Langevin is the trade name for solid-state devices built by Manley Labs, makers (right here in the USA!) of high end preamps and signal processors. So much of my other equipment - mikes, pres, etc - is tube-driven, that I wanted one clean solid-state device that had a lot of headroom. Well, I got it.
It's the first piece of equipment I've owned that could be turned all the way up to eleven and still maintain a totally clean signal, so it delivers the characteristics that a top shelf SS pre should: a ton of clear, crisp headroom.
Another feature I've come to appreciate is the way the 1/4" inputs on the front shut off the rear panel inputs automatically when used. A lot less crawling around on the floor.
Last thing I'll mention: I bought it from Sweetwater in 4/08 and registered it, so I got a transferable 5 year warranty, which would then still be good until 4/13.
I paid $1800; asking $1250. Selling because I'm flat broke and need to buy some gigging equipment, and while not as top shelf, I do have other decent pres I can use for now.
Below is a pic of the actual unit for sale in one of my racks; also links to its page at Sweetwater, its page at Manley Labs, and the Electronic Musician's Editor's Choice it won.
Pls email me at dogn4u@gmail.com if interested.
Thanks
Rudi
http://www.manleylabs.com/containerpages/LDVC.html#pric
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DualVocal/
From "Electronic Musician":
Preamp (more than $1,000) LANGEVIN DUAL VOCAL COMBO ($2,000) Premium mic preamps are key ingredients in superlative recordings, and it's no secret that Manley Laboratories makes some of the finest. But until the Dual Vocal Combo (DVC) hit the street, not many people at the personal-studio level could entertain thoughts of owning a voice processor hand-built by the esteemed Manley Labs. (Units bearing the Manley Laboratories imprint are tube models, whereas Manley uses the Langevin name - which it has owned since the early 1990s - to designate its line of solid-state products.)
What makes the DVC so irresistible? Pretty much everything about it: the look, the build, the sound, the features - this box gets it right at nearly every turn. The unit employs a minimalist, all-discrete, Class A circuit design with custom-wound transformers on the mic inputs. Each mic channel provides 45 dB of clean, ultraquiet gain; phantom power (with locking switches); a wonderfully smooth and transparent electro-optical limiter; and some of the sweetest-sounding low- and high-shelving EQ we've heard. The limiter section provides independent, hard-wired bypasses; a Link switch for stereo operation; and two Sifam VU meters that can be independently switched to monitor gain reduction or output levels. Each channel has a direct input, and you'll find two TRS inputs on the rear panel for independent access to the limiter section. About the only features we pined for were phase-reversal switches.
Sonically, the DVC gets our highest marks (except for the DI section, which is a tad noisy). Our hard-to-please reviewer described the sound as "tightly focused and highly detailed" with "excellent tonal balance," and he praised the unit for helping him deliver some of his best-recorded tracks to date. Not only is the DVC a prime piece of audio real estate, it's also a lovely sight to behold.
Indeed, three members of our extended family (including the reviewer and one in-house editor) have already purchased DVCs, and others are saving their dollars. Among the die-hard recordists here at EM (we record, therefore we exist), no hardware processor stirred up quite as much excitement last year
It's the first piece of equipment I've owned that could be turned all the way up to eleven and still maintain a totally clean signal, so it delivers the characteristics that a top shelf SS pre should: a ton of clear, crisp headroom.
Another feature I've come to appreciate is the way the 1/4" inputs on the front shut off the rear panel inputs automatically when used. A lot less crawling around on the floor.
Last thing I'll mention: I bought it from Sweetwater in 4/08 and registered it, so I got a transferable 5 year warranty, which would then still be good until 4/13.
I paid $1800; asking $1250. Selling because I'm flat broke and need to buy some gigging equipment, and while not as top shelf, I do have other decent pres I can use for now.
Below is a pic of the actual unit for sale in one of my racks; also links to its page at Sweetwater, its page at Manley Labs, and the Electronic Musician's Editor's Choice it won.
Pls email me at dogn4u@gmail.com if interested.
Thanks
Rudi
http://www.manleylabs.com/containerpages/LDVC.html#pric
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DualVocal/
From "Electronic Musician":
Preamp (more than $1,000) LANGEVIN DUAL VOCAL COMBO ($2,000) Premium mic preamps are key ingredients in superlative recordings, and it's no secret that Manley Laboratories makes some of the finest. But until the Dual Vocal Combo (DVC) hit the street, not many people at the personal-studio level could entertain thoughts of owning a voice processor hand-built by the esteemed Manley Labs. (Units bearing the Manley Laboratories imprint are tube models, whereas Manley uses the Langevin name - which it has owned since the early 1990s - to designate its line of solid-state products.)
What makes the DVC so irresistible? Pretty much everything about it: the look, the build, the sound, the features - this box gets it right at nearly every turn. The unit employs a minimalist, all-discrete, Class A circuit design with custom-wound transformers on the mic inputs. Each mic channel provides 45 dB of clean, ultraquiet gain; phantom power (with locking switches); a wonderfully smooth and transparent electro-optical limiter; and some of the sweetest-sounding low- and high-shelving EQ we've heard. The limiter section provides independent, hard-wired bypasses; a Link switch for stereo operation; and two Sifam VU meters that can be independently switched to monitor gain reduction or output levels. Each channel has a direct input, and you'll find two TRS inputs on the rear panel for independent access to the limiter section. About the only features we pined for were phase-reversal switches.
Sonically, the DVC gets our highest marks (except for the DI section, which is a tad noisy). Our hard-to-please reviewer described the sound as "tightly focused and highly detailed" with "excellent tonal balance," and he praised the unit for helping him deliver some of his best-recorded tracks to date. Not only is the DVC a prime piece of audio real estate, it's also a lovely sight to behold.
Indeed, three members of our extended family (including the reviewer and one in-house editor) have already purchased DVCs, and others are saving their dollars. Among the die-hard recordists here at EM (we record, therefore we exist), no hardware processor stirred up quite as much excitement last year
