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#1
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A Distressor For Voiceovers...Benefits? Thoughts?
Longtime Voiceover talent with an opportunity to get a nice deal
on a Distressor (Empirical Labs). I routinely deliver voice tracks for commercials and narrations.. via web-delivery... (mp3, ..wav/.aiff). I supply dry voice tracks in most cases with a chain consisting of a TLM103 or Senn.416Fearn or Gt.River Pre....TC Finalizer into a Lynx L22 card to Bias Peak for editing on a G4 - and finally hi-sample rate mp3 conversion and distribution..(or .wav/.aif CD delivery). Question. I do some promo voice work for television stations. How might a Distressor benefit my voiceover chain...? Is there something in this box that can be replicated within the Finalizer, or can i get some unique benefits from a Distressor to make a VO track "translate" with bigger presence when my stuff meets with typical on-air processing? I have run the gamut of outboard gear and have at one time or another worked with an Expressor and Dominator combo (before going with a Finalizer as my main "optimization" tool for the mic chain). I'd be interested in thoughts about whether a Distressor would be worth buying and trying for my purposes.. I know it's a well respected box, but am not sure I can't accomplish comparable results with the Finalizer alone... Any thoughts much appreciated, Thanks in advance, Mike in Mich |
#2
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Longtime Voiceover talent with an opportunity to get a nice deal
on a Distressor (Empirical Labs). BRBR Buy it. Try it. They hold their value so well that if you get a "good deal" on one and decide its not for you, you can probably sell it at a profit. I like what they do for vocals. Whether or not you like it, and whether or not the cost is justified, is up to you. Joe Egan EMP Colchester, VT www.eganmedia.com |
#3
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Longtime Voiceover talent with an opportunity to get a nice deal
on a Distressor (Empirical Labs). BRBR Buy it. Try it. They hold their value so well that if you get a "good deal" on one and decide its not for you, you can probably sell it at a profit. I like what they do for vocals. Whether or not you like it, and whether or not the cost is justified, is up to you. Joe Egan EMP Colchester, VT www.eganmedia.com |
#4
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Depends!
Does your stuff go mainly to producers who want to add his/her own processing to the voicetrack or do they just mix it as sent with music, effects or background? I find it best to send dry tracks with just a little compression and send them as .wav files. That way, the producer can add the effects he/she wants to the voicetrack to thicken, eq, echo, reverb etc. If they'e leaving your voice processing up to you, do what you need to make you sound your best. I have a variety of voice/over mics and pres available and a couple of compressors.. If I know they aren't going to be processing the vocal track, I use my own settings, otherwise, if they are going to process, i just use a very little bit of compression. Several just want raw tracks with no processing and specify which of my mikes and pres they like. And yes, I do send MP3's if requested (most radio promo and imaging stuff goes this way) but most narrations and commercial spots go out ..wav On 18 Nov 2004 14:28:10 GMT, (EganMedia) wrote: Longtime Voiceover talent with an opportunity to get a nice deal on a Distressor (Empirical Labs). BRBR Buy it. Try it. They hold their value so well that if you get a "good deal" on one and decide its not for you, you can probably sell it at a profit. I like what they do for vocals. Whether or not you like it, and whether or not the cost is justified, is up to you. Joe Egan EMP Colchester, VT www.eganmedia.com Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services Voice-overs, Newscaster, Engineering and Consulting Vancouver, BC, Canada |
#5
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Depends!
