[24-96 Mastering]

bigaudioblowhard wrote on Sun, 16 January 2011 00:08

"Herr Capitain, fir limitschwein zulage!"

On behalf of all Germans, I object to this stereotypical portrayal, jawohl!



On the HEDD: I'm with jdg on the converters. When I compared, I thought them to be not handling transient peaks close at high levels in a way i cared for; I found it softens them a bit when approaching full scale. Maybe that's what people mean when they say the HEDD handles overs graciously?

The processing options I use a bit, maybe on 5% of projects; though very subtly (usually no higher than 1).

Schnitzel.

[lowland]

Viitalahde wrote on Sun, 16 January 2011 12:23

I love my HEDD. Great set of converters - and I liked the HEDD converters the least in the GS converter tests. Somehow I still manage to cope with them..

That made me laugh! The HEDD never seems to do especially well in converter tests, but that doesn't matter a hoot to me in terms of everyday usage - the unit just has that certain something, and on the (mercifully brief) occasions when I had to soldier on without it I got withdrawal symptoms.

[Bonati]

I just used the Hedd A/D for the first time in a while. My partner took our Prism AD-2 on a little trip for some archive transfer work. Hooked up the Hedd and used it on about 4-5 sessions in a row. Sounded great and didn't change the way I work at all. If the Prism has to leave again I won't be feeling handicapped.

[Matt_G]

24-96 Mastering wrote on Mon, 17 January 2011 01:23

On the HEDD: I'm with jdg on the converters. When I compared, I thought them to be not handling transient peaks close at high levels in a way i cared for; I found it softens them a bit when approaching full scale. Maybe that's what people mean when they say the HEDD handles overs graciously? The processing options I use a bit, maybe on 5% of projects; though very subtly (usually no higher than 1).

I'd agree with these comments whole heartedly. The HEDD 192 was my first set of converters, I had the D/A board upgraded but never bothered with the A/D. That aside, it rated fairly well in my recent GS converter poll. In actual use though it does seem to compress transients a little on the A/D side for some reason compared to other units & so it can sound a little pushed or squashed when going for level in that regard.

I remember doing an album for a client with the HEDD converters & then getting the Lavry Gold A/D just after that project & when I was asked to master a radio edit of one of the songs from that album, I did it through the same logged settings but captured through the Lavry Gold instead. When the client heard it he rang me & asked what I'd changed & when I explained it was only the AD converter he was amazed. He actually paid me to re-run the whole album through the Lavry Gold AD because there was more detail & in his words "sounds more expensive". Since then I've sold the Lavry bought a PM Model 2 which I rated better than the Lavry, but now have a sale pending on the PM Model 2 unit & running Forssell exclusively & it's even more revealing of transient detail than any of the other units I've had in here. Superior imaging, detail & a very tight low end. The headroom is marvellous, very open & no signs of stress.

I still have the HEDD & on occasion, maybe 5% of jobs I use the processing but very little & if I do it's usually a touch of pentode. The D/A is pretty good & I used it in conjunction with the Lavry Gold AD for sometime. Now I have 2 Forssell units; one for my analog loop; the other is my main monitoring DAC.

What can I say, I'm a drummer & transient detail is very important imo.
 

 

[jdg]

Matt_G wrote on Sat, 22 January 2011 06:37

I'm a drummer

its ok, nobody is perfect  

[Matt_G]

jdg wrote on Sun, 23 January 2011 04:09

Matt_G wrote on Sat, 22 January 2011 06:37 I'm a drummer its ok, nobody is perfect

Of course not, but pretty damn close is good enough for me

I was waiting for all the drummer jokes...

[Table Of Tone]

Matt_G wrote on Sun, 23 January 2011 14:00

jdg wrote on Sun, 23 January 2011 04:09 Matt_G wrote on Sat, 22 January 2011 06:37 I'm a drummer its ok, nobody is perfect   Of course not, but pretty damn close is good enough for me I was waiting for all the drummer jokes...

A drummer goes into a music shop and asks the guy behind the counter how much is that red saxophone?

The guy replies, "Why do you want a saxophone? You're a drummer'
The drummer replies, "How do you know?"
The guy replies, "Because that's a fire extinguisher!"

[Matt_G]

ba-dom.. tish!

[HDTT]

Be honest here I have used Mytek, Weiss, DAD now Hedd and it's a VERY good sounding ADC & DAC, I master Classical work mostly archival material for audiophiles and needless to say picky customers and it does the job, I don't use any tape emulations, really don't like them anyway, as a straight ADC it is up there with the best.
The way I bumped into the HEDD is my DAD went back for service and and took a unreasonable amount of time (and I still haven't gotten it back, all you DAD owners hopefully your unit doesn't give you trouble if it does it will take a few months to get it back) so Ryan at Vintage recommend I give it a try and I got to say I have been impressed I might even sell my DAD, If I ever get it back

[Joe_Caithness]

I have nothing to add other than reading this confirms I really want one.

[Viitalahde]

The speaker upgrad and the room change made me use less HEDD processing, as well as driving my Knif compressor less.

It didn't make me appreciate the HEDD as a converter any less - maybe even more so.

[Ruairi O'Flaherty]

Like everyone here I've found that I use less and less of the processing over time and when I last upgraded my amps I took a big step back from using it.  I still like to use a little on the 2 bus(s) when mixing.  

When I do use it it's nearly always a touch of Pentode, Tape can be fun for tracking or truly anemic mixes, Triode is awful to my ears.

I'm just about to set up a Sadie rig and for various reasons I'm considering a swap out of the Hedd for something else, at the moment I only use the A/D.... I'll do some listening and report back at some point.

Cheers,
Ruairi

[Patrik T]

Viitalahde wrote on Tue, 08 February 2011 21:10

The speaker upgrad and the room change made me use less HEDD processing, as well as driving my Knif compressor less.

This has happened here too. I love it. A combination of more precise gear and better room response.

It's also a true joy to find that you just-can-not dial in anything on the tracks that are more or less perfect for their own good.


All the best
Patrik

[Alécio Costa - Brazil]

Pentode to me seems to let things brittle. Nothing against Triode, although it misimproves noise foor a bit.
Tape is used most of the time.

[Bonati]

For those using the Hedd as their primary A/D/A, have you clocked the A/D path differently than the D/A path? I've heard this is possible but haven't experimented yet on my own.