The Ultimate Preamp Shootout

Universal Audio 6176 vs Blue Robbie vs Electro Harmonix 12AY7 vs Apogee Ensemble vs Universal Audio Twinfinity.
All audio converted through an Apogee Ensemble. Acoustic and Drums captured through an M-Audio Sputnik tube microphone. Electric guitar reamped with a Radial Reamp box through a Mesa Boogie 5:25+ Express w/ cab, into an Audix i5.

[@folktronic]

Great demo - thanks for this. So many possibilities but its great to be able to hear these preamps side by side. Thanks especially for the fingerstyle stab style playing at the end - just what I was looking to hear through a couple of these.

[@djscorpie]

The Electro Harmonix surprised me !!! Beautiful

[@seandaniel23]

yeah especially for the money too!

[@IrvingAguirre77]

This is pretty good. Thanks for making this video.

[@seandaniel23]

+Irving Aguirre Happy to help! Thanks for checking it out.

[@mr.esabsurditiesatrocities1805]

Well done and very helpful demo. I liked the 610 and the EH the most.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks! Huge fan of the 610.

[@MichaelW.1980]

It’s interesting how different they actually sound in the clean recordings. They seem to accentuate different parts of your playing. I liked the blue a lot!

[@jeffhirata]

I'm surprised how different they sound. Great comparison!

[@ronnieaux5290]

I'm probably biased, since I own one, but I find the Blue very articulate and pleasant sounding. Seems like it preserves the details while giving a tiny little warmth.

[@akira808cjp]

Hi Sean, your demos are very useful and I thank you a lot for putting them all together. Have you ever tried one of Rupert Neve Design preamps? At the moment I've been looking at UA6176 and Portico ii channel. I know that both of them are great channel strips but there's not many demos of Portico ii on acoustic guitars. I was wondering if you have any ideas. Thank you.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much, I wish I had experience with the Portico, I'd also really love to try out some of the 1073 models out there. I'll put the word out and see if anyone around here has one to demo.

[@akira808cjp]

Thank you. The two preamps are in the similar price range in Austrslia. I wish I could try both before I get one of them.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah that's tough, I've had my 6176 for 5 years now though, and I've never regretted getting it for a second.

[@blancodeplomo]

Universal Audio 6176

[@lordofstringss]

+FridoomAssassin You said it! Especially on the acoustic guitar. The full rounded tonality to my ears sounds just perfect. Was surprised to find the TwinFinity constantly being the sibilant one.

[@tekis0]

I agree, but he had the compressor switched in circuit, so it's not really a really accurate comparison.

[@jditmer0]

It's a little heavy around 5k but I don't know if that's because of the settings he had on there. He should have had the compressor off on this one because it sounds much more compressed than the others

[@BladeJones]

Beefier and warmer than the rest.

[@larrytate1657]

I have a clarett 8 preX I'm running my drums through. If I got a two channel preamp for my overheads it would give me better quality? Or are they more for guitar and vocal improvements?

[@mexicanvacation4we]

I was surprised to find the apogee was probably the least impressive to me. I was most surprised by the EH 12ay7! Pretty detailed. I Loved the 6176 on the drums but to me, it was the only example where it was better than the others. I think overall, I liked the Twinfinity on most sources (especially the electric guitar, it was amazing) even though it was pretty bright. Wow! I loved this video! Do more please!

[@seandaniel23]

+mexicanvacation4we Thanks. Yeah the Apogee preamps don't really hold their weight here. I definitely think the EHX sounds every bit as good as the Robbie though for a fraction of the cost.

[@zandewilson]

Fantastic video

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much man!

[@kamicoree]

Great vid first off... I wish I could've heard the 710 without the high-pass filter on. I am trying to upgrade my mic pre and I have a chance on the focusrite isa one and the 710... I also looked at the 610, but mos of my mics are tube mics and I don't wanna piss off the Audio GODs going tube to tube... lol Any suggestions?

[@meshabby6194]

how can you compare with the low cut on? they will be filtering from different frequencies.