Does your stuff go mainly to producers who want to add his/her own processing to the voicetrack or do they just mix it as sent with music, effects or background? I find it best to send dry tracks with just a little compression and send them as .wav files. That way, the producer can add the effects he/she wants to the voicetrack to thicken, eq, echo, reverb etc. If they'e leaving your voice processing up to you, do what you need to make you sound your best. I have a variety of voice/over mics and pres available and a couple of compressors.. If I know they aren't going to be processing the vocal track, I use my own settings, otherwise, if they are going to process, i just use a very little bit of compression. Several just want raw tracks with no processing and specify which of my mikes and pres they like. And yes, I do send MP3's if requested (most radio promo and imaging stuff goes this way) but most narrations and commercial spots go out ..wav On 18 Nov 2004 14:28:10 GMT, (EganMedia) wrote: Longtime Voiceover talent with an opportunity to get a nice deal on a Distressor (Empirical Labs). BRBR Buy it. Try it. They hold their value so well that if you get a "good deal" on one and decide its not for you, you can probably sell it at a profit. I like what they do for vocals. Whether or not you like it, and whether or not the cost is justified, is up to you. Joe Egan EMP Colchester, VT www.eganmedia.com Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services Voice-overs, Newscaster, Engineering and Consulting Vancouver, BC, Canada |
#6
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#7
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#8
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(WillStG) wrote in message n
You know, I had a voice over guy who I thought sounded a bit raspy so we endeavored to optimize his recording chain. We tried all kinds of different things, swapping out compressors and limiters, moving things around, different mics, tried different micpres than his Neve 1272, and no matter what we did he sounded exactly the same. It was uncanny. That's just how he sounded. Will Miho Yknow Will, I get the point of the post, but think about it. If you yourself were a fulltime voice artist ...maybe that raspy-voiced guy - and had your own studio.. i bet you might be inclined to at least experiment with ways to "try" any gear options you'd heard were interesting - to make your "product" in this case- voicetracks - the best they could be. I'm not sure if the implication I'm supposed to come away with is the moral message that 'no amount of equipment will alter someone's raw talent' or whatever- but overall the message comes off kinda ****y to me. |
#9
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(WillStG) wrote in message n
You know, I had a voice over guy who I thought sounded a bit raspy so we endeavored to optimize his recording chain. We tried all kinds of different things, swapping out compressors and limiters, moving things around, different mics, tried different micpres than his Neve 1272, and no matter what we did he sounded exactly the same. It was uncanny. That's just how he sounded. Will Miho Yknow Will, I get the point of the post, but think about it. If you yourself were a fulltime voice artist ...maybe that raspy-voiced guy - and had your own studio.. i bet you might be inclined to at least experiment with ways to "try" any gear options you'd heard were interesting - to make your "product" in this case- voicetracks - the best they could be. I'm not sure if the implication I'm supposed to come away with is the moral message that 'no amount of equipment will alter someone's raw talent' or whatever- but overall the message comes off kinda ****y to me. |
#11
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#12
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"WillStG" wrote in message
... You know, I had a voice over guy who I thought sounded a bit raspy so we endeavored to optimize his recording chain. We tried all kinds of different things, swapping out compressors and limiters, moving things around, different mics, tried different micpres than his Neve 1272, and no matter what we did he sounded exactly the same. It was uncanny. That's just how he sounded. Casey Kasem? Colin Quinn? dtk |
#13
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"WillStG" wrote in message
... You know, I had a voice over guy who I thought sounded a bit raspy so we endeavored to optimize his recording chain. We tried all kinds of different things, swapping out compressors and limiters, moving things around, different mics, tried different micpres than his Neve 1272, and no matter what we did he sounded exactly the same. It was uncanny. That's just how he sounded. Casey Kasem? Colin Quinn? dtk |
#14
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#16
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WillStG wrote:
if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... Did I miss something? How did Boulder get into this? I rather like the one I have... |
#17
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WillStG wrote:
if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... Did I miss something? How did Boulder get into this? I rather like the one I have... |
#18
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QUESTION: Mike E. asked whether a Distressor would beat a Finalizer for
