Members umkcprof Posted September 10, 2005 Members Share Posted September 10, 2005 Hi all. . . I just received my Manley Voxbox today (courtesy of ebay, of course) so here's my initial report: I appear to have obtained the latest version (deep purple face plate; the original purchase date was late April of this year) of the unit. The seller promised bulletproof packing, and he didn't lie. Original box, all original packing materials, the manual, and the cord (remarkably, the seller of my Manley Variable-Mu somehow forgot to send the cord!). This thing can't have but a few hours of use. It looks brand new, and at 1/3 off the usual Sweetwater price, a seemingly decent buy.) There are currently two other Voxboxs on ebay at this very moment, both of which appear to be in similarly fine shape. Man, this thing sounds great! The preamp section is certainly absolutely first rate and the opto compressor also seems to work like a charm (I like the "LA-2A" setting a lot). I'd say that the preamp seems slightly brighter than my UA 6176 but also is less precise than my Grace 101s. I'm not sure I can make the De-esser do a decent job at its intended purpose, but I suspect that the major reason for that is that my speech isn't too sibillant (sp?) using the Soundelux iFET7. (I'll try it with the Manley Gold tomorrow to see if that makes a difference. . . that mike seems to have a much more extended top end.) Perhaps some of our contributors know a trick or two for using the De-esser. Or, perhaps, it doesn't really work at all. :-) The EQ? Well, I never use EQ on vocals (if I can manage to stay on pitch, I like my voice), but I'll try the EQ out on bass and guitar tomorrow. The limiter on the De-esser section also works quite well and really clamps down on the signal with n'er an objectional artifact. Overall, I'd give this unit two thumbs up so far. If I discover anything else I think is of significant import (as if this report could measure up to such a standard!), I'll put in an update. Next week, my Buzz Audio SOC 1.1 opto compressor (also courtesy of ebay) will arrive, and I'm very anxious to see how that one works on a variety of sources, including the 2-bus. I have heard nothing but very positive things about that compressor. I hope it's all true! As always, thanks for all of your advice and counsel. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 Nice review Steve. Please keep us posted on how you like it with the Manley Gold Reference mic. And also let us know what you think of the Buzz after you get a chance to put it through its paces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 BTW, the top of the Manley is definitely more extended than it is with the iFET7... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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