Any Lexicon MPX 1, LXP 15 II owners?

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doriangrey

New member
I need an excellent reverb unit for my DAW recording. I primarily write guitar based blues, rock and jazz fusion. I will also be using the unit for vocals ( doubling effect with reverb ). If anyone has any experiences with any of these units and how they compare side by side, I would love to hear about it. Thanks!

It has boiled down to these 2 units:

Lexicon MPX 1 ( digital in/outs )
Lexicon LXP 15 II ( I have read that the quality compares to the PCM 90 and sounds warmer than the MPX 1 )

or if I can swing $500:

Kurzweil Rumour

Also, since I'm using a DAW to do my recording, does it make a difference if the reverb unit that has digital in/outs?

Derek
 
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I personally would have put the extra money toward the Rumour, but I guess that's beside the point now!

The LXP-15 is not a bad choice, just that the digital I/O of the Rumour or MPX-1 would be handy when using with a DAW. If your hardware has AD/DA converters built it doesn't really matter that much I suppose, other than you would have been able to avoid the extra conversions by keeping it all in the digital domain.
 
Thanks SonicAlbert. I realize this topis has been covered many, many times. I have done a lot of googling the past week researching these units. I came across your review on the Rumour by the way which helps.

I have the Creative EMU 1820m which does have AD/DA converters, so I guess that is not an issue. Maybe the Rumour has better converters? I don't know.

With not being able to A/B any of these units makes me feel like I'm walking in the dark with only other peoples reviews to guide me. I searched high and low for some mp3 samples, but found nothing. I do know of a lot of pro recordings have used the Lexicon PCM series, so I can use that as a reference somewhat. It also doesn't help the fact that I have always wanted a Lexicon since I was a kid, lol.

Fletcher mentioned that the PCM 70 version 2.2 had an excellent guitar preset called "tiled room". That sounds intriguing.

I've read the Rumour excels in the Plate departmment, it has excellent presets for both vocals and guitar and it's up there with the big boys like the PCM series.

I also read on a board that the Lexicon LRX 15 II has a preset called, "Dark Room" that can give even the 480 a run for its money. Somewhere it said the LRX 15 II is a lot "warmer" sounding than the MPX 1. I wonder the validity in those statments for a box you can pick up on Ebay for under $200? Could this be too good to be true? Hmmm.

So, here I am fighting my insanity on which unit to go with. It will be my first "pro" verb. I'm a virgin, and I care about my music, so I want it to be special. :o

Derek
 
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If you have the time, please let me know what you think of your new unit. I'm about to take this plunge tomorrow. Have you had prior experience with any of the PCM models or the Rumour to compare?

Marcellovalerio said:
I just bought a lexicon lxp 15...I haven't tried it out thought. I got it for 177 dollars...half the price of the rumour.
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I'm getting a bit confused. Are you stating that I have to have a AD/DA converter for each analog device that I have in my chain?

This is going to be my set up:

Great Rivers MP-1NV
ART Pro VLA
( verb unit )
EMU 1820m
DAW

Do I need the Rumour with the AD/DA converters for this set up to work, or will it work with the other verb units as well?

SonicAlbert said:
If your hardware has AD/DA converters built it doesn't really matter that much I suppose, other than you would have been able to avoid the extra conversions by keeping it all in the digital domain.
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doriangrey said:
I'm getting a bit confused. Are you stating that I have to have a AD/DA converter for each analog device that I have in my chain?

This is going to be my set up:

Great Rivers MP-1NV
ART Pro VLA
( verb unit )
EMU 1820m
DAW

Do I need the Rumour with the AD/DA converters for this set up to work, or will it work with the other verb units as well?
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Simply put, you would need conversion from ANY analog device to a digital signal into your DAW. For example, your GR would need AD conversion. Most verbs do not support digital IO (such as SPD/IF), and therefor need conversion.

The A/D convertors in your 1820m are indeed quite good, not quite as good as the Rumour, but generally good enough.
 
As it is, 1 AD converter is enough to handle the set up I'm putting together ( ie, EMU 1820m ). In other words, any of those verb units will work with my setup. I don't necassarily NEED the Rumours AD converter to make my set up work, correct?

fraserhutch said:
Simply put, you would need conversion from ANY analog device to a digital signal into your DAW. For example, your GR would need AD conversion. Most verbs do not support digital IO (such as SPD/IF), and therefor need conversion.

The A/D convertors in your 1820m are indeed quite good, not quite as good as the Rumour, but generally good enough.
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The Kurzweil Rumour is essentially a stripped-down KSP-8, so the quality of those reverbs will blow the Lexis out of the water (don't get me wrong, I like the Lexis - I have both of them - but they don't hold a candle to the Kurzweil)........
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
The Kurzweil Rumour is essentially a stripped-down KSP-8, so the quality of those reverbs will blow the Lexis out of the water (don't get me wrong, I like the Lexis - I have both of them - but they don't hold a candle to the Kurzweil)........
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I agree totally, and that is why I have my Rumour arriving tomorrow - yay! I can't wait.
 
doriangrey said:
As it is, 1 AD converter is enough to handle the set up I'm putting together ( ie, EMU 1820m ). In other words, any of those verb units will work with my setup. I don't necassarily NEED the Rumours AD converter to make my set up work, correct?
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No, you will need at least 3 convertors. One for the GreatRiver unit, one for the art and one for the Lexi. And these are all input/outputs too. It is quite simple really, think of it this way:
Your PC is all digital - it doesn't undestand analog, hence the digital in Digital Audio Workstation.
The Great River pre and your two verbs are all analog devices.
So, to send signals to and from your DAW and these units, you need Analog/Digital or Digital/Analog conversions (depending on the direction).
Now, your Emu provides more than enough for the job. Each of its line inputs are A/D convertors, and each line out is a D/A convertor. So for what you need to do, you should be OK.

