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Sebastian Becher
 
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Default Amek Hendrix

Hi all,

the studio I'm working for is considering replacing its old Soundraft
TS-24 console with Optifile 3D by a used Amek Hendrix with SuperTrue.

Since I've newer heard the Hendrix, I'm interested in the sonic
quality of it. Mostly the preamps and EQs are important to us, since
we are more of a tracking studio. Are the EQs in a way comparable to
the Amek 9098 and like what in comparison to the TS24-EQs?

We are tracking a lot on 2", so the Automation is also quite
important. Can you tell me witch of the switches are controllable?

Any help would be very appreciated

thanks, Sebastian
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Andrew M.
 
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Default Amek Hendrix



Sebastian Becher wrote:
Hi all,

the studio I'm working for is considering replacing its old Soundraft
TS-24 console with Optifile 3D by a used Amek Hendrix with SuperTrue.

Since I've newer heard the Hendrix, I'm interested in the sonic
quality of it. Mostly the preamps and EQs are important to us, since
we are more of a tracking studio. Are the EQs in a way comparable to
the Amek 9098 and like what in comparison to the TS24-EQs?

We are tracking a lot on 2", so the Automation is also quite
important. Can you tell me witch of the switches are controllable?

Any help would be very appreciated

thanks, Sebastian


I don't believe the mic pre's are comparable to the 9098 (Rupert Neve
designed pre). I used to work on an Amek Mozart often that had some
Rupert Neve modules that have a Rupert Neve designed mic pre and EQ but
I am not sure about the Hendrix. The stock pre's in the Mozart sounded
great so you will probably be happy with them. If it's stock EQ then
it's not really comparable to the 9098 EQ but probably still sounds great.

As for automation, most of the switches are automated as are the faders
(no automated panning). I believe that they use VCA's for fader
automation as well as the channel dynamics that are available with Super
True.

I have heard that they run very hot (like most large British boards) and
eat caps like crazy. I know from experience that the Mozart eats caps. I
believe we were getting the board recapped every 2 years (the board was
very heavily in use round the clock).

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James Perrett
 
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Default Amek Hendrix

"Andrew M." wrote:

Sebastian Becher wrote:
Hi all,

the studio I'm working for is considering replacing its old Soundraft
TS-24 console with Optifile 3D by a used Amek Hendrix with SuperTrue.

Since I've newer heard the Hendrix, I'm interested in the sonic
quality of it. Mostly the preamps and EQs are important to us, since
we are more of a tracking studio. Are the EQs in a way comparable to
the Amek 9098 and like what in comparison to the TS24-EQs?

We are tracking a lot on 2", so the Automation is also quite
important. Can you tell me witch of the switches are controllable?

Any help would be very appreciated

thanks, Sebastian


I don't believe the mic pre's are comparable to the 9098 (Rupert Neve
designed pre). I used to work on an Amek Mozart often that had some
Rupert Neve modules that have a Rupert Neve designed mic pre and EQ but
I am not sure about the Hendrix. The stock pre's in the Mozart sounded
great so you will probably be happy with them. If it's stock EQ then
it's not really comparable to the 9098 EQ but probably still sounds great.

As for automation, most of the switches are automated as are the faders
(no automated panning). I believe that they use VCA's for fader
automation as well as the channel dynamics that are available with Super
True.

I have heard that they run very hot (like most large British boards) and
eat caps like crazy. I know from experience that the Mozart eats caps. I
believe we were getting the board recapped every 2 years (the board was
very heavily in use round the clock).


If the caps need replacing that often then I'd think about hiring a tech
who knows a little more about voltage ratings - or look at the circuit
to see if the caps are correctly biased.

Cheers.

James.
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Andrew M.
 
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Default Amek Hendrix



James Perrett wrote:

"Andrew M." wrote:

Sebastian Becher wrote:

Hi all,

the studio I'm working for is considering replacing its old Soundraft
TS-24 console with Optifile 3D by a used Amek Hendrix with SuperTrue.

Since I've newer heard the Hendrix, I'm interested in the sonic
quality of it. Mostly the preamps and EQs are important to us, since
we are more of a tracking studio. Are the EQs in a way comparable to
the Amek 9098 and like what in comparison to the TS24-EQs?

We are tracking a lot on 2", so the Automation is also quite
important. Can you tell me witch of the switches are controllable?

Any help would be very appreciated

thanks, Sebastian


I don't believe the mic pre's are comparable to the 9098 (Rupert Neve
designed pre). I used to work on an Amek Mozart often that had some
Rupert Neve modules that have a Rupert Neve designed mic pre and EQ but
I am not sure about the Hendrix. The stock pre's in the Mozart sounded
great so you will probably be happy with them. If it's stock EQ then
it's not really comparable to the 9098 EQ but probably still sounds great.

