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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 23, 2019 23:16:42 GMT -6
So I kind’ve looked up and realized that some of the - what some would call budget - manufacturers have stolen a little thunder from the hot 2000-2016 500 series gold rush. Am I wrong? I still have a rack expressly for the VP28 platinums. They’re as good as any pre in any format. But what gives with 500 in 2019?
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Post by m03 on Jun 23, 2019 23:25:43 GMT -6
So I kind’ve looked up and realized that some of the - what some would call budget - manufacturers have stolen a little thunder from the hot 2000-2016 500 series gold rush. Am I wrong? I still have a rack expressly for the VP28 platinums. They’re as good as any pre in any format. But what gives with 500 in 2019? Are the VP28P's considered budget? At $800 each, and with their feature set, they seem to be on the higher-end of the spectrum. I'm still reserving space of 4x of them, but I wont be able to make that jump (or justify it) for quite a while.
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Post by sirthought on Jun 24, 2019 0:15:29 GMT -6
While they might not charge the same as API, I don't think anything of CAPI's is budget. Justifiable, maybe, but that's not what a budget minded audio person is spending.
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Post by mhbunch on Jun 24, 2019 0:46:18 GMT -6
I’m not sure I understand the question here
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Post by lpedrum on Jun 24, 2019 5:35:54 GMT -6
I’m really digging my new 500 Series Chambord Audio EQs and have my eye on those English Cranborne Mic pres - both of which are high quality for an affordable price. It’s true that some companies are now making some great 19” units that don’t cost 4K such as Weight Tank. But I’m still loving the 500 Series stuff. .
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 24, 2019 7:41:02 GMT -6
Not sure you guys understand. I’m saying some of the 19” manufacturers like warm and stam have eaten into the 500 market.
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Post by indiehouse on Jun 24, 2019 7:47:59 GMT -6
If you can solder, a CAPI BT50 comes in slightly under the Stam, but that doesn’t account for the PSU (though a 500 PSU can power many more modules). So, I guess the CAPI value lays in DIY (without accounting for circuit and component differences).
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Post by stam on Jun 24, 2019 7:48:00 GMT -6
I think I understand what you mean John The 500 series is a declining market but so is the rack series, it is just a matter of coming out with an interesting and exciting product to change this.
I have designed about 10 pieces for 500 series, preamps, comps, eq's etc.. they are just sitting there, the cool thing is that most of them have never been done in a 500 series format or not the same as in rackmount version.
I will probably released them once we are up to date with deliveries to see if there is any interest
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Post by Quint on Jun 24, 2019 8:04:02 GMT -6
Not sure you guys understand. I’m saying some of the 19” manufacturers like warm and stam have eaten into the 500 market. That sounds like a fair assessment. I know that it has had a similar effect on what I've purchased in recent memory. It's actually been a bit since I bought any 500 series stuff.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Jun 24, 2019 8:30:38 GMT -6
If you are capable of building either your own Hairball or CAPI 500 series gear, it’s almost unbeatable IMO. The sound is unparalleled for the price too.
I’m keeping myself from trying the platinums cause I know I’ll fall in love and just can’t spend the money on stuff like that right now.
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Post by adamjbrass on Jun 24, 2019 8:41:47 GMT -6
I would agree the 500 series market has cooled off, but I think it is because everyone and their mother makes a module. Too many options. Yes, I realize that the format itself begets "options" but the market is too confused.
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Post by lpedrum on Jun 24, 2019 8:56:25 GMT -6
I would agree the 500 series market has cooled off, but I think it is because everyone and their mother makes a module. Too many options. Yes, I realize that the format itself begets "options" but the market is too confused. Interesting take. But who do you feel is confused? As someone who keeps somewhat abreast of the gear market I don’t find the 500 Series options confusing. And I would guess that’s true of most here on RGO.
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Post by adamjbrass on Jun 24, 2019 9:14:55 GMT -6
I would agree the 500 series market has cooled off, but I think it is because everyone and their mother makes a module. Too many options. Yes, I realize that the format itself begets "options" but the market is too confused. Interesting take. But who do you feel is confused? As someone who keeps somewhat abreast of the gear market I don’t find the 500 Series options confusing. And I would guess that’s true of most here on RGO. My experience has shown me that customers looking to get into the 500 series have a hard time deciding which ones to get into it, simply because there are far more options than when the format started. I have been selling this gear for over 12 years and I have surmised that the market has changed drasticlly over and over, during these years.
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Post by drbill on Jun 24, 2019 9:45:33 GMT -6
I disagree 100% with some comments that the 500 series market is declining.