[@stevenvanderwerff9488]

Although you've done great efforts and made a nice video, to me they all sound good and there is not much to compare. I would say the Twin Finity sounds more clear but I don't know the blend of tube/trans, is the low cut engaged, how far did you open the gain? Every amp behaves differently and you need to work with it to tell the difference. I own the 710d and the 12AY7 and I'm happy with both. Would like to have the 6176 since it does sound very smooth. Can definitely tell there's a lot more compression on that one too, in this video.

[@waedi73]

Sounds all good. I use an RME Quadmic and I am very happy with it.

[@juanclaves]

This was great! Cheers

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for watching Ryan!

[@xDTHx]

what do i need to buy if my dac isnt making my headphones loud enough? is there a preamp or something i should buy that can boost the signal going into my USB dac?

[@jasonschooler4450]

Use aux 1 for L ch and aux 2 for R ch and you will have a stereo headphone mix independent of any other designated outputs. Send aux 1/L and aux 2/R to a headphone amp. You can buy a headphone amp pretty cheap new or used.

[@PremierProducing]

GREAT video btw dude , interesting how bright the Twin Finity sounded , the Blue was good but overall the fatter more pronounced audio seemed to come from the UA... this comparison was well done

[@chopshop777]

Hi thanks for the video. could you please in the description add the exact time of each device so we can click on it and get to it right away , that way is easier to hear the difference between them. thanks so much. cheers.

[@jamesdoctor8079]

Running the EH 12ay7 pre into a shure m267 for its transformers, and changed out the stock tubes to bauldwin 12au7 and jj 12ay7. The only bad thing about the EH is it’s lack of transformers. Sounds PHENOMENAL through the m267!

[@seandaniel23]

No kidding? I'll need to try that!

[@LucasVallimZero]

For some reason the Blue is my favorite one. It sounds warmer and has it's own characteristics. And, if that's not enough, the UA one sounds too mid-heavy to me... but well, it's just taste.

[@seandaniel23]

Right on Lucas. They're all pretty solid, just comes down to taste.

[@jditmer0]

same yeah i thought it was mid heavy, especially the upper mids. It also sounded way too compressed, I wish he switch the compressor off on it

[@HansBaier]

I feel the same way.

[@jameswallace5967]

UA 6176 was clearly the best, but maybe due partly to the added compression?

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah most likely. I love that thing.

[@dkpianist]

Good shootour, thank you. Quite striking how upfront and sort of nasal the cheaper UA unit sounds, on all sources. I would have done the last one without compression though.

[@sherrillshaffer579]

I liked the Apogee Ensemble on acoustic guitar and, surprisingly, the Electro Harmonix on drums.

[@cuerdasoxidas]

Great review. Lovely preamps. To my ears the only thing is the UA Twinfinity sounds like you left a Hi pass filer on.Is that right or is just a lack of low end in this particular model? Thanks for the review.

[@seandaniel23]

Great ear, yeah I think I must've left the hi-pass on.

[@OTTOAUDIO]

yup I hear that too

[@rollowarlin8450]

To me the 710 was the best with its crisper highs while still retaining the mids and lows. Or was the attack on the guitar more forceful?

[@joshuastromer9572]

Man that 6176 sounds great

[@JanKosowski]

Now, imagine your favorite song. What difference would the preamp make? We buy those expensive toys because we love expensive toys.

[@OTTOAUDIO]

With the respect, I don't think you had the twinfinity set correctly / flat.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah I thought I had it dialed in right, but I must've had the High Pass filter on, I'll annotate it.

[@migibeats104]

I think he had eq on it?

[@MK-fw4to]

Nice bottlenecking with the blue radial reamp box 😅 Great shootout btw! World needs more like these.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much!

[@giuseppenovella]

Why on the drusm you switched on compression on the 6176? I think the twinfinity has a filter low cut going on on all the tests. That's not a neutral approach as you mention early in the vid.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah my mistake I screwed up the low pass on the twinfinity. I had it off but like an idiot I must've selected as my input one of the other 3 that had it on. I'm still not 100% sure if that's what happened but it seems kind of obvious now. As for the 6176, the compressor was on for the whole time, my thinking was to hear the difference you would get by shelling out extra money to get that specific preamp versus the other ones, but I understand that some people may have been more interested in hearing just the 610-side. It was my first attempt at doing a shootout like that so I definitely learned a lot, might have to revisit it. Thanks for watching!