As for automation, most of the switches are automated as are the faders
(no automated panning). I believe that they use VCA's for fader
automation as well as the channel dynamics that are available with Super
True.

I have heard that they run very hot (like most large British boards) and
eat caps like crazy. I know from experience that the Mozart eats caps. I
believe we were getting the board recapped every 2 years (the board was
very heavily in use round the clock).



If the caps need replacing that often then I'd think about hiring a tech
who knows a little more about voltage ratings - or look at the circuit
to see if the caps are correctly biased.

Cheers.

James.


Indeed James. I am just passing along my experience. At that studio they
also had a Neve VR that required similar recapping, very often.Some very
expensive techs worked on that board. They all said that the Neve
modules run very hot and dry out the caps. In my experience all large
format consoles have maintenance issues. How often would you consider
"regular" for recapping Neve's, SSL's etc.?

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Sebastian Becher
 
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Default Amek Hendrix

"Andrew M." wrote in message ...

Indeed James. I am just passing along my experience. At that studio they
also had a Neve VR that required similar recapping, very often.Some very
expensive techs worked on that board. They all said that the Neve
modules run very hot and dry out the caps. In my experience all large
format consoles have maintenance issues. How often would you consider
"regular" for recapping Neve's, SSL's etc.?


And do you know a way to say if the board needs recapping?
Since I dond't know the sound of a "new" Hendrix, I can't tell if the
caps are to be replaced in the used board, can I?


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Andrew M.
 
Posts: n/a
Default Amek Hendrix



Sebastian Becher wrote:

"Andrew M." wrote in message ...


Indeed James. I am just passing along my experience. At that studio they
also had a Neve VR that required similar recapping, very often.Some very
expensive techs worked on that board. They all said that the Neve
modules run very hot and dry out the caps. In my experience all large
format consoles have maintenance issues. How often would you consider
"regular" for recapping Neve's, SSL's etc.?



And do you know a way to say if the board needs recapping?
Since I dond't know the sound of a "new" Hendrix, I can't tell if the
caps are to be replaced in the used board, can I?


The techs pointed out that the noise floor increases as the caps age.
That was our litmus test, if the board got noisy time to get it recapped
(and the noise would modulate in a weird way, not just fuzz, very
noticeable). I am sure there are more scientific ways to do this. I
would let the person who is checking under the hood of the Mozart for
you know that this is a potential problem. I would also contact Amek.
They will be able to help you find problems, and they may be willing to
hook you up on fixing it. Their service dept has been great to me in the
past. Very helpful people. The boards sound great, lots of headroom and
very punchy.

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Twist Turner
 
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Default Amek Hendrix

I noticed the price on the Amek's used seemed to be pretty resonable. I
asked my tech about them and he also said that they tend to blow caps
pretty frequently, and warned me against getting one. I did play on
several dozen CD's cut on a Amek Rembrant which sounded really nice
though.



Twist Turner
http://tinyurl.com/ul70

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Geoff Wood
 
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Default Amek Hendrix


"Andrew M." wrote in message

Indeed James. I am just passing along my experience. At that studio they
also had a Neve VR that required similar recapping, very often.Some very
expensive techs worked on that board. They all said that the Neve
modules run very hot and dry out the caps. In my experience all large
format consoles have maintenance issues. How often would you consider
"regular" for recapping Neve's, SSL's etc.?


Once the heat problem was addressed - every 15 years or more.

geoff


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James Perrett
 
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Default Amek Hendrix

"Andrew M." wrote:

James Perrett wrote:



If the caps need replacing that often then I'd think about hiring a tech
who knows a little more about voltage ratings - or look at the circuit
to see if the caps are correctly biased.

Cheers.

James.


Indeed James. I am just passing along my experience. At that studio they
also had a Neve VR that required similar recapping, very often.Some very
expensive techs worked on that board. They all said that the Neve
modules run very hot and dry out the caps. In my experience all large
format consoles have maintenance issues. How often would you consider
"regular" for recapping Neve's, SSL's etc.?


As I understand it, 20 years is a reasonable lifetime for a good quality
electrolytic capacitor used within its rated spec. My only personal
experience with Neve gear is with 2 pre/eq modules which I've not needed
to recap in the 5 years I've owned them - but then the only gear I've
had to recap is a 70's vintage analogue 8 track where some of the
capacitors were starting to fail at a worryingly high rate.

Cheers.

James.
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