John Hardy Questions

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NL5

NL5

Unpossible!
Can anyone explain the differences between the M-1/M-2 and 990 servo pre's? (soundwise, I know the difference component wise)

Also, on the JH site, they say that they are not quite as clean and transparent as the MP-2NV. I was under the impression that the GR was fairly colored while the JH was almost transparent.

Thanks in advance.

:D
 
Last edited:
NL5 said:
Also, on the JH site, they say that they are not quite as clean and transparent as the MP-2NV. I was under the impression that the GR was fairly colored while the JH was almost transparent.

Thanks in advance.

:D

Huh, I never saw that!! I also thought by the descriptions everyone alludes to that the JH was cleaner. :confused:
 
NL5 said:
Can anyone explain the differences between the M-1/M-2 and 990 servo pre's? (soundwise, I know the difference component wise)

Also, on the JH site, they say that they are not quite as clean and transparent as the MP-2NV. I was under the impression that the GR was fairly colored while the JH was almost transparent.

Thanks in advance.

:D

The main difference between the M-1 and M-2 is the gain conrol. Once is smooth, with a high and low gain switch, the other is indented with clicks throughout the entire gain range. The main diffrence between the Jensen Servo and the standard JH (M-1 or M-2) invovles two gain stages in the Servo (two 990s in series).
 
sdelsolray said:
The main difference between the M-1 and M-2 is the gain conrol. Once is smooth, with a high and low gain switch, the other is indented with clicks throughout the entire gain range. The main diffrence between the Jensen Servo and the standard JH (M-1 or M-2) invovles two gain stages in the Servo (two 990s in series).


What will the two gain stages do to the sound?
 
NL5, Great River' mic pre that's referred to on the Hardy site is not the MP-2NV, it's the MP-2 – which was GR's first preamp. It is more transparent than the M-1. http://www.greatriverelectronics.com/mp2.html

The M-2 is sonically identical to the M-1 with a few control differences.

From Hardy:
The M-2 has a 16 position gain-switch with 1% metal-film resistors providing accurate and repeatable gain settings from 15dB to 60dB in 3dB steps. Also the M-2 can be ordered with either a "20 OHM MIC" switch OR a "20dB PAD" switch. (The M-1 has a two-section gain-pot providing continuously variable adjustment in two overlapping ranges that are selected by the HIGH GAIN switch that replaces the 20 OHM MIC switch or 20dB PAD switch found on the M-2).
On the Twin Servo: While being very close in sonics to the M-1, the Jensen Twin Servo 990 splits the workload of the gain stages between two Jensen 990C opamps, thereby reducing distortion and giving twice the bandwidth. If you're someone who's wanting to take a look at something that's even more expensive than the M-1 and wondering what's gained with the Jensen Twin Servo 990, I'd say if you're using mic pres for general music applications you can rest easy. The M-1 will more than fit the bill - because you're not needing the additional gain and lower distortion provided by the Twin Servo. However, if you have recording applications such as Foley, ambient environmental recording, on-location sound recording, and ultra-critical situtations where high-gain is crucial - then the Twin Servo 990 something you might want to check into.
 
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