help me decide which pre to keep - preamps revealed!

I too favor Pre 1 on both sources by quite a bit... Pre A sounds a tiny bit flatter (cleaner) but has a slightly unpleasant thing that I really did not like

On my iPhone speaker, and only listening to the vocal track.... Pre 1 sounds more smoothed out, reminding me of what quality transformers do to a signal.

My pick is Pre 1.

I think it's down to your personal taste. Pre A is more forward like an API. API's have some grit. Pre 1 is a bit smoother.

I prefer Pre A on both sources. I did listen to these on my phone, so not ideal, of course.

I thought Pre 1, because of the perceived absence of lower-mids, relative to Pre A, sounded a but more 'pokey'. If this is to translate as 'transparency', I guess Pre 1 is the 'winner' (for me). I'll vote that way to hasten the reveal.

'A' feels like it has a transformer thing going on. That's a sound I'm naturally drawn to.

Pre 1 sounds bigger, but it's kind of gritty. Pre A sounds more open and spacious, but smaller. Choose your poison I guess.

pre 1 sounds very full and maybe a tiny bit too much on the acoustic guitar. but overall i like the color of pre 1 more. pre A is a bit polite.
both sound good. but the guitar sounds especially good. nice martin!

My initial reaction was that for me, vibe was stronger with A ... but then of course you said transparent and deep .. and on that concept I think pre 1 wins by quite a margin.

Okay... 17 votes is close enough. I did not expect the results to be so lopsided.  Must be my ears have a ways to go... or they're already destroyed by now.    

The mics are Oktava MK012 SDCs.

Preamp A is the Phoenix DRS-Q4 MKII.

Preamp 1 is the Langevin/Manley Dual Vocal Combo.  I was leaning in this direction anyway if only because of the built-in ELOP limiter and shelving EQ, although the Phoenix has a more robust EQ section.

The DVC has a little more noise to it and not a ton of gain compared to the Phoenix, but aside from the firmer low-mids, I found the Phoenix to also be slightly harsher in my sibilant frequencies.  Build quality is superb on the Phoenix - it is a really nice piece of gear and I wish I could afford to keep both of them.  

The DVC was also the clear winner when compared directly with my Daking Mic Pre II based on the transparency and depth categories, again much to my surprise.

Thanks all for the comments!

I own the 8 channel DRS mkii (mostly used for location work) and the Ascent Two (in my control room racks). I picked A, I guess, because of its familiarity. I do like Phoenix stuff. I'm really fond of the Ascent Two.

This was fun.

So, it's the Manley for you?

Yes.  I really like the Phoenix but all other things being equal the DVC has more useful features, namely the limiter.  I don't do a ton of EQ sculpting on the way in so the shelving EQ on it is generally enough for me.  I have other utility pres and can't justify more than one "nice" stereo pre.  I certainly wouldn't be mad at being able to keep the Phoenix around.

Follow-up: I mixed the vox and guitar together for each part, and it's really not an apples-to-apples comparison. I think you have the Phoenix (Pre A) over-driven (on the output) and it's bloating the lower mids and cutting the highs, as expected. So, the DVC (Pre 1) sounds much cleaner and better in comparison.

I really appreciate you posting this, so please don't take my comment as negative. The DRS is kind of picky and can bring-out a wide range of tones depending on how one balances the input and output. I apologize, in advance, if I've misinterpreted the test.

Thanks!