voiceover compression. CAVEAT: I do not own, nor have I ever used either. ANSWER: Friends of mine who do own it, like the Distressor because for them it does a good job of clean to grungy compression, and can be set to emulate a classic DBX, LA-2A, -3, -4, 1176LN, or do it's own thing. So does the CraneSong compressor. Whether the Distressor does a better job than a Finalizer for you personally is strictly a matter of your own taste. But I've never seen a post from anyone stating that they didn't love their Distressor. One thing to consider is that the sound of multiband compression is not appropriate to every application. It's great for a vocal effect on bigger-than-life radio station promos, but not something you would really like to hear on a long narration or some types of spots. Sometimes a vocal effect that initially may sound awesome, does so at the expense of communicating the message. That's a creative decision for you or the producer to make. Ideally, you should have both wideband and multiband compression available to use what's appropriate to the task at hand. The advantages of the Distressor are that for a wideband compressor, it has a wide palette of sounds, a couple of tasty distortion options, and available sidechain filters that can solve some problems that most other units don't address. Happy Editing. Jeff Jasper, voiceover guy Jeff Jasper Productions, West Funroe, La. "Kurt Albershardt" wrote in message ... WillStG wrote: if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... Did I miss something? How did Boulder get into this? I rather like the one I have... |
#19
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QUESTION: Mike E. asked whether a Distressor would beat a Finalizer for
voiceover compression. CAVEAT: I do not own, nor have I ever used either. ANSWER: Friends of mine who do own it, like the Distressor because for them it does a good job of clean to grungy compression, and can be set to emulate a classic DBX, LA-2A, -3, -4, 1176LN, or do it's own thing. So does the CraneSong compressor. Whether the Distressor does a better job than a Finalizer for you personally is strictly a matter of your own taste. But I've never seen a post from anyone stating that they didn't love their Distressor. One thing to consider is that the sound of multiband compression is not appropriate to every application. It's great for a vocal effect on bigger-than-life radio station promos, but not something you would really like to hear on a long narration or some types of spots. Sometimes a vocal effect that initially may sound awesome, does so at the expense of communicating the message. That's a creative decision for you or the producer to make. Ideally, you should have both wideband and multiband compression available to use what's appropriate to the task at hand. The advantages of the Distressor are that for a wideband compressor, it has a wide palette of sounds, a couple of tasty distortion options, and available sidechain filters that can solve some problems that most other units don't address. Happy Editing. Jeff Jasper, voiceover guy Jeff Jasper Productions, West Funroe, La. "Kurt Albershardt" wrote in message ... WillStG wrote: if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... Did I miss something? How did Boulder get into this? I rather like the one I have... |
#20
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How about that, feel better now?
"****y" - lol... "artistes".... "Feel Better Now...?" Just kind of a condescending and arrogant tone to your replies. Guess that's all I was "getting at" Will.... "lol" M |
#21
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How about that, feel better now?
"****y" - lol... "artistes".... "Feel Better Now...?" Just kind of a condescending and arrogant tone to your replies. Guess that's all I was "getting at" Will.... "lol" M |
#23
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A pre-emptive postscript to you WIll, actually based on your first
reply I guess i actually thought you were being facetious in your response, as I can't imagine expecting to change a naturally raspy voice quality through any kind of processing.. so there. (Of course, since i don't like Fox News..perhaps just a little bit of personal venom get injected so don't take it personally... in the words of your brethren... let's just "Get Over It..." (LOL ospam (WillStG) wrote in message ... (mike e) Yknow Will, I get the point of the post, but think about it. If you yourself were a fulltime voice artist ...maybe that raspy-voiced guy - and had your own studio.. i bet you might be inclined to at least experiment with ways to "try" any gear options you'd heard were interesting - to make your "product" in this case- voicetracks - the best they could be. Well of course! In my post wasn't I talking about trying to do just that myself? It's what we all do, no? I'm not sure if the implication I'm supposed to come away with is the moral message that 'no amount of equipment will alter someone's raw talent' or whatever- but overall the message comes off kinda ****y to me. ****y Mike? How about "imagine my chagrin at being unable to make a great talent sound even greater than he already was no matter what the gear was!" How about that, feel better now? I mean I don't really claim that there was any "moral to the story" of my comments at all really, but maybe "don't be surprised if you sound equally fabulous no matter what pro gear you use, if there is no Golden Bullet" might be kinda more what I was getting at. But if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... "****y" - lol... "artistes".... Will Miho NY Music & TV Audio Guy Audioist / Fox News "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits |
#24
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(Corrected for spelling)
