Litz wire transformers J Steiger!!!

Oh man you should have posted these clips as a blind test so we all could have guessed at it. It's just my favorite thing when people guess one way, then the answers are revealed, and people immediately switch to their preferred position based on knowing. That makes me laugh so much every time.

Thanks for posting though, there are very clear differences before and after the mod. To my ear the mod does sound more "vintage" I guess that was exactly the goal. Sounds really good.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.
I thought about a blind A/B but sometimes those descend in to chaos. I thought I'd rather avoid that.
For me the differences are subtle but huge at the same time. As a mixer I'm looking for 100 ways to make something 1% better. This mod, to my ears, with what I want sonically, is more than a 1% change. My heart swelled with love for Jeff when I heard the difference!!!
I would easily go through the time, $ and effort for this much improvement every single day!

What I heard immediately is increased clarity and presence in the guitars in the chorus, a more controlled bottom (which to me is not "less" bottom end but more focused bottom end. A definite improvement and one of the worst parts of the stock 1608...sloppy bottom), less congestion in the 2k-4k area, smoother transient behavior, deeper front to back detail, and to my ears it's a wider soundstage. The un-modded mix was really hashy and distorted at the extremes of the stereo field. The modded one is relaxed and clear. I felt like the hashy mess of the un-modded mix gave the impression of width but it was an unuseable width...a false width. When I really focus on the guitar stabs I hear them sitting just beyond the almost hidden guitars of the un-modded mix. In headphones it's a BIG difference. At my mix position it was IMMEDIATELY hearable and it was one of the biggest battles of the mix (it's not a very well tracked production). The center of the modded mix feels relaxed but more clear as well. The sides wrap around it in an arc but there's clarity all the way from left to right...the whole field. Not so on the unmodded mix.
The bigger thrill for me is the idea of modding the rest of the console (channels, ACA, 2bus, output) and having the cumulative pleasant effect of all of these improvements working in an integrated system.
I did record some vocals and handclaps last night on another track, which I'm mixing down to my 440b on some NOS 1/4" 456. I'm happy to post those files if there's any interest. But the point is that my system is getting closer to my ideal sonic signature as I use the whole thing in concert.
When I bought the console I really thought I would be getting an API like the ones I've worked on at Sound Factory, Sunset Sound and my buddy Dave Kalish's restored 1604. Nope. That is not what I got. The console sounds fine but it doesn't sound like those consoles. The difference IS small but it's that last 2% that MAKES it different. This change, to me, is MASSIVE.
My bad for not doing the research but I'm busy and I'm fairly uneducated about circuit design and component selection. I'm learning more all the time and it's totally fun and exciting.
My plan now (it's a long term one) is to build a couple of Jeff's FET comps and if I like em to fill the 8 aux 500 slots with them and as my solder chops improve to fill the console with Love Child eqs. I find that I do most of my surgical eq ITB anyway so I'm gonna dump the 500 stuff I already have and get more Litz and red dots in this console!
If anybody is looking for 500 eqs I've got 10 I'm ready to let go. Pm me.
I'm a busy guy and the studio always has more than 1 project going so it's tough for me to do any clinical testing but I'm happy to post stuff as I do it.
Just ask for what you wanna hear and I'll post it as I can.

Thanks again guys for the feedback!!!

BTW Jeff, when will Litz X-formers be back in stock? I wanna keep the ball rolling. I REALLY wanna do the ACA groups and the 2 bus. Then stuff is going through delicious LAYERS of this sonic cream puff.

I remember when I first switched to summing through the transformers in my summing mixers, I lost that "big bottom" and I was kind of concerned, but after listening I couldn't help but love how controlled the low-end was, and once I had the gain staging right I was able to get plenty of low-end and it be controlled and tight, with a little warm goodness that iron was imparting.

I can hear that in those modded channels, I think I even mentioned it while I was commenting and listening above, the bass seemed to jump around a bit to my taste, yeah it had a little more sub content but those modded channels tamed it and smoothed it right out. There's a fella that mixes in the top 100, only mixes in the box, I hear the same thing in his mixes, they're good mixes but things are just not controlled down there, that's how I can always tell the difference between ITB and a console is listening to how the low-end is packaged.

jsteiger could anything be done to noah shain's mixbus? Sorry Noah, I know speaking this way reduces decimals in the bank account but I'm interested now. 

theres transformers, capacitors, op-amps, resistors in the 2 bus! Jeff mentioned, in the most casual way, that we might look there as well. I already have Firlotte op-amps in there but I'm gonna get some red dots for it asap.

FWIW this mod, while greatly affecting the bottom, really shines to me on the upper half of the mix. The upper mid and high freq stuff just became much less grainy and hashy to my ears. Not less high but less congested. There's this magic to the high end of well made albums...a smoothness and presence that is pleasant to listen to but doesn't lack "brightness". It's been so hard for me to get. I felt like I got some here.
So many people on line (even some well respected tech types) will say something like, "if you want that old sound just low-pass...that old equipment had terrible specs..." You know? Things along those lines. Well I never felt like that was right or true. I think there's probably a solid, scientific reason for it and that it's probably connected to manufacture and component choice...the sound of well designed integrated systems.
This mod feels like a step in the right direction in that regard.
I'm gonna keep at it.
1% steps to eargasm!

That's true, line in.
I did a vocal and handclaps last night but didn't get to a/b against un-modded.
You wanna hear that?

I'm not familiar with that pill imprint.... gonna have to check that one out 

noah shain - just sell that hunk of junk, take the cash and have JS build you a Noah Shain custom console from scratch. The "NS1608 Signature" by CAPN. Got a nice ring to it........

noah shain I just got another batch of Litz 2623-1's in yesterday so I have plenty right now!

I would be happy to look into the ACA's and booster amps. Sounds like fun. I wish I was physically closer.

Did you dbl check the mic inputs on those channels yet?

That hunk of junk is the single best sounding piece of gear I've ever heard!!!!!
And it's only worth like 1000 bucks tops

I have a dream!

All good Jeff!!
I'm so stoked on this.