VTB1 and Audio Buddy mp3 samples

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ozraves

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AB=Audio Buddy
VTB1=VTB1

Male vocal through C1 mic:

AB

VTB1


Male vocal through Rode NT1 mic:

AB

VTB1


Male vocal through SM58:

AB

VTB1


Male vocal through SM58 into VTB1, clean, and tube effect:

Clean

Tube blend at 9:30

Tube blend at 12:30


And, how about some blind listening tests with the VTB1 and Audio Buddy used as direct ins?

Electric guitar plugged direct into the pre:




Bass plugged direct into the pre:




Steve
http://www.piemusic.com
 
ozraves--thanks for posting this and going to all the trouble. Here's my feedback based on what I heard listening through NS10M's.

The C1: The AB had less lows, but sounded really clear. VTB-1 had more low mids and sounded warmer. Seemed like maybe less "air" than the AB, but that could have been due to less lows on the AB--not sure. Both sounded very good to me.

The Rode and 58: basically, the same perceptions as the first test. I could see situations where I would pick one or the other based on the source I was recording.

Clean/tube samples--I liked the clean and the 9'oclock setting but the 12:30 sounded a bit wooly to me. Not bad, but my tastes gravitated toward the less colored samples.

Blind AB tests: with the guitar and bass, I could not hear a difference in any of the samples. I listened to each three times. Either my ears have gone bad or there isn't any real difference in these tests. Or--MP3 compression erased what may have been a difference. I don't claim to have golden ears, but I thought I'd hear some differences in the blind tests. Didn't happen.

Those are my impressions. Thanks for this.
 
thanks a lot steve, i won't get a chance to listen until tomorrow...but let me be the first to say that if anyone jumps on you about this not being a truely "scientific" test..please disregard it.

i appreciate the time you put in here...and it will certainly give some people a chance to hear the results you got, with the gear we are all wondering about.
 
ozraves

Thanks very much for taking the time to do this.

My thoughts:

Regarding the C1, I think the VTB1 would save having to rolloff the low end in the mix that I have become accustomed to with this mike. Just sounds to me like it would sit in a mix better from the get go. I think you can still get there with the M-Audio product but would have to EQ a little more to get the same results. On male vocals I would probably reach for the SP product. I think I would opt for the AB however on female vocals, to round them out.

I did not hear much of a difference on the blind test either.
 
I could hear MINOR differences, but not enough that it would require me to want to have both units. In a mix, I wouldn't think it would really matter much, and you'd probably never be able to tell the difference. Adding up 20 tracks of the same pre might be much more obvious.... It just so happens, I have access to some EQ!!:eek:
the blind tests....I'd flunk and/or my ears are to old.

thanks for the posts...much appreciated.
 
ozraves, I've tested the audio buddy for kicks some time ago since it's
so popular as an under $100 dual mic pre. It sounds pretty decent,
however, it's not in the same galaxy let alone ballpark as the VTB-1.
The main reason a bigger difference is not being heard between the
two is because of MP3 compression and the level of listening equipment
receiving the audio. (Hey, I don't have Genelec's BTW either!)

When you listen firsthand directly to the source, you can hear the
difference between my Aphex 107 dual mic pre, which is a notch or two
above the Mackie VLZ Pro pre's, and the VTB-1 too.

Chris
 
Sorry if my last post seemed ambiguous.
Meant to say that although the Aphex 107 is superior to the Mackie pre's,
the VTB-1 is still superior to the 107.

Chris
 
Thanks for the examples. There is a clear sound distinction between them, I agree that. The question is: Is the Audiobuddy lacking in lows or mids, or is the VTB1 lacking in highs? :)

I'm guessing the VTB1 is lacking in highs. That seems pretty typical for low-end tube equipment, and is supposed to be "tube warmth". :) Me, I call it "high-end rolloff". :) Now, mind you, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For example, the guitar2 is clearly done with the VTB1 and sounds much better.
 
first i disagree with chessparov. we did this in the same room at the same time with the vtb1 and the audio buddy.

the comments i've gotten back from the listening tests have been more positive for the vtb1 as the preferred sound on a mic but also statements of surprise that the audio buddy sounds as good as it does.