[@totalmb7998]

hey sean i just wanted to know that is there any gadjet thorough which i can hear my acoustic guitar playing ...in headphone by myself only ..... so that my ear can get better.... i live in a joint famly so cant focus out plzzzzz sujjest me smthing and i have only acoustic guitar

[@seandaniel23]

That's interesting. I don't know if your guitar has an electric output or not, (even if it doesn't you could get an acoustic guitar pickup) and run that to something called a multi-effects pedal, they usually have headphones jacks, or something like a pocket amp might help too.

[@totalmb7998]

+Sean Daniel thank you sir.... that helpd me a lot... ....sooon gona jump in a store with your theory...

[@fredscofield180]

To my ear the UA 6176 is the best overall by far. But it should be. I was surprised at how thin and harsh the twin finity sounded and how good for the money the EH sounded. The twin finity did come through on acoustic guitar but still had a sound that you would have to be looking for to like it.

[@seandaniel23]

That 6176 is just the best.

[@MisterGreenGuy]

@@seandaniel23 Yep, I've had many preamps/compressors and the 6176 is still my favorite. I always go back to it because it's so versatile. Thick creamy vocals, warm acoustic guitar sounds, beastly bass tones and IMO the best compressor ever made for drums.

[@yreyes1451]

6176 Sounds the best! Its got that 3D but not harsh sound.

[@jawsrock1]

Great demo! Could you go back and check if the Hi pass filter was on the 4-710? I've been considering buying one of these, but not if it sounds like that.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah it was! sorry I can't believe I did that! It was one of my earlier vids, live and learn! I really love that unit.

[@jawsrock1]

Hey, no worries. We're all human. Thanks for answering though. I really appreciate it. Still a great demo. Hope to see more like that soon.

[@simonderycke7545]

Helpfull video. Wow. That twinfinity is harsh compared to the others! The EHX and apogee sounds the same, as far as I can tell (headphones). The other 2 are something else.

[@OTTOAUDIO]

I think the hi-pass was accidentally left on. See above comments. :) Its an AMAZING preamp

[@theUglyManowar]

+ROTTOBOT I agree... I think most are not considering that the effect is most certainly a parameter consideration... And in consideration I feel that the twin retained all the awesome character of the guitar tone! I could see the recording easily fitting nicely in a mix instead of unfairly soloed.

[@nathanwood609]

UA 6176 is definitely the best. There was a small volume difference between the comparisons though making it difficult. Amazing mic pre, I definitely want to buy one someday.

[@seandaniel23]

+Nathan Wood Yeah I'm all about that 6176.

[@theUglyManowar]

wow! what an illuminating viddy! Thank you Sean! Amazing to me how the circuitry seemed to be cut from the same mold on every pre except the UADs! They both had exceptional unique tone particularly that awesome classic 610 tone! Even if u r unsure of you parameter settings on the Twin... I really appreciated the range it must then be possible to wrangle out of the box! Really seems to give an additional dimension to fitting pieces to a mix if I had a different range of warm pre voices to choose from that varied as much! In which case one can really appreciate the UADs having such a unique signature? But I suppose a third pre from any of the other pre-amps could then just take advantage of whichever is cheapest! Sadly I can not afford any of these to even consider dreaming having 3 to create with. I will go jump off a bridge now! :) ( ignorance is truly bliss huh? )

[@seandaniel23]

Haha, don't jump! Yeah honestly for almost everything I do, I run it through the 6176, I love that thing.

[@abaddon416]

The Universal Audio 6176 sounds very musical.

[@seandaniel23]

I really love that thing.

