neve 9098 or brent averill 312a

[Radd]

Has anyone tried both of these mic pres?
From what I understand, they are both excellent.
I'm looking for a comparison or extra info to help me decide.

I read from a poster on Gearslutz that the 312a actually sounds better
than the API 512 from which it is cloned.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Sound wise, it's all pretty subjective. Brent Averill has a great reputation, however.

Really, you can't go wrong with either, or many other high end preamps out there.

 

[Matt Crooks]

I have two 1272s from Averill they've not ever let me down. I would suggest trying them both out first. BA has a 10 day return poicy, as do a lot of stores, that way you can try them both out and keep the one(s) you like.

 

[Exsanguis]

Overall, I prefer the Brent Averill to the 9098. Just a little more personality, but basically they're both great pre's. As far as the 312 sounding better than the 512, I dunno about that, they both sound great and are very identifiable as having the "API sound," whatever that may be. The API 3124 is a fantastic value and sounds great, and the lunchbox with 512's or a combination of other 500 series modules is just as good quality.

 

[Radd]

Thanks for sharing. I still need to ponder this a bit more.

 

[egan.]

I would suggest doing some searches to find samples of the pre's ( http://www.thelisteningsessions.com ?). As others have said, those are very different sounding pre's so you should try to get a feel for each.