i am looking for a good used millennia media HV3, or a 2 channel john
hardy, or a great river MP-2 or original, or perhaps a grace lunatec
V2. btw, of those, which has the smoothest top end for
classical/chamber music? muchas gracias.

You are splitting some fine hairs here on which one has the
"smoothest" top end. They are all very nice top of the line preamps.

Nathan Eldred
http://www.atlasproaudio.com

(jnorman) wrote:

i am looking for a good used millennia media HV3, or a 2 channel john
hardy, or a great river MP-2 or original, or perhaps a grace lunatec
V2. btw, of those, which has the smoothest top end for
classical/chamber music? muchas gracias.

"jnorman" wrote in message
om...
i am looking for a good used millennia media HV3, or a 2 channel john
hardy, or a great river MP-2 or original, or perhaps a grace lunatec
V2. btw, of those, which has the smoothest top end for
classical/chamber music? muchas gracias.

Which tastes better? An apple or an Orange? They are all very good preamps.
The Millennia and Grace will probabaly be a bit more transparent, with the
Grace having a bit more character (really small differences here, though).
I'd also go with the Grace 201 rather than the Lunatec. The converters in
the Lunatec are fantastic so if you need conversion, perhaps that may be a
bit better, but the 201 is a heavier duty build with a better power supply.

I have a set of the old Boulder twin Servo pres which are the same as what
Hardy is making (twin servo) and they are some of my favorite preamps out
there. Totally quiet and smooth, but not boring sounding (like Millennias
can get sometimes).

--Ben

--
Benjamin Maas
Fifth Circle Audio
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.fifthcircle.com

Please remove "Nospam" from address for replies

"Benjamin Maas"
I have a set of the old Boulder twin Servo pres which are the same as what
Hardy is making (twin servo) and they are some of my favorite preamps out
there. Totally quiet and smooth, but not boring sounding (like Millennias
can get sometimes).

Once upon a time I suggested the Boulders in the closet when Tom Lazarus
was stuck on a spot mic for an Orchestra session - not because I knew much, I
just "felt it". He loved them, said they were very "milky sounding" and that
it really made the session. Nice thing to say to a studio assistant, BTW the
exact same design as the John Hardy 990 Twin Servos, if anyone wants a pair.

The HV3's have really nice "air" though ( I'm up to 6 channels now...)



Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Off the Morning Show! & sleepin' In... / Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits

In article ,
WillStG wrote:
The HV3's have really nice "air" though ( I'm up to 6 channels now...)

Which version? I recently got a used original HV3, but they've made
some updates over the years and I wonder what the differences are.
I've only worked with it a short time as a drum overhead preamp (with
a pair of KM 84), but to my ears, the HF and upper mids sound a little
'glassy' to me. Maybe this is fixed in later versions, or is it just
the way I'm hearing things??


TIA,

Monte McGuire

(Monte P McGuire)
Which version? I recently got a used original HV3, but they've made
some updates over the years and I wonder what the differences are.

Well - I had an older HV3 pair, the rotary gain pot is a little unstable in
how it's mounted to the circuitboard if the nut holding it gets loose, so you
have to watch that. How the pot is mounted was changed in later versions.
Actually there are 2 nuts, the tough one one is on the inside and you need a
_very_ narrow crescent -ish wrench to tighten it between the pot and the
faceplate.

What I have now is 3 pairs of HV3C's, they each have built in Apogee 20
bit A/D's and the high resolution gain control option as standard (36 position
mil-spec gain control), they look like this

http://www.mil-media.com/docs/products/hv3b.shtml

None have the 130 volt option for high voltage B&K's, the D/A option, or
the "DC input option" which is good for optimal use with ribbons (but you can
get them added, check the Mil-Media site for prices). John La Grou is part of
that "POW-R" dither consortium, they had intended to start making HV3C's again
with the propriatary POW-R dithered converters but as of now I'm not sure what
the status is on that.

I've only worked with it a short time as a drum overhead preamp (with
a pair of KM 84), but to my ears, the HF and upper mids sound a little
'glassy' to me. Maybe this is fixed in later versions, or is it just
the way I'm hearing things??

Maybe it's hearing what the KM84 really sounds like? By "air" I meant
how they capture a room with B&K 4006's. I put up 2 spaced pairs of 4006's
with the HV3C's and 2 X/Y pairs (MKH40's and a SM2
Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Off the Morning Show! & sleepin' In... / Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits

Sorry Monte, I have FAT FINGERS! As i was saying

(Monte P McGuire)
I've only worked with it a short time as a drum overhead preamp (with
a pair of KM 84), but to my ears, the HF and upper mids sound a little
'glassy' to me. Maybe this is fixed in later versions, or is it just
the way I'm hearing things??

Maybe it's hearing what a KM84 (or the kit in the room) really sounds
like? I noticed a bit of lower mid something I can't describe well on
Sennheiser MKH40's with the HV3's, maybe the KM84's like a little more
coloration like a transformer or something a bit more flattering. I was
recording a 9' Steinway with 2 pairs of B&K 4006 omnis and a Neumann SM2 in
X/Y, and the stereo image you capture mixing omnis and cardiods can be
incredibly complex with a lot going on. The far pair of 4006/HV3 gave me the
"outside the speakers"
Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Off the Morning Show! & sleepin' In... / Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits

jnorman wrote:

i am looking for a good used millennia media HV3, or a 2 channel john
hardy, or a great river MP-2 or original, or perhaps a grace lunatec
V2. btw, of those, which has the smoothest top end for
classical/chamber music? muchas gracias.

They all have good enough top ends that you could well prefer one today
on a partiocular source and a different one tomorrow on a different
source.

--
ha