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Post by stormymondays on Feb 5, 2019 3:27:41 GMT -6
If anybody wants the SSL sound get Console 1 today while it’s still on sale (I think) and thank me tomorrow when you do your first mix with it ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by stormymondays on Feb 4, 2019 4:30:50 GMT -6
Please add some provision for 240v power supply for those of us in Europe ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by stormymondays on Feb 1, 2019 9:49:55 GMT -6
About the looks: if I'm not mistaken, you will get sued by Neumann if you use the 67/87 headbasket. And I think that's a very important part of their look.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 31, 2019 14:48:16 GMT -6
No need to get defensive, Joshua! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) I did calibrate the VU meter today, both the output gain and the GR. All calibrations were out of whack: +4, +10 and GR. It is extremely easy, as you say. Once I was done, I compared with my Golden Age comps, just to double check with another meter. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe the 3A circuit is less finicky, but mine ARE more accurate than the SA2A, and that is simply a fact. I wouldn't go as far as to say that VU meters are not important. They are a feature of the unit and they are important to me. They are a tool. I want to know what's happening with the audio path when it's out of the box. The SA2A sounds great and I did get a prompt reply to my tech questions, so no complaints, and no "email hell". All good here.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 31, 2019 3:28:26 GMT -6
I found some “unofficial” calibration instructions and got my VU properly calibrated. Gain reduction was not too far off. I calibrated it using 10dB of reduction and it does the trick.
I know VU meters are fiddly affairs and “real” VU meters are expensive. The Stam’s VU didn’t strike me as a very high quality unit. My pair of Golden Age Comp 3A came properly calibrated from the factory and the VU is more precise.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 30, 2019 16:21:07 GMT -6
Tomorrow I will try to check the calibration with my tech, but first I need to do some tests at the studio. I want to see if it's only the +4 setting that's wrong, or also the +10 and if they are consistent. And I should also test the gain reduction meter. I've read that the gain reduction meter can't be consistent at all settings, so I'm planning on checking a 5 dB reduction and see what happens with the output. I could also use my ears, but I want that VU meter to be a little bit more than a decorative bouncing needle ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png)
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 30, 2019 7:34:15 GMT -6
Awesome, thanks for the help everybody! And I got to say that the unit sounds great and it's not noisy at all!
Now let's see if I can get the VU meter calibrated. It's not that big of a deal anyway since most of the time it will be showing gain reduction, but I always like my analog equipment to be correctly calibrated all over the board.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 30, 2019 5:02:17 GMT -6
I’ve also noticed that 0VU is calibrated 3dB hotter than it should. I’m sending a test signal at +4dBu, apply some gain around the “20” mark with no compression, so the output meter reads 0VU, and the signal that comes back is +3VU. Is that happening on yours wiz ?
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 30, 2019 4:24:41 GMT -6
Good news! The tube swap did it. I also tested the tubes with my Orange VT1000, which I know is not “pro” equipment but it has served me well. One of the tubes tested a gain of 7 on both sides (position V1 initially). The other tested 8 and 10, which is not unusual (position V4 initially).
So, which tube was the culprit? V1 I guess?
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 30, 2019 1:15:24 GMT -6
pull it out of the rack and test it away from the other gear if you havent already. cheers Wiz First thing I did ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Thanks bowie for the tube tip, will try that. I don’t quite like how the tube sockets are attached to the PCB, seems quite a fragile arrangement. I also have quite a few 12AX7 in my stash that I could try.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 29, 2019 13:23:00 GMT -6
Joshua has already replied back - good! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) I'm taking it to a local tech in a couple days and we'll take it from there. Connecting wires are all regular balanced cables (tried TRS and XLR). I don't have any device handy that can lift ground from the AC cable. I'll see if I can find one! I guess I could put some electrical tape on the ground connections (remember it's a schuko European plug).
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 29, 2019 13:11:43 GMT -6
To stormymondays -- Have you made sure that you have no ground loops happening. Different gear presents differently depending on the grounding, patch bays (if any) and star grounding of your studio..... I did, yes - as best as I could! I have plenty of stuff all in the same racks with no problems. Tube stuff from Retro, Weight Tank, Tree Audio, Black Box, Drawmer. SS stuff from TK Audio, DBX, SPL, Golden Age, Warm, Revive Audio. No ground or hum problems.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 29, 2019 13:07:42 GMT -6
Oh well. The Stam email hell begins all over again then! I was hoping it could be a bad tube, hopefully not the NOS one. Stam email hell? You only need to email stamaudio@gmail.com and we will send it to our tech who will fix any issue at no cost to you Hardly hell ... I appreciate the reply and sorry if this came across as harsh, but come on man, you're the first to admit that you get more than 500 emails per day and can't deal with them! ;-) Your website lists info@stamaudio.com so I wrote there a few hours ago. Just resent it to gmail now. I'll be more than happy to report my good experiences with Stam Audio and not dwell on the not-so-great. Peace!
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 29, 2019 8:15:04 GMT -6
Oh well. The Stam email hell begins all over again then! I was hoping it could be a bad tube, hopefully not the NOS one.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 29, 2019 6:18:13 GMT -6
Ok, so finally I get the chance of testing my new SA2A and it turns out it has a 50Hz hum (I’m in Spain).
The hum is independent of the levels or settings. It starts humming about 5 seconds after power on. It comes in at around -61 dB on my interface.
It’s present on the XLR and TRS outputs. I’ve swapped all cables including the power cable. Visually it all checks out. I’ve checked the continuity of the ground connections and it all seems to be correct. I’m not an expert but the main points seem to be correctly grounded. I have quite a bit of hardware and no hum, it’s only this piece. I have moved it out of the rack, same hum.
What else can I check for?
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 28, 2019 15:20:02 GMT -6
So does the purple badge indicate a transformer version of the mic? Or was it just mis-badged in the early production? "TLM" in Neumannspeak indicates a TransformerLess Microphone.
Dunno what a purple badge denotes. Yet.
Purple: mic has a transformer. Red: transformerless. Black: tube. The only mic to ever deviate from this, as I've learned, is the early TLM 170.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 28, 2019 13:16:10 GMT -6
BTW Tk Audio makes quite a few blend boxes. I have their SSL style comp and I love it. Take a look: tkaudio.se/tk-audio/
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 28, 2019 9:19:29 GMT -6
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 28, 2019 2:18:28 GMT -6
I had a long troubleshooting issue with a Focusrite Clarett Octopre. The latency would change randomly on reach restart, just as you describe. Focusrite pursued the issue and rewrote the firmware. It now works correctly, but still they told me it could vary up to one sample off.
If you do parallel processing, you need to ping at the start of the session. I use Logic so it takes one second.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 27, 2019 13:18:16 GMT -6
Apparently someone visited the Warm Audio booth at NAMM and they say it can accept original Neumann capsules.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 27, 2019 12:07:35 GMT -6
I have the Rupert Neve 6-space and no problems whatsoever. Peter Montessi from A-Designs recommended it specifically when I bought my pair of EM-PEQ.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 27, 2019 4:14:01 GMT -6
So does the purple badge indicate a transformer version of the mic? Or was it just mis-badged in the early production?
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 26, 2019 10:23:03 GMT -6
Talk to Brad from Louder than Lift-off too. My pair of Chromas is stellar.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 26, 2019 9:49:09 GMT -6
Have you looked into Console 1? I think it would serve you as well as hardware in your case.
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Post by stormymondays on Jan 26, 2019 6:13:02 GMT -6
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