[@KrisGorski]

Did you switch the high pass filter on the 4-710? it looked like it was on, on the video :)

[@seandaniel23]

I did! Whoops

[@KrisGorski]

@@seandaniel23 - that kind of figures. I found it was lacking the low end I have on mine :)

[@JonHollandTV]

Nice one! Interesting what you find when searching for a current Robbie review! :) Nice vid. Good to see you making music and doing your thing. Keep it up. - J

[@seandaniel23]

+Jon Holland TV My man Jon Holland! Thanks! So what'd you think? I've really liked my Robbie for a long time but since I've done the A/B I kind of feel like it rates behind the UA stuff for sure and kind of neck and neck with the EHX 12ay7. It does look good though. Your thoughts?

[@JonHollandTV]

+Sean Daniel Short answer.....They all sound fine and have their own character. Long answer: .....I can say that in this test my least favorite was the Twin-fin. The first 3 had subtle differences but sounded fine. The UA 6176 was nice and full. But after having played the "Which Mic Pre" game for decades now (starting with Harrison, MCI, Quad Eight, Neve and Trident console pres......plus...API 512c, Neve 1073, GML, John Hardy M1 + Jensen 990, Tubetech, early Focusrite)....I have concluded that variables play a huge part in the equation and BEST is always a fleeting "absolute". What kind of music? Solo instrument? Band arrangement? What mics and placement? What room? What A2D's ? In the end it's always....A: THE SONG.......B: THE SONG......C: The PERSON recording the SONG. :) If you know what you are doing and experiment with enough combinations you will develop opinions on what you like. However, be aware that in the end you will be the only one who really cared what mic preamp you used. ...lol...;)..........PS: You are not alone....lol....MY wishlist of mic pres is a mile long! It's just what we gearsltz do....lol.....we tinker and we plan the next gear conquest. Hey....it's fun! You can never have too many choices..... but it's really best to have alot of great songs obviously. Always good to hear tests like this though. Thanks for the vid. :)

[@seandaniel23]

+Jon Holland TV No prob buddy. Just FYI if you're interested in getting a Robbie, I've had mine for about 7 years now, the power supply went bad about 18 months ago, BLUE was really great and it was a pretty reasonable out of warranty fix. That's been the only issue.

[@JonHollandTV]

+Sean Daniel Thanks for the info. Yeah...at some point I'll probably get a Robbie to check it out. Preamps that I'm very interested in getting little by little...... : Warm WA12, Warm TB12 Tonebeast, DAV BG1, Vintech X73i, A-Designs Pacifica, BAE 1073MPF, Aurora GTQ2III, Chandler TG2, Millenia HV3D (pure-uncolored bliss), Phoenix DRS8 MKII ....and some 500 Rack stuff (Tonelux, Daking, Electrodyne 501). The cheapest ones first I guess.....lol.

[@seandaniel23]

Funny you mention the Warm stuff. I actually just ordered their eqp-wa today! Can't wait to get it, I've heard some incredible things about them.

[@DarthPreamp]

Excellent video. Very helpful. I thought the 12AY7 was the overall best. crazy.

[@seandaniel23]

+Daniel Gil Thanks! Yeah I think most of EHX's stuff is a bargain considering the quality of sound.

[@DarthPreamp]

+Sean Daniel I just listened again, on better monitors, and even on the drum track, the EHX sounds best. previously I thought the UA sounded best on drums, but when I went directly back and forth, the EHX sounds the most realistic to my ears. man, gotta pick one of these up!

[@seandaniel23]

+Daniel Gil Great, you can swap out to different types of tubes too for different applications. My biggest thing is that it doesn't have an on/off switch though.

[@enriquedelapaz7002]

i own a couple of those, and i really love the sound

[@enriquekikzdelapazbichain1126]

but it is a starved tube sound, still i love it

[@mooreav]

Twinfinity sounds terrible.. In the picture you've got the Low cut on. Especially on the drums you MUST have the low cut on. I've got a sputnik.. Love it! Thanks for the test.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah the low cut is never switched off for me. Sputnik might be dollar for dollar the best thing around. It has a little high end bump that might not be perfect for everything but I love it.

[@ray1ashwin]

+mooreav but it sounded great on guitars.

[@donallfinn]

It sounds like that mid heavy API aggressive sound, pretty standard sound that is used in a lot of rock

[@richardvancleaf469]

The Pre's on the Ensemble are excellent.

