show

[marc0789]

I think the confusion is that people tend to think of the V3 as being as transparent as the V2......The pre-amp function of the V3 is very transparent, but the A/D does have a warmness to it.

I've never listened to a minime and thought it was as bright or forward sounding, but that is the description the Oades gave me.

Are those Oade golden ears going tone-deaf?   V3 a/d warm?! NFWIMHO.

[Brian Skalinder]

The distinction makes sense to me:

Warm-mod UA5 / Grace sound
overall feels smoother across the range
full, extended low end, but not as tight as below
nice meaty mids with an even transition to highs
extended highs, soft on attack but long on decay

Presence-mod UA5 / Apogee sound
overall feels punchier across the range
slightly rolled-off low-end, more "shape" to it in the mid-upper lows
mids more up front, punchier
more pronounced highs, brings out the attack in the highs

To my ears, this sort of mirrors the differences I hear between the Grace V3 and Apogee Minime.  I find the Grace warmer, smoother, and fuller, more extended, while the Apogee has more "shape" to it, feels punchier in the deep lows and more pronounced in the upper bass and upper mids/highs.

Some people prefer the warm and smooth (some would say boring) Grace sound.  Some people prefer the punchier, more up front (some would say edgier) Apogee sound.

 :twocents:

[dmonterisi]

I think the confusion is that people tend to think of the V3 as being as transparent as the V2......The pre-amp function of the V3 is very transparent, but the A/D does have a warmness to it.

I've never listened to a minime and thought it was as bright or forward sounding, but that is the description the Oades gave me.

Are those Oade golden ears going tone-deaf?   V3 a/d warm?! NFWIMHO.

whatever, eugene, i don't think doug is listening in his car.  

[EScott]

whatever, eugene, i don't think doug is listening in his car.

 

[marc0789]

yeah, I only listen in the car, Damon. Amd Doug MUST be right, of course. I don't know of anyone more knowledgeable than Doug, but even gurus can be wrong. He is the one who said "the best preamp is no preamp", yet came out with his own hand-made $1,300 pre. And the one who said the sbm-1 was his "favorite a/d."  And Brown must be right when he says the v3 is warm?! In my "opinion", and it's just that, the v3 isn't going to sound warm unless you throw a pair of tubes in front of it, and a tube pre behind it. I have nothing but bright sounding >v3 recordings. Not all bad, just more "presence" than "warm", for sure.

[Brian Skalinder]

Who's Brown and how did he get into this?

And your V3 recordings wouldn't sound so bright if you didn't listen to them on your POS playback system.      Just giving you grief, Marc...  

[marc0789]

Scott Brown. And I do have a POS home system. But not POS enough to make a warm pre sound bright.  

[dmonterisi]

yeah, I only listen in the car, Damon. Amd Doug MUST be right, of course. I don't know of anyone more knowledgeable than Doug, but even gurus can be wrong. He is the one who said "the best preamp is no preamp", yet came out with his own hand-made $1,300 pre. And the one who said the sbm-1 was his "favorite a/d."  And Brown must be right when he says the v3 is warm?! In my "opinion", and it's just that, the v3 isn't going to sound warm unless you throw a pair of tubes in front of it, and a tube pre behind it. I have nothing but bright sounding >v3 recordings. Not all bad, just more "presence" than "warm", for sure.

i think doug is like the wizard of oz, he's known only by reputation, the internet and some phone calls to a payphone at a truck stop in thomasville, ga.

[Joe w.]

i don't find anything about the V3 to be warm...

Apogee = warm.

Grace = Tight, accurate.

just my 2. i don't run either box......and my playback is about as good as that low carb burger king concoction i saw in the adkins thread

[EScott]

"And the one who said the sbm-1 was his "favorite a/d."

I still remember when I was considering buying my 1st rig - 480>148>SBM-1.  I posted on Digipanic asking for opinions, someone told me to just send them the $400 for the SBM-1 and they would fly to Denver and just stomp on all of my tapes.  I got a laugh out of that.

Eric

[Craig T]

V3 isn't warm.  Wmod-UA5 doesn't sound like a V3, closer to a MME.  The V3 has smoother and more extended highs compared to the Pmod-UA5, but low end is similar.