this thread is really funny 
Sure is. Since HEARING is a matter of playback system, and ears. After AGONIZING RESEARCH (with $$ being no object) I went with the TLM170's & V3 , because with the mikes phased correctly, the setup is ROOM ACCURATE. My recordings sound EXACTLY like the room sounded (for better or worse). The mikes and pre have almost ZERO coloration to them, and I've found the A/D to be crisp and accurate, adding no coloration of it's own. If I want to change how my recording sounds, I can do it in POST PROCESSING, with a good set of headphones, and an FFT Scope.
As far as Doug & Jim go, I know both of them OVER 20 years (when most people here were playing with Mr. Microphones). Dougs most telling comment, pertains to your EARS. Some people have a "musical ear" and some don't. It really comes down to INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCE. I can replace some caps in a pre, and tell you it sounds "warmer with crisper soaring highs, like a Colorado Breeze after an early spring snow", and I'm trying to translate a perception into words. Not saying that mods don't do what they're claimed to do, but some of the descriptions are, like, oh, wow man <wink>.
LISTEN to the combo of equipment you want to record thru. I fell in love with the TLM170's from patching the Oades setup at many shows. SWORE I'd NEVER SPEND $4K on a pair of microphones. But when I came time to buy a new front end for myself, and $$ was no object, they were the ONLY CHOICE - NOTHING out there touches them for transparancy & versatility. And I'm not playing "my mikes are better than your mikes", it's just a FACT. The same goes for the LunaTech - $$ being no object, for the SOUND, VERSATILITY & FEATURE SET (the level LED's are what sold me really <g>), combined with the 170's, NOTHING TOUCHES IT.
I understand most people here aren't going to spend $6K on a recording setup (ESPECIALLY to plug into a JB3 <BFG> only kidding, I have a D-10P also). And I'm REALLY an asshole, cause I don't really tape that much anymore besides. So, to take a UA5 and modify it in an attempt to make it sound closer to a "standard" in field recording, is an admirable (and cost effective) thing to do.
But the - FINAL JUDGE - is the OWNERS EARS! A price tag can't be put on what YOU LIKE - be it plain old condensor mikes and a D8, or an insanely expensive setup like I run. When I bring my camera stuff (Canon D10, 70-200mm/f:2.8L and 16-35/f:2.8L) into a show too - I'm hauling close to $13 GRAND worth of gear in - for JUST A HOBBY - NOW THAT'S JUST FUKKIN INSANE - but OH, the tapes and photo's I come away with <BFG>)
Flowery descriptions are nice. Take the CONSUMER GRADE CRAP out of your pre-amps and replace what you can with the best QUALITY COMPONANTS you can, and you're bound to be happier.
The goal here is -ACCURACY-, NOT COLORATION...
My $ .02
Rick
Topic: Warm Mod UA5=Grace Sound, Presence Mod UA5=Apogee (Read 10745 times)