[Harp-L] Audix Impedance Matching Transformer revisited

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

I said in an earlier post about IMTs that all the ones I had tried  
were pretty good and sounded about the same, except for an Audix IMT-- 
the one i tried produced a very weak signal that was significantly  
diminished in volume and tone and I didn't know if that particular  
one was a defective unit.

Well, Randy Singer had Audix send me another one to try, and the  
first one must have been defective because this one sounds fine and  
seems to be a quality piece of gear. The connectors are gold plated  
and, most important, it works well.

I may do more detailed A/B comparisons when i have more time, but if  
any one is interested, my initial impressions are as follows (using a  
Shure 545 Ultimate and an Audix Fireball V--both are lo-z mics which  
I carry for performance--played through the Audix IMT and a Peavey  
rat tail IMT made by Neutrik):

With either mic, the Audix IMT has more clarity and a somewhat  
cleaner, more even, and "tighter" or more focused tonal response.  
Probably more accurate, and it colors the sound a little less than  
the Peavy/Neutrik IMT.

I happened to have my performing rig set up my living room because I  
was fiddling with the pedal board (SWR Baby Baby Blue acoustic bass  
amp with an EH MicroPog, DLS RotoSim, Wampler AnalogEcho Delay and a  
recently added RetroSonic Phaser first in chain on a pedal board  
between the mic and the amp).  The delay stays on all the time.  i  
don't always use the other pedals but i will turn them on singly or  
in combination for different voices on certain material. The SWR is   
solid state w/a tube preamp stage.

Into the pedal board, I prefer the Audix--it sounds a little tighter,  
more even and more musical. Straight into the SWR I prefer the less  
distinct and slightly "thicker" sound of the Peavey/Neutrik, which  
has a little more body and texture--probably because it seems to be a  
little less transparent.

i also had my Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue tube amp out in another  
room so i plugged straight into that. Closer call, but I think the  
Audix IMT sounds a little better than the Peavey/Neutrik straight  
into that amp because it's tighter and more transparent--and through  
that rig, I get enough "texture" from the tubes in the amp. (I'm not  
a bullet mic user and i don't set up for distortion).

Now, these are not night and day differences, but they are definitely  
audible.  The Audix is probably the higher quality piece of gear, but  
they both work fine, and I don't think optimum hi-fi is always  
desirable for diatonic harp. For example, I prefer the sound of a  
Shure 545 to a Shure SM 57 for electrified harmonica even though the  
SM 57 is unquestionably a smoother and higher quality mic.  On the  
other hand, i prefer the more transparent sound of a Fireball or  
Fireball V for playing less "electric" material. It depends on the  
application. Same sort of difference with these IMTs.

Anyway, Audix didn't charge me for the IMT, but this review isn't  
quid pro quo.  Randy asked me to compare it to the IMT i usually use  
and post my honest impressions, so i have. Since i diss'd the Audix  
earlier, it's only fair to let people know that one must have been a  
defective unit. This one is a very decent sounding rat tail IMT.

FWIW.

JP