[@seandaniel23]

+Richard McWeeWee They really are great.

[@prospectnyc]

This is such a great showcase. Thank you. The 6176 sounds velvety and has more depth. Do you still have it? What do you use now a days?

[@seandaniel23]

Yup! 6176 is still my go-to but I also have a Neve 1073 that is excellent

[@dafxtone]

Acc. Gui. > EHX 2:17 LA 3:03 - Drums > EHX 3:17 LA 3:58 - Elect. Guit. > EHX 4:07 LA 4:37

[@robertnatiello3814]

6176 had the most velvety color but the UA twin finity was nicest overall. The 12Ay7 was down the middle a good performing pre.

[@dostacos1]

The 6176 expertly did what the two first ones were trying to do. The twinfinity was pretty bright, and I thought it sounded great on the drums as a room mic. When it comes to electric guitar, I think you would just have to suck pretty bad to get a bad tone out of any preamp, they all sounded usable to me, though only the last two were useable on the acoustic guitar.

[@s.lindburg8214]

Good video! I just invested in a few different compressors and a preamp by Warm Audio. Those guys are onto something. Sound is just as good if not better than my Avalon. Their ToneBeast all the way for electric guitar!

[@seandaniel23]

Great company. I have 2 of their pultec eqs and the optical compressor.

[@s.lindburg8214]

Sean Daniel I think an EQ will be my next purchase.. The one I use now is the weakest link in my signal chain.

[@seanthomsen202]

4 years later.. but, was it just me or was there more expression put into his performance when the universal audio was selected. I feel he had a subconscious bias preference toward the UA preamp that stuck out like dogs balls when he played.

[@kingpencowboy7977]

Same thought

[@ettiennelane9173]

Yeah. If a test does not include the exact same audio it's meaningless.

[@josedealva4205]

how is this a vs?

[@NBproductionspresent]

I used to have a twinfinity and I pretty much always had it on the transformer because the tube seemed dull.

[@donallfinn]

Can't say something is BEST, the good ones would work for certain applications. The only one that I thought was useless was the Apogee, all the rest were very usable depending on the source. Really like how the Blue distinguished its self from the others. That's a Pre you pick up for its really distinctive sound.

[@seandaniel23]

Definitely the Robbie has a cool and warm vibe to it.

[@hypnodelica]

I'm probably a bit biased because I own a 6176 but to my ears it clearly sounded better than the others - particularly on the acoustic guitar, just another level of detail and clarity... I guess in this case you really do get what you pay for.

[@jjdagreat187]

where's the vocal test?

[@seandaniel23]

I might have to add to it.

[@jl1848]

TwinFinity sounds oddly different. But the reamping showed them to be all identical.

[@BillyBlaze7]

UA hands down, so glad I have a LA-610 MK2 on order now

[@seandaniel23]

So cool! Congrats you're gonna LOVE it!

[@BillyBlaze7]

Thanks bro :-)

[@filipdinevmusic]

What kind of guitar is the acoustic one?

[@seandaniel23]

Taylor GA3!

[@bestevaer1977]

Hey Sean, thanks for sharing this! The 710 shocked me, are you sure the unit functions like it should? I've never noticed this nasal sound before in the unit i've used! The Electro Harmonics sounds really great for the money! It has that shiny hi-mids/highs that i love about good tube stuff. It's a bit thin at the low end, but for a rhythm part in a dense mix that could be just what you need! Maybe the hippos on this one is on a higher freq than the others? The Robbie's "tube sparkle" seems a little less dominant, but that could be a gain staging thing, but it's got a firmer low end. More balanced i'd say. The solid state pre sounded neutral, as expected. The 610 sounds fat! The tube sparkle AND the bottom, really liked this one! Very useful comparison, thanks!

[@bestevaer1977]

Well, it seems autocorrect changed hi pass to hippos...

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for reaching out. I think I must've had the high pass filter on for the 710s and didn't notice it.