A pre-emptive postscript to you WIll, Based on your first reply, I guess i actually thought you were being facetious in your response, as I can't imagine expecting to change a naturally raspy voice quality through any kind of processing.. so there. (Of course, since i don't like Fox News..perhaps just a little bit of personal venom got injected, so don't take it personally... in the words of your brethren... let's just "Get Over It..." (LOL ospam (WillStG) wrote in message ... (mike e) Yknow Will, I get the point of the post, but think about it. If you yourself were a fulltime voice artist ...maybe that raspy-voiced guy - and had your own studio.. i bet you might be inclined to at least experiment with ways to "try" any gear options you'd heard were interesting - to make your "product" in this case- voicetracks - the best they could be. Well of course! In my post wasn't I talking about trying to do just that myself? It's what we all do, no? I'm not sure if the implication I'm supposed to come away with is the moral message that 'no amount of equipment will alter someone's raw talent' or whatever- but overall the message comes off kinda ****y to me. ****y Mike? How about "imagine my chagrin at being unable to make a great talent sound even greater than he already was no matter what the gear was!" How about that, feel better now? I mean I don't really claim that there was any "moral to the story" of my comments at all really, but maybe "don't be surprised if you sound equally fabulous no matter what pro gear you use, if there is no Golden Bullet" might be kinda more what I was getting at. But if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... "****y" - lol... "artistes".... Will Miho NY Music & TV Audio Guy Audioist / Fox News "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits |
#25
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(Corrected for spelling)
A pre-emptive postscript to you WIll, Based on your first reply, I guess i actually thought you were being facetious in your response, as I can't imagine expecting to change a naturally raspy voice quality through any kind of processing.. so there. (Of course, since i don't like Fox News..perhaps just a little bit of personal venom got injected, so don't take it personally... in the words of your brethren... let's just "Get Over It..." (LOL ospam (WillStG) wrote in message ... (mike e) Yknow Will, I get the point of the post, but think about it. If you yourself were a fulltime voice artist ...maybe that raspy-voiced guy - and had your own studio.. i bet you might be inclined to at least experiment with ways to "try" any gear options you'd heard were interesting - to make your "product" in this case- voicetracks - the best they could be. Well of course! In my post wasn't I talking about trying to do just that myself? It's what we all do, no? I'm not sure if the implication I'm supposed to come away with is the moral message that 'no amount of equipment will alter someone's raw talent' or whatever- but overall the message comes off kinda ****y to me. ****y Mike? How about "imagine my chagrin at being unable to make a great talent sound even greater than he already was no matter what the gear was!" How about that, feel better now? I mean I don't really claim that there was any "moral to the story" of my comments at all really, but maybe "don't be surprised if you sound equally fabulous no matter what pro gear you use, if there is no Golden Bullet" might be kinda more what I was getting at. But if you find a piece of pro audio gear that is just head an shoulders above everything else in class for your Voice Mike, please, let us know! BTW, the Boulder micpres are a very milky sounding micpre we didn't have avaliable, they are discontinued but I think they do they live on as the John Hardy "Twin Servo 990's"... "****y" - lol... "artistes".... Will Miho NY Music & TV Audio Guy Audioist / Fox News "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits |
#26
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Has the Distressor replaced the RNC as the RAC compressor of choice?
"Jeff Jasper" wrote in message ... QUESTION: Mike E. asked whether a Distressor would beat a Finalizer for voiceover compression. CAVEAT: I do not own, nor have I ever used either. ANSWER: Friends of mine who do own it, like the Distressor because for them it does a good job of clean to grungy compression, and can be set to emulate a classic DBX, LA-2A, -3, -4, 1176LN, or do it's own thing. So does the CraneSong compressor. Whether the Distressor does a better job than a Finalizer for you personally is strictly a matter of your own taste. But I've never seen a post from anyone stating that they didn't love their Distressor. One thing to consider is that the sound of multiband compression is not appropriate to every application. It's great for a vocal effect on bigger-than-life radio station promos, but not something you would really like to hear on a long narration or some types of spots. Sometimes a vocal effect that initially may sound awesome, does so at the expense of communicating the message. That's a creative decision for you or the producer to make. Ideally, you should have both wideband and multiband compression available to use what's appropriate to the task at hand. The advantages of the Distressor are that for a wideband compressor, it has a wide palette of sounds, a couple of tasty distortion options, and available sidechain filters that can solve some problems that most other units don't address. Happy Editing. Jeff Jasper, voiceover guy Jeff Jasper Productions, West Funroe, La. |
#27
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Has the Distressor replaced the RNC as the RAC compressor of choice?
