Neve Portico vs DMP3, VM Pro, Great River,

BRIEFCASEMANX said:
So the Great River is better than the Neve in your opinion, but just more expensive? Or about equal? Somehow after reading your first post I thought you liked the Neve better than the GR.
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There is no better, there is only what works at the time. They are both high quality and versatile. I would prefer to have two channels of Portico sound at $1440 vs one channel of Great River at $1000. The difference in sound is not so vast that I would strongly opt for one over the other. I could live with either one but from an investment perspective, would have to go with the 5012. Now, when they raise the price, which is long over due at this point, I might be singing a different tune. If it ends up costing the same as the 2NV then you will have to decide which one is best for a given project.

xstatic is right, there is always a honeymoon period on these things and cold analysis sets in later, unless the product is obvious junk. The M-Audio midi trigger comes to mind here, another story.

I will say the sound is very close to the 1073s I have used. It's a good sound, detailed, rich. It's the kind of sound you would want on a main vocalist, gold channel stuff. It's just another crayon in the color box, as Harvey has pointed out in the past.

By the way, I got serial number 150 so that puts their company around a quarter of a million in sales. Not bad for 2 months operations.
 
To bad nobody told Jimi Hendrix he was playing a less real strat.

"Is a 2005 Stratocaster less "real" than a 1954?"
"WHATT?????
OF COURSE IT IS !!!"


Too bad nobody told Jimi Hendrix he was playing a less real strat.
 
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When Rupert Neve was doing the AMEK stuff I remember mixed reviews from actual users.

It appears so far that the actual user reports on the Neve Portico seem to be positive.

Given that people didn't get blinded by the Neve name at AMEK I doubt it's happening now.
 
The AMEK range was a big let down.Everyone knows that.I lost out big time on a couple of 9098 that were aweful sounding creatures stuffed full of chips.never again.Everyone liked them at the time but as it pressed on things became obvious.I would choose the Great River over the Portrico anytime.Even though it's a copy , it is a copy of the real thing.I would not bother with cheap issues from a company that has built its reputation on something completely different.The Fender Squire is an example of that.Kids went out and bought that guitar simply because it was a Fender not realising it was made in a completely different factory than the guitars that were being played by their heroes at the time.It was built on the same hype that the guitar was similar to their great Stratocaster.What you see here is excactly the same thing with the Protico effectively being the Squire of the range.The Great River has an internal power supply and real audio transformers that's why it's more expensive.
I believe the Protico uses a T.L.A to emulate a transformer.
 
i don't get all these internal/external power supply mentions and concerns?

i have built several power supplys..transformer, full bridge..etc..caps for line noise... i mean crappy parts internally aren't better than good parts used externally.. is it that big a deal? good parts+good design= clean power.

the output of the power supply shouldn't really be affected if
the wire is in this distance we're discussing. 2ft?

this shouldn't make the volts and current disappear or degrade over a
2ft wire?

unless i'm missing something again?

I mean its obvious you can't cram a large high current transformer, with a large heavy duty bridge-recitifier, and numerous high quality filtering capacitors in a wall-wart....

but you should be able to have some clean power...
thats the key "clean power".
We're not talking about suppling power to a huge amplifier that draws mega-watts!
a pre-amp is probably a wimpy milli-watt user.

personally i hate wal-warts but technically, they do their job...so do pre-amp chips instead of discrete parts from the noisy-gear 70's. doh!
 
FYI the portico isn't a wallwart but a 'Boa' config. Theres the wall wart type thing but it still terminates to a regular plug

and all the talk about something sucking or whatever and not actually hearing the unit is the talk of fools
 
why is the price going up? Where is Portico available? Would the resale value hold up? (probably) Is it only mail-order/web or retail somewhere I could try? going to go searching now....
 
I love it when people make a big fuss about how something in electrical design is crap... and have obviously not done any research..

There are alot of reasons to use external power supplies.. mainly to do with sheilding and grounding.. I'm not right up on it myself to be honest.. but I do know that the main reasons for internal power supplies are linked to some grounding designs needing it and the concience of everything being in one box..
 
i'm sure the Neve Portico sounds great . why wouldn't it.my concern is that consumers are paying excessively for a stripped down version of a classic preamp that has stood the test of time
 
Dan Kennedy, Tim Farrant or Vince Peluso (great designers who sometimes post in forums) might give us their insights on the power supply question. My understanding is that "it depends." The FMR RNP and the Grace 101 function perfectly fine with "wall wart" power supplies.
 
Rodger Hartlett said:
i'm sure the Neve Portico sounds great . why wouldn't it.my concern is that consumers are paying excessively for a stripped down version of a classic preamp that has stood the test of time
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Why are you concerned? Seems you've already made up your mind this unit is sub par - even without trying it out. Why give this subject another thought?
 
i don't belive i stated the unit was sub-par . my point is that the unit is overpriced. At the retial price of around $1500 this unit could be in a sturdy case with an internal power supply.Manufacturers Love external power supplies ( wall warts whether BOA or otherwise ) because they are cheaper to deal with .The case can be lighter and smaller for shipping and there are less needs for internal shielding because of the absence of the magnetic fields induced by the power transformer.emulation circutry cuts out the need for a real input transformer ( a further saving for the manufacturer) and what we have instead is a low turns ratio transformer for coloration // or an excuse for an input transformer // that is significantly cheaper to wind.IMHO this unit should be priced under the $1G mark which is still twice an RNP.which is a great preamp in its own right.The price difference between the two is better spent on a collection of microphones than too much on preamp.too many kids get lost in the hype and don't give it a second thought.i've seen this so many times in many industries .what suffers is the music in this case because the kids who don't know any better exhaust their funds on a preamp.tis preamp.when there is little or no difference in specs between this or an RNP.
 