[@niccoloaurelius1587]

I love preamp shootouts. I always wish Blackbox Analog was included in any preamp testing...heard one test of it, and it blew everything else out of the water in terms of clarity and bigness of the sound. Also, I find it hard to judge a preamp from a shootout alone. Ideally, a song or two would be recorded with each preamp, and a blind test done which lasted 6 months before finding out the results...at the end of the 6 months (or a long span of time), you'd rate which version of the song was most enjoyable to listen to/had the best vibe. Sometimes we hear more definition and musicality in a test, but when it comes to listening to (and enjoying) actual music recorded with it, what we liked can turn out to be weird sounding.

[@niccoloaurelius1587]

And sometimes novelty wears off over time, and ends up sounding weird and unenjoyable.

[@huss03]

12AY7 sounds pretty nice

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah especially considering the price, very cool unit!

[@huss03]

Sean Daniel It's a very solid, high density sound through the midrange. Think, chunky, but in a good way.

[@landstrom27]

The UA sounded great on all the instruments, you could definitely tell the compressor was on. The Blue and Ensemble sounded pretty similar, liked both, Blue was a tad warmer. The Electro-Harmonix great on acoustic, nice sounding preamp for the money. The 4-710 you must have had the high pass engaged, sounded scratchy on acoustic, thin on drums, ok though on electric

[@seandaniel23]

+landstrom27 Right on all accounts

[@garyshirinian]

It was a good comparison, however. I'd like to put with Neve also Trident preamp which has Jenson transformers. Thx for sharing.

[@JohnStoutDrums]

Just a heads up - I’m a 4710d owner, they certainly do not sound as bass shy as this video suggests. In the photo of the 4710 you can actually see the low cut in the “on” position. May not have been a photo from this session, but it definitely is on - or - there is a malfunction with the preamp.

[@amaurythewarrior]

oh yeah, i was thinking, it didn't sound right.

[@Bcwilderness]

yip simple the density focus and realism of the big ua, paired withed my prism titan conversion end game for serious home studio that

[@OHHnoYOUdidntMAN]

On the guitar I liked the ensemble best

[@semiografo]

The high-end UA is the one. However, don't know if it's worth for the price. It sounds like an elegantly compressed guitar tube amplifier (my ears are only trained for guitar amps :P). All the others sound nearly the same, that is, like a guitar tube preamp, e.g., a Mesa V-Twin.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah it's pricey but I love it.

[@Brucerelic]

misleading because you didnt disable the low cut on the twinfinity

[@miquifaye]

except for drums , the 6176 smashes the competition. don't know if it's your compression setting but the snare got lost in the drums through the 6176.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah it's probably more the way it's mic'ed.

[@athamz9872]

1st UA 6176 ; 2nd Apogee. I´m glad the 4-710d were not available anymore when I tried to buy one :)

[@seandaniel23]

+Hugo Custódio Reis 6176 all the way

[@omarlegend]

Surprisingly , I liked the blue the most for overall sound.. It was warm, without losing to many transients.. The first UAD was super harsh sounding to me .. The last UAD was nice, but I can't justify the price when the Blue sounds great at 1/4 of the price

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah the Blue sounds great.

[@omarlegend]

which was your favorite?

[@theUglyManowar]

the Blue sounded just like the other non UADs... Which also sounded warm and delicious! I loved how Both UADs had a unique character!

[@petrkorinek9559]

Is it weird that I actually like the Electro Harmonix the most?

[@hbrookes]

Its amazing how some hidden gems can be found, I just sold 2500. worth of preamps that for the life of me I could not hear the difference on genelec monitors!

[@seandaniel23]

Right on. A lot of good stuff out there.

[@PrinceESL]

I'd go with the AY7, unfortunately it's out of production so used prices are pretty much what they were new. Still much cheaper than the alternatives.

[@seandaniel23]

Definitely a cool little box.

[@MisterRorschach90]

I’m honestly surprised uad hasn’t released a stand alone modeling preamp. Not an audio interface. But literally a single unison preamp or a channel strip with a compressor. It’s in the same 19” format as any other preamp, but it’s a modeling preamp and lets you switch it to anything you pay for.

[@lightafluident.9950]

The Art Voice Channel sounds just as good as the UA mic pre. and the UA cost many times more. I know you didn't show the Art, but I just thought I'd give my opinion.