Hope this makes things a little clearer.
 
Wow, that is saying a lot, because I know you have praised the Lexicon LXP 15 II in previous posts.

Is there any recommended presets for some bluesy leads ( ala Carlos Santana, David Gilmour? ) Maybe I'll check one out. Thanks!

Derek

Blue Bear Sound said:
The Kurzweil Rumour is essentially a stripped-down KSP-8, so the quality of those reverbs will blow the Lexis out of the water (don't get me wrong, I like the Lexis - I have both of them - but they don't hold a candle to the Kurzweil)........
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I understand what you are saying. I got a bit confused from your previous post. Thnaks for clarifying. So basically I would use the analog outs of the Rumour.

fraserhutch said:
No, you will need at least 3 convertors. One for the GreatRiver unit, one for the art and one for the Lexi. And these are all input/outputs too. It is quite simple really, think of it this way:
Your PC is all digital - it doesn't undestand analog, hence the digital in Digital Audio Workstation.
The Great River pre and your two verbs are all analog devices.
So, to send signals to and from your DAW and these units, you need Analog/Digital or Digital/Analog conversions (depending on the direction).
Now, your Emu provides more than enough for the job. Each of its line inputs are A/D convertors, and each line out is a D/A convertor. So for what you need to do, you should be OK.

Hope this makes things a little clearer.
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doriangrey said:
I understand what you are saying. I got a bit confused from your previous post. Thnaks for clarifying. So basically I would use the analog outs of the Rumour.
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NO, you would want to use the digital outs of the Rumour into your DAW, because it does really good A/D conversion. You would want to use the analog outs of your GR, Lexi and Art into the line ins of the EMU.
 
If you are chaining those devices, you only need DA conversion into the first unit (from the DAW), and then AD conversion after the last unit into the DAW. If you are using them separately on individual tracks, then obviously they would each need conversion from the DAW.

My comment about the Rumour was simply that since it has SDPIF I/O you could use SPDIF I/O on your DAW if it has it, avoiding unnecessary conversions. But if you are chaining analog, then that doesn't apply.

I had an MPX-1 and I liked it a lot. I think the LXP series sounds darker because it has a more limited bandwidth, or perhaps the converters sound different. As far as the PCM-70, that's a classic unit but getting quite old now and I don't believe that Lexicon services them anymore. Not sure about that but I seem to remember reading somewhere that it was not possible to get parts anymore. So for that reason I personally would avoid them. I also find them noisy, but they certainly have their believers.

Out of your list I'd pick the Rumour first and the Lexicon MPX-1 second.
 
Great advice. The LXP 15 II just went for a whopping $332+ $30 s&h= $362. I saw one go for $150 last week. That is too crazy. I think I will go for a Rumour and snatch up an LXP-1 at the same time. That way I can have my cake and eat it too.

This board and been a great help for me and you are the people that make it happen. Thanks guys!


Derek




SonicAlbert said:
If you are chaining those devices, you only need DA conversion into the first unit (from the DAW), and then AD conversion after the last unit into the DAW. If you are using them separately on individual tracks, then obviously they would each need conversion from the DAW.

My comment about the Rumour was simply that since it has SDPIF I/O you could use SPDIF I/O on your DAW if it has it, avoiding unnecessary conversions. But if you are chaining analog, then that doesn't apply.

I had an MPX-1 and I liked it a lot. I think the LXP series sounds darker because it has a more limited bandwidth, or perhaps the converters sound different. As far as the PCM-70, that's a classic unit but getting quite old now and I don't believe that Lexicon services them anymore. Not sure about that but I seem to remember reading somewhere that it was not possible to get parts anymore. So for that reason I personally would avoid them. I also find them noisy, but they certainly have their believers.

Out of your list I'd pick the Rumour first and the Lexicon MPX-1 second.
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doriangrey said:
Great advice. The LXP 15 II just went for a whopping $332+ $30 s&h= $362. I saw one go for $150 last week. That is too crazy. I think I will go for a Rumour and snatch up an LXP-1 at the same time. That way I can have my cake and eat it too.

This board and been a great help for me and you are the people that make it happen. Thanks guys!


Derek
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I just got my Rumour delivered today, and all I can say is *wow*.

FWIW, and this is my opinion only, this verb outclasses all but the top-end Lexis. You will NOT be disappointed in your choice. It was one thing to have KDFX in my K2500 and K2600, and quite another to have it available on outboard. What a joke for $500 - I would easily have paid more than twice that for this unit.
 
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