NEVE arises from the AMEK AshesPortico

yeah Rodger, i agree.
this is where the Blindfold test is good.
ROI, return on investment.

the NEVE Portico is a new unit...so gearheads are tuned in.

will a bedroom foam studio HR-head hear the details between a $1500 and $500 piece of equipment??

Middleman did an awesome review and test...

Rodger its your turn... go buy a bunch of pre-amps and the Portico!

but make sure to use the right microphone!! we can't have
that f'n..ddammm...amazing DMP3 taking 1st place!! :eek:
 
Anyone who think the new NEVE isn't a NEVE has their definitions of things mixed up badly. Some people in this thread seems scared that a new unit has arrived that may put their $2000 clones and copies to shame.

If you don't like it, don't buy. If you prefer the sound of another unit, good for you, you have learned to use your ears. Choosing not to buy cause it doesn't have internal power supply just makes me laugh. Sorry, but in that case you have just been reading too many Behringer ads. Try to use your ears and make an opinion that's not so obviously childish.
 
Rodger Hartlett said:
i don't belive i stated the unit was sub-par . my point is that the unit is overpriced. At the retial price of around $1500 this unit could be in a sturdy case with an internal power supply.Manufacturers Love external power supplies ( wall warts whether BOA or otherwise ) because they are cheaper to deal with .The case can be lighter and smaller for shipping and there are less needs for internal shielding because of the absence of the magnetic fields induced by the power transformer.emulation circutry cuts out the need for a real input transformer ( a further saving for the manufacturer) and what we have instead is a low turns ratio transformer for coloration // or an excuse for an input transformer // that is significantly cheaper to wind.IMHO this unit should be priced under the $1G mark which is still twice an RNP.which is a great preamp in its own right.The price difference between the two is better spent on a collection of microphones than too much on preamp.too many kids get lost in the hype and don't give it a second thought.i've seen this so many times in many industries .what suffers is the music in this case because the kids who don't know any better exhaust their funds on a preamp.tis preamp.when there is little or no difference in specs between this or an RNP.
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Having never used one, how can you make such remarks?

-The case is all metal, very sturdy.
-There is an input transformer and output transformer, I am looking at the schematic.
-Traditional Neve preamps, 1073, 1081, 1084 all had external power supplies.

Internal power supplies for high end preamps are a recent development when boutique preamps came into vogue. They are neither a mark of better performance or higher quality. More a mark of patient manufacturers who went through the hoops to get them certified. In fact, there is a potential of more noise generated in the box with internal supplies vs external ones.

Guys, if you're going to spout information let's not confuse "the kids" even more.

As far as value, from what I have heard, it is already well priced. This is two channels by the way not one.

I agree with Stefan, this unit has the potential to devalue the current vintage and clone market. There are few who will want this and I expect the unit to take a few punches in the coming months as the gearsnobs take their turns at it. Personally, I intend to rent a 1073 in a few weeks to do my own shootout. I want to hear them side by side.
 
-There is an input transformer and output transformer, I am looking at the schematic.
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ok if there is a schematic can you read what type of chip is involved in the inverter circuit that generates the negative rail?
-Traditional Neve preamps, 1073, 1081, 1084 all had external power supplies.
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Yeah but they are not WALL WARTS. Wall Warts aren't as safe as internal power supplies as they cannot be turned off at the mains .lots of users leave them plugged in consequently they burn out or can sometimes start fires.
Internal power supplies for high end preamps are a recent development when boutique preamps came into vogue.
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not sure about that! Wall Warts are the more recent . heavy duty gear dating back to the fourties was rack mounted with large power supplies.large external supplies are different to wall warts. WW are common to mobile phone battery charges and are made on mass.
Personally, I intend to rent a 1073 in a few weeks to do my own shootout. I want to hear them side by side.
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that would be great.your review was great .looking forward to your objective opinions and comparisons.
 
Rodger Hartlett said:
Yeah but they are not WALL WARTS. Wall Warts aren't as safe as internal power supplies as they cannot be turned off at the mains .lots of users leave them plugged in consequently they burn out or can sometimes start fires.
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And what has this to do with the performance or sound??????

that would be great.your review was great .looking forward to your objective opinions and comparisons.
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As are WE from YOU
 
Many wall warts can get hot as hell as Rodger stated, set up your power so that it can be easily switched on and off (in stages so you don't pop your monitors!) and shut it all down when not in use. Make it a habit when leaving the studio and it should not be an issue.

Also, if you don't keep a fire extinguisher in your studio DO. Even in a home studio, have one right there. You never know if a small electrical fire could break out!

War
 
Warhead said:
Many wall warts can get hot as hell as Rodger stated, set up your power so that it can be easily switched on and off (in stages so you don't pop your monitors!) and shut it all down when not in use. Make it a habit when leaving the studio and it should not be an issue.

Also, if you don't keep a fire extinguisher in your studio DO. Even in a home studio, have one right there. You never know if a small electrical fire could break out!

War
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I just had to toss a wall wart out the door. I smelled somthing burning, a very small amount of smoke I could swear was in my nose, luckily, only 2 of the 4 power strips were on and I quickly, frantically, found the hot-as-hell ac to dc 9v. Must have been 200 degrees, had to hold it by the wire....
 
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