[@EyesackWorley]

The ua makes is better all around for sure, and is the most detailed. The robbie is surprisingly versatile, and the twinfinity seemed pretty good, and the apogee sounded very similar to the robbie but not quite as detailed

[@TruthSeekerAi]

Universal Audio 6176 WINNER INDEED

[@seandaniel23]

Such a great piece of hardware!

[@damned1444]

2:16 - EHX - 3:17 - 4:07 3:01 - UA - 3:57 - 4:35

[@MisterRorschach90]

You are a hero

[@TimKaseyMythHealer]

Listening to this again 8 months later and.... I turned my studio monitor volume up relatively loud. I only listened to highs/mids/lows separately. What is the preamp doing to the high frequencies? turn off your subwoofer, turn your mids & low EQ off, and add some shelving at 12khz.. The LA 610 is unable to transfer transients, and this can be good or bad depending on the song, instrument & what y ou are going for. The electric guitar seems to benefit from the 610. The drums overall seem to benefit but only as parallel compression. I would reserve the 610 as a re-amping device only. You can't get it back once you've destroyed your transients. The Twinfinity seems to be over emphasizing the high mids. This may NOT be a problem especially if the Twinfinity is able to translate high mids with a greater attack than some of the other preamps. This emphasis on the high mids may be good for drum attack, and you can shave off some harshness with compression during the mix. Again, if you don't record with high enough quality, don't expect to fix it in the mix. If the Twinfinity is translating the high mids more accurately, and this may be why it sounds more boosted in the high mids, that might be its nature. It could also be that hybrid solid state setting you've got turned on. Listening more and more to all these preamp shootouts makes me want to purchase a solo channel of: Twinfinity, 610, ISA.... and reap whatever flavor you want before you do your mix.

[@haidar6280]

I've deployed a research team to find out who the fuck asked bro

[@DELLUEdotCOM]

3:46 The lo cut on the Twin was definitely engaged. Pause the video and look at the settings on it

[@blairchatmon3612]

I'm learning that some of this jazz about Pre Amps is a lot of malarkey .

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah as long as it's decent, it'll capture sound pretty accurately.

[@jorgepeterbarton]

its certainly not important in the general signal chain of things. to quote Albini: "i like the preamps on my desk but if it didn't i'd still be using them" referring to the fact he doesn't just use his high end ones but went to other studios with soundcraft and just used that. so as long as its got the right gain and noise ratio i wouldn't be particularly picky. That's the only reason i've bought some more, for using ribbon mics or ambient microphones, or because i want to use a line-in channel. Sometimes a super-high impedance can help dynamics and ribbons but that's about it, like 1k vs 100k ohm. they may as well be good, not even caring about this tube stuff but that seems to be standard--the cheapest is even like an Art Tube MP if you want entry level stuff. Tubes everywhere!

[@Bag-Of-Toys]

This explains a lot. I actually have a 4-710d and always find myself having to pull out a lot of high end. Sadly, the 4-710d sounded the crappiest of all of them. Perhaps it was because of the "Low End" engagedut I'd be surprised if that would have THAT large of an effect on the sound. The hight end of the 4-710d sounds way more pronounced in these test and the low end is extremely lacking...over all it sounds, by far the worst choice of all options.

[@seandaniel23]

+robert Tait I'm not sure if I'd go so far to say it's the worst one, but I do find that I tend to keep it set almost all tube all the time. I think that adds a little more midrange and balances some of that high end you're experiencing.

[@HarmonicMolecues]

The Blue sounds the most natural then then 6176

[@thesonicsolution1976]

As much as I hate to point it out, but the Universal Audio twin-finity is a chinese made Altec-Lansing. I used to know the model number where you could buy it direct from Altec. It's literally the same box/unit with different vent holes. Sad.

[@HighwayNegative]

it makes absolutely no sense to do this kind of test with any features engaged. why on earth would you put compression on one of the examples if you're trying to have a neutral shootout? why would you low-cut some of the preamps and not others?

[@janktonesofficial1310]

The most expensive one sounds warmer to me. Other then that I really do not hear much difference between the cheap and the expensive. At least not enough to blow my bank account for.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah they're all pretty decent actually.