the vtb1 does not lack in highs. it has more mid and low content than the audio buddy. i wouldn't call the vtb1 a low end piece of equipment. the tube blend is optional. when it is not engaged, it is off 100 percent. i preferred solid state mode.
 
regebro said:
Thanks for the examples. There is a clear sound distinction between them, I agree that. The question is: Is the Audiobuddy lacking in lows or mids, or is the VTB1 lacking in highs? :)

I'm guessing the VTB1 is lacking in highs. That seems pretty typical for low-end tube equipment, and is supposed to be "tube warmth". :) Me, I call it "high-end rolloff". :) Now, mind you, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For example, the guitar2 is clearly done with the VTB1 and sounds much better.
Click to expand...

Blind listening makes things so much more interesting...

Bass1 -- Audio Buddy
Bass2 -- VTB1

Guitar1--VTB1
Guitar2--Audio Buddy

If you want to read my comments on the VTB1, then go to http://www.piemusic.com and click on "Mojo Pie."
 
Are you sure? I thought guitar1 sounded a bit harsh, and guitar2 wasm warmer and more mellow, and did attribute that to the VTB1 high-end rolloff/low-mid boost.

Ah well, then I totally withdraw my previous comment: The Audiobuddy sounds better on the guitar too. I wish I had known about it when I bought my preamps a year ago.
 
based on listening to the vox-samples

guitar1 - vtb
guitar2 - ab

bass1 - ab
bass2 - vtb

The vox-samples kinda reminded me about the differencies between my Mackie and my dbx576
 
I thought the vtb-1 was noticeably better on the majority of the samples.

The Audio Buddy didn't perform too badly. I've always thought the dmp2 / dmp3 was noticeably better than the AB, so I think it would be really interesting to hear a dmp3 vs. vtb-1 comparison.

I am impressed with what I hear out of the vtb-1 from this shootout, though.
 
Can't comment on the VTB1 vs DMP3 but the AB does not sound as good as the DMP3. A lot of people think they just put 2 ABs into the DMP3 but there is a noticeable difference to my ears.
 
A couple of years ago I bought a DMP2 to use when I needed an easily portable pre with phantom, or sometimes as a DI.

Anyone know how the DMP2 compares to the AudioBuddy or DMP3?
 
This is reaching back in memory (a very scary thing) but it seems that there was a problem with the DMP2 not delivering a full +48v phantom power. The DMP3 I believe cleaned this up.

I have a question to other DMP2 or DMP3 users. When the Gain knob is set all the way to the left at +6db is this thing supposed to be off or does it always pass a signal? The problem is it delivers a very hot signal to the sound card. I can't lower the signal because I am going direct to the card and not through a mixer.

Any thoughts?
 
littledog said:
A couple of years ago I bought a DMP2 to use when I needed an easily portable pre with phantom, or sometimes as a DI.

Anyone know how the DMP2 compares to the AudioBuddy or DMP3?
Click to expand...

Not sure about the audio buddy.

But there were some definite issues with the dmp2 that have supposedly been addressed with the dmp3 . . . namely it kicks out a full 48 volts of phantom power (where the dmp2 came up short -- somewhere around 37, I believe?). And it has a pad on the input -- It was pretty easy for the dmp2 to crap out at the input on louder sources, so the pad is a big bonus.

My theory on the differing bass response on the two units is in the loading. The audio buddy has an impedence of around 1K Ohm, I believe, while the Studio Projects is selectable from 50 / 200 Ohms. The lower the ohms, the higher the load the mic sees, and the more exaggerated the bass will be. Switch the loading to the higher Ohm setting, and it will probably be a lot closer to the AB in it's bass response.
 
I'm taking down the samples. Sorry. My server speed has gone to crap and I need to find out why.
 
ozraves said:
I'm taking down the samples. Sorry. My server speed has gone to crap and I need to find out why.
Click to expand...

Server is working again. Samples back online.
 
Help! Are my ears shot?

I haven't had a chance to listen to this on anything other than my crappy pc speakers at work, but still, shouldn't I hear a difference? The difference I hear is slight at best, and could easily be attributed to the difference between takes. I'm hoping to listen at home on my monitors soon, but I've been really busy. Are they that close, or is it me? :confused:
 
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