If the Pleiades V6 is the best pre preamp in the world...

giving a high perceived bandwidth...


And so much detail that 70's mics sound over detailed with too much HF...


What now, should one start testing 40's, 50's 60's mics. It is getting out of control.


Should one start testing apple and biscuit (STC, Western Electric mic), saltshaker (Altec mic). It is getting out of control.


On a recent euroelectron post a Grampian DP4/L was tested and it was a jaw dropping experience.


When it was directly connected to Sony TC-D5 the sound was lacking so treble but when it was connected as...


Signal Path, setup:


male singing voice 2-8in - Grampian DP4/L - BBC step up transformer to step the 25ohms to around 100 ohms - Pleiades V6 - Sony TC-D5 Pro - Sennheiser HD 580


The sound was as detailed as it could be. Amazing but nor overemphasized bass. Smooth treble. details highs.


Does this hint a reason why 40's recordings sound so great? Not those transfered from &8s to digital. But from master magnetic tape to digital.


Were a lot of omni (pressure) moving coil microphone used to feed electron tubes or electronic valves?


Years ago listened on BBC radio 3 great sounding piano with cello or violin.Amazing sound quality with every possible detail. So live sounding.At the end of the peace the usual excellent and calm BBC anouncer's voice coming from a female anouncer. "This was Sergei Rachmaninov himself playinghis composition..."


Is it also that Fletcher Manson curves and voice or instrument effort curves have to be taken into account? Otherwise the end result is exagerated in bass and treble.


See also the euroelectron post on audio aphorisms and on the disaster of adding more than one bathtub frequency response curves.


Flat must not be from mic to loudspeaker. Flat frequency response must be from producer's brain to listener's brain.


Great microphones of the past. Is it the same story as the historic lenses on cameras such as Laica, Zeis Ikon...Hand made and polished depicting the past in every imaginable detail on amazing photographs


And it is nice that microphones are not easily damaged as lenses are. For example when cleaning a vintage lens and the imopedance matching coating may...


 Reference:


Flat frequency response from singer's, actor's vocal chords to listener's brain, Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Journal of Motion Picture Sound Engineers