[@MrMasterRhythm]

I wish this demo took a more scientific approach to get the most accurate image of these preamps. Pretty cool anyway!

[@seandaniel23]

Science isn't really my thing :) Thanks for watching though!

[@j.i.weyllandin7439]

I liked the Apogees best, very nice warmth. That said, I also thought the blue sounded exactly the same, the TwinFinity was harsh, the universal Audio was great but a tad too dark for me, and the EHX was totally fine, and all of them are too expensive for me, because none of them seem to do more than an educated mic choice or EQing with a good (not mine) ear. In that sense, this video was very helpful. Thanks!

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for watching!

[@soundknight]

I preferred the 710

[@BobMcCarroll]

The 710 wasn't as boomy - at least on my playback system.

[@DaniTorresOfficial]

I have a 6176, but gonna buy the EH, thanks for the heads-up! ;) Have an LA-610 though, wonder how do these compare together...

[@seandaniel23]

Enjoy the EH! Really cool piece!

[@teamkronic7208]

you look like the villain from goodburger

[@seandaniel23]

Welcome to good burger home of the good burger...

[@joshuafrank869]

DUDE HE DOES!!!

[@joorchampi3346]

UAD!!

[@joorchampi3346]

3176

[@seandaniel23]

Can't beat it!

[@AlighieriIsGeek]

All the Pres sound good except one, The twin finity.

[@seandaniel23]

+BregandoAlSistema Wao You're not the only one who thinks that! I personally prefer the Apogee stock ones the least. @hat about the twinfinity don't you like?

[@AlighieriIsGeek]

From UAD the only one I most like is the 610 Solo because of the warm sound. I would like to purchase one of those but is really difficult to bring such expensive equipment in to this corrupt country.

[@erics2860]

+BregandoAlSistema Wao that escalated quickly😂

[@MichaelMoore-bx6st]

Twinfinity was very thin compared to the others

[@nickcrane8329]

The twinfinity sounded the best IMO

[@Nullllus]

Your room is resonant as fuck, dude. Treat it more.

[@seandaniel23]

Yeah I already have. It was pretty rough.

[@RafaTallicaBR]

Maybe not; he is talking too far from the mic at the beginning

[@tonstudiometzingen]

wow, you get what you pay for. as usual. UA 6176 has much color, but beautiful color and good low end (I am referring to the e-guitar clips). Blue Robbie is not well balanced, Electro harmonix sounds cheap, Apogee is fine, warm and round. Twinfinity is ok.

[@seandaniel23]

100% agree!

[@rmv9194]

really?? So the cheapest sound cheap but the twinfinity is ok? this is just elitism, the twinfinity sound worse.

[@MrSixstringthing]

SHADOW HILLS QUAD GAMA!!! you get a Neve 1073, Api 512C and a wonderful Nickel. This pre is built like a tank, I also own a Api 3124+ and the build quality between them is night and day… the Api fall by the side of the road as far as build Quality ( unless you own a Shadow Hills Quad with the SI mod ) you really can't comment. bot have 4 channels of pre the SH gives you 3 flavors per pre and is military Grade Build with a separate Rack power Supply. Yes remove the power section from the pre's for pure tone. The Api 3124+ is a 1 trick pony may sell it and buy 1 more Quad Gama. Don't get me wrong the Api has it's place but I get it in the quad gama. did the lunch box thing for years and you never get an even distribution of power in a lunch box. You owe it to yourself to take one for a test drive $4500. for the pre's and $550. for the power section that will support 2 Quad Gamas

[@seandaniel23]

I've heard such good things about that.

[@kevinheydenrych5150]

Yeah, I thing UA 6176 has the edge. But i also like the apogee and blue pre-amps. Don't like the twifininty much at all

[@seandaniel23]

+Kevin Heydenrych 6176 is my go-to for pretty much any source.

[@kevinheydenrych5150]

+Sean Daniel Body wise, I think the three I mentioned above have a similar "body". But I think the 6176 handles the transients with more confidence. It sparkles that little bit more. Very informative shootout. Thanks