I suppose it all depends on your perspective. From where I sit, the 500 series market is going complete bonkers crazy. There are of cours a wide variety of things studio's are concerned with. But the top two are :
1. Cost 2. Space
The 500 series hits both of those squarely. Lower cost due to size, less shipping costs, etc.. The market has blown up so large that there is certainly a lot of new manufacturers almost every week.
I love the fact that in my 12RU spaces of CAPI rack I have 44 pieces of gear. With 19' gear that would have taken several large racks. Space is premium in 2019. I will say that heat becomes the new battle frontier. At least for me.
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Post by Bender on Jun 25, 2019 0:21:57 GMT -6
Are the VP28P's considered budget? At $800 each, and with their feature set, they seem to be on the higher-end of the spectrum. I'm still reserving space of 4x of them, but I wont be able to make that jump (or justify it) for quite a while. They should only be considered budget when it comes to DIY, otherwise for the quality components and being AMERICAN ASSEMBLED it's certainly a rare breed come market-wise and still quite the deal. Kit's or plats, it's gonna sound great!
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Post by Guitar on Jun 25, 2019 8:12:18 GMT -6
I've been wondering if plugins and software have cooled off the hardware market a bit... they certainly have for me.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 25, 2019 8:59:17 GMT -6
I probably should have said “less expensive” instead of budget because that might infer that they’re “lesser” in some respects. Which is not the case.
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Post by the other mark williams on Jun 25, 2019 13:33:20 GMT -6
To somewhat counter drbill, I don’t think it’s a matter of perspective. Either 500-series stuff is selling less today than it was 5 yrs ago, or it’s not. I don’t know if there’s any way to access that data, however. And I imagine the data might look different at Sweetwater than at someplace like Zen. Maybe. My gut tells me you’re right, Johnkenn. This is entirely anachronistic, but I used to always consider 500-series stuff whenever thinking about a new purchase, whereas now I always think about what’s available in a 19-inch format first. But then I’ve always preferred 19-inch rack gear personally. Still wish I could pick up a couple of Chromas and a couple of Platinums, though.
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Post by yotonic on Jun 25, 2019 15:43:44 GMT -6
Has anyone here used the Aurora Audio GT500? Never heard much about it.
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Post by m03 on Jun 25, 2019 17:05:29 GMT -6
Has anyone here used the Aurora Audio GT500? Never heard much about it. I picked up a few of these. I haven't found them to sound significantly different from the GTQ2, which is good, since it's supposed to be the same circuit. The feature set is slightly different though...the functional differences being the lack of EQ, the lack of input impedance switch, the additional of selectable HPF frequencies, the addition of an input level indicator (nice), and a greater range of gain adjustment. The last point contains one minor downgrade though...the gain knob adjusts in 10db increments instead of 5db increments like on the GTQ2. Also, the HPF indicator is a blue LED, which is somewhat annoyingly bright.
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Post by EmRR on Jun 25, 2019 17:51:37 GMT -6
There are so many 500 modules I'm aware of, yet never seen talked about. A smaller (large) subset I'm aware of I've never seen available anywhere other than the lonely company website.
It's a flood.
I know of several small companies who've discontinued their 500 offerings as sales volume wasn't sufficient.
I have a number of working prototypes I've thought about marketing, but I'm skeptical anyone would care about them over some other tangentially similar offerings.
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Post by Guitar on Jun 25, 2019 17:52:39 GMT -6
I've definitely got a couple weird ones nobody has heard about.
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Post by geoff738 on Jun 25, 2019 18:36:01 GMT -6
I've definitely got a couple weird ones nobody has heard about. Should we maybe start a thread about under the radar 500 series stuff. I know we had the recent underrated thread but I’m not sure how much 500 stuff made it on there. I actually wanted to ask about Inward Connections stuff on that thread but it seemed just a bit OT, I had no personal experience. Cheers, Geoff
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Post by the other mark williams on Jun 25, 2019 18:37:31 GMT -6
I've definitely got a couple weird ones nobody has heard about. Should we maybe start a thread about under the radar 500 series stuff. I know we had the recent underrated thread but I’m not sure how much 500 stuff made it on there. I actually wanted to ask about Inward Connections stuff on that thread but it seemed just a bit OT, I had no personal experience. Cheers, Geoff this is a great idea. Start it up, geoff738 !!
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Post by geoff738 on Jun 25, 2019 18:46:03 GMT -6
Should we maybe start a thread about under the radar 500 series stuff. I know we had the recent underrated thread but I’m not sure how much 500 stuff made it on there. I actually wanted to ask about Inward Connections stuff on that thread but it seemed just a bit OT, I had no personal experience. Cheers, Geoff this is a great idea. Start it up, geoff738 !! It is done. Cheers, Geoff
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