"Jeff Jasper" wrote in message ... QUESTION: Mike E. asked whether a Distressor would beat a Finalizer for voiceover compression. CAVEAT: I do not own, nor have I ever used either. ANSWER: Friends of mine who do own it, like the Distressor because for them it does a good job of clean to grungy compression, and can be set to emulate a classic DBX, LA-2A, -3, -4, 1176LN, or do it's own thing. So does the CraneSong compressor. Whether the Distressor does a better job than a Finalizer for you personally is strictly a matter of your own taste. But I've never seen a post from anyone stating that they didn't love their Distressor. One thing to consider is that the sound of multiband compression is not appropriate to every application. It's great for a vocal effect on bigger-than-life radio station promos, but not something you would really like to hear on a long narration or some types of spots. Sometimes a vocal effect that initially may sound awesome, does so at the expense of communicating the message. That's a creative decision for you or the producer to make. Ideally, you should have both wideband and multiband compression available to use what's appropriate to the task at hand. The advantages of the Distressor are that for a wideband compressor, it has a wide palette of sounds, a couple of tasty distortion options, and available sidechain filters that can solve some problems that most other units don't address. Happy Editing. Jeff Jasper, voiceover guy Jeff Jasper Productions, West Funroe, La. |
#28
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Jon J. Yeager wrote:
Has the Distressor replaced the RNC as the RAC compressor of choice? The distressor is the most versatile ugly compressor around. If you want to add coloration, the distressor is amazing because you can add a huge variety of different colorations. You can do a respectable job of emulating most of the vintage compressors on the cheap. Never perfectly, but usually good enough to get away with. The RNC won't do ugly sounds. But then again, the distressor isn't very good at doing clean sounds. The RNC is really hard to beat for clean compression but if you want heavy coloration it's not the way to go. The RNC and the Distressor are two very different tools, and they are both good things to have in the rack. If I could have only one compressor, it would probably be the RNC. If I could have only two, it would probably be the RNC and the Distressor. If I could have a couple dozen, I probably wouldn't bother with the Distressor because I would have plenty of good choices for coloration, but I'd keep the RNC. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#29
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Jon J. Yeager wrote:
Has the Distressor replaced the RNC as the RAC compressor of choice? The distressor is the most versatile ugly compressor around. If you want to add coloration, the distressor is amazing because you can add a huge variety of different colorations. You can do a respectable job of emulating most of the vintage compressors on the cheap. Never perfectly, but usually good enough to get away with. The RNC won't do ugly sounds. But then again, the distressor isn't very good at doing clean sounds. The RNC is really hard to beat for clean compression but if you want heavy coloration it's not the way to go. The RNC and the Distressor are two very different tools, and they are both good things to have in the rack. If I could have only one compressor, it would probably be the RNC. If I could have only two, it would probably be the RNC and the Distressor. If I could have a couple dozen, I probably wouldn't bother with the Distressor because I would have plenty of good choices for coloration, but I'd keep the RNC. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#31
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#32
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#33
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#34
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#35
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"WillStG" wrote in message ... Anybody want a really nice Drawmer DL241 XLR? Possibly... how cheap are you willing to let it go? Neil Henderson |
#36
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"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message ... The RNC won't do ugly sounds. But then again, the distressor isn't very good at doing clean sounds. The RNC is really hard to beat for clean compression but if you want heavy coloration it's not the way to go. I dunno -- I've used the Distressor for some clean sound on live gigs with John Renbourn and the late Dave Van Ronk, both of whom needed a *lot* of clean compression, and it did a great job. No artifacts, no extra stuff; just sounded like they were singing with sensible dynamics, which (judging by the flashing lights) they weren't. Peace, Paul |
#37
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#38
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Haven't used the Trakkers. Do they link well as a pair?
BRBR They link amazingly well, and not just as a pair. You can link up to eight for 7.1 work. Joe Egan EMP Colchester, VT www.eganmedia.com |
#39
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