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Grace Felix V Headway EDB-2/ Headway EDM-1 V ?
How much better as a stage tool is the Felix than the Headway? What can it do that the Headway can’t? What can it do that the Headway can do but do better? Is there anything the Headway can do that the Felix can’t?
As a belt wearable preamp of small size and weight, is there anything that rivals the EDM-1 in quality? Thankyou. |
#2
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I had the EDB-1 and it was a noisy unit using TL062 op amp if I remember well. The unit EDB-2 is less noisy with probably TL072 but you can see there is a strategy to avoid the "noise" (search noise in the manual: it is frightening)
The specs talk (the EDB-1 did not have noise specs) EDB2 Master at 2 O'clock CH1 20dB gain, noise: -90 dB CH2 30dB gain, noise: -84dB Total Harmonic Distortion <0.05% Grace Felix has better specs by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude... 60 dB gain, noise <-128dB Total Harmonic Distortion <0.0045% at 10 dB gain Total Harmonic Distortion <0.005% at 20 dB gain Total Harmonic Distortion <0.01% at 60 dB gain My EDB-1 had noise features comparable to my old 4-track Tascam portastudio with K7. I'd say EDB-2 has to be seen as a portable device made to work on batteries... Its performance can't be compared even with a Yamaha MG mixer (check the numbers). At the end of the day, it does the same job... just differently.
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Martin 00-18V Goldplus + internal mic (2003) Martin OM-28V + HFN + internal mic (1999) Eastman E6OM (2019) Trance Audio Amulet Yamaha FGX-412 (1998) Gibson Les Paul Standard 1958 Reissue (2013) Fender Stratocaster American Vintage 1954 (2014) http://acousticir.free.fr/ |
#3
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I have the EDB2. It is a fine sounding preamp which can run on mains as well as battery power.
Headway understands how to amplify acoustic sound and many superb musicians in the U.K. use them. It won’t compete against the Felix though as that is studio quality. But in the real gigging world the EDB2 is pretty decent. This unit is designed to blend an outboard mic and pickup rather than blending on onboard mic. I’ve never had problems with noise either the #1 or #2 either through a PA or a guitar amp - I’m gigging at least once a week. It is a fine product if it serves your need. It’s not a Felix but then it is far more affordable!
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------ AJ Lucas Pavilion Sweep fan fret Santa Cruz OM/E (European Pre War) Martin J40 |
#4
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BTW I also have an EDM1 and am using that pretty regularly as well (as it is powered by phantom power). It is not quite as silky as it’s big brother but it is a very usable unit.
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------ AJ Lucas Pavilion Sweep fan fret Santa Cruz OM/E (European Pre War) Martin J40 |
#5
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The noise was ok with an already preamplified pickup... Which was useless for me. There are many people on the AGF who were happy with those units. This is one of the reason I gave the EDB-1 a try. It just did not work for me. Actually I remember clearly my bandmate getting a better tone out of his old Fishman EQ Pro II than from my EDB-1. Again I can't say for the EDB-2. Here is the 1st page of the EDB-2 user guide It says clearly "Now offering reduced noise levels". If they changed their design to reduce the noise levels, I guess it means I was not the only one who had noise problems with the EDB-1. I don't gig much either, Cuki See a link with a similar experience as mine with the EDB-1 http://www.paulwalster.com/index.php?page=2
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Martin 00-18V Goldplus + internal mic (2003) Martin OM-28V + HFN + internal mic (1999) Eastman E6OM (2019) Trance Audio Amulet Yamaha FGX-412 (1998) Gibson Les Paul Standard 1958 Reissue (2013) Fender Stratocaster American Vintage 1954 (2014) http://acousticir.free.fr/ Last edited by Cuki79; 08-20-2018 at 03:35 PM. |
#6
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Fair enough but I’d rather trust my ears! The 2 has a better sound than the 1 but I never found the 1 any noisier than my previous Fishman units!
The EDM1 is also pretty good for its price. Previously Headway produced a very decent acoustic amp. There is a new one on the way which they are very excited about. I would never claim any piece of kit is the best but these do sound very good and the 5 band eq on the 2 is very effective - if you have the time to set up or have a well dialled in basic sound.
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------ AJ Lucas Pavilion Sweep fan fret Santa Cruz OM/E (European Pre War) Martin J40 |
#7
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Felix has a ton of features that I don't believe the EDB-2 has (at least last time I saw one). A big one is that the EDB-2 can only eq one channel or the other, or the overall mix. Felix supports full separate EQ of both channels. There are many more features, Felix is surprisingly complex and configurable. Manuals for both should be online (Felix is for sure), so you should be able to compare the 2 and decide if the difference in features matters for your application. I thought the headway was a nice-sounding preamp when I last tried it, but there were a number of quirks, especially the 1-channel eq that made it not ideal for my dual source setups.
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#8
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That is right / Headway really don’t think much about eq-img two separate signals. It’s not a problem when using external mics which can be positioned well.
As Doug says it is a nice sounding preamp but not in the same league as the Felix. In a different price category but for many of us it is fine!
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------ AJ Lucas Pavilion Sweep fan fret Santa Cruz OM/E (European Pre War) Martin J40 |
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#13
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I use Grace Felix or a Red-Eye Twin (battery and phantom-powered).
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#14
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I recall being somewhere between amused and annoyed that the EDB-2 manual devotes at least an entire page to preaching about the evils of internal microphones and how no one should ever use one (tell Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence Juber, Don Ross, on and on...). It kind of alerted me that, although the preamp would support what I needed, it most definitely was not designed for that application. I believe the power the headway provides, which will work with most electret mics, is actually meant to support a headway pickup system that needs power, so the fact that is supports a mic that needs power is kind of accidental.
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#15
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I would add "Why using a digital reverb when you can have Tonedexter!" lol Cuki
__________________
Martin 00-18V Goldplus + internal mic (2003) Martin OM-28V + HFN + internal mic (1999) Eastman E6OM (2019) Trance Audio Amulet Yamaha FGX-412 (1998) Gibson Les Paul Standard 1958 Reissue (2013) Fender Stratocaster American Vintage 1954 (2014) http://acousticir.free.fr/ |