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Double Bass Edb-2, Felix, Abox II
- Thread starter day82
- Start date
I have reviewed all three of those units. They all do a good job at what they do, but the Headway unit is not constructed as strongly as the other two, probably at least in part because it is significantly cheaper. The knobs on the Abox and Felix are much smoother and I suspect are attached to both the frame and the board, while on the Headway unit they feel like they are connected directly to the board without also being anchored to the frame.
I had both the EDB-2 and the Felix and had a chance to compare them.
The Felix was definitely cleaner (less hiss when listening in on headphones in a silent room) but I don’t think you would ever hear that difference in an actual live setting. I’ve not had a problem with noisy pots yet.
The Felix also lets you EQ both channels independently, has two independent DIs, and 48v phantom.
I think both have the essentials features you need to get a good sound when blending a mic and pickup for DB. I don’t really think the Felix sounded more musical — just marginally cleaner.
FWIW, I kept the EDB-2 and sold the Felix. The portability of the EDB-2 (size, weight, battery powered) and much lower cost made the EDB-2 a keeper for me.
Sometimes I still GAS for the Felix or ABox, but in the meantime I’ve been throwing the EDB-2 in the pocket of my bass bag and using it with all kinds of amps and venues. It gets the job done for me.
The Felix was definitely cleaner (less hiss when listening in on headphones in a silent room) but I don’t think you would ever hear that difference in an actual live setting. I’ve not had a problem with noisy pots yet.
The Felix also lets you EQ both channels independently, has two independent DIs, and 48v phantom.
I think both have the essentials features you need to get a good sound when blending a mic and pickup for DB. I don’t really think the Felix sounded more musical — just marginally cleaner.
FWIW, I kept the EDB-2 and sold the Felix. The portability of the EDB-2 (size, weight, battery powered) and much lower cost made the EDB-2 a keeper for me.
Sometimes I still GAS for the Felix or ABox, but in the meantime I’ve been throwing the EDB-2 in the pocket of my bass bag and using it with all kinds of amps and venues. It gets the job done for me.
Agreed with all the above,
When you compare the EDB-2 to the Grace Designs Felix, the Felix has two independant channels with all the bells and whistles. It's essentialy a dual channel studio board module, adapted
for live performance. The Headway is a very portable small preamp, with some great features, and at it's price point the best. If you dropped the EDB-2 it could take out the entire unit, and I know
from experience that repairing it can be very tricky. Additionally, you have to ship it to England (unless Headway has a repair service in the US now) and that's an expensive proposition.
The Grace is very easy to fix and has a 5 year warranty, I know from personal experience with the Grace that it is easy to repair, because the
Op Amp for my Amp Out failed, and Grace repaired it and turned it around in less than a week.
When you compare the EDB-2 to the Grace Designs Felix, the Felix has two independant channels with all the bells and whistles. It's essentialy a dual channel studio board module, adapted
for live performance. The Headway is a very portable small preamp, with some great features, and at it's price point the best. If you dropped the EDB-2 it could take out the entire unit, and I know
from experience that repairing it can be very tricky. Additionally, you have to ship it to England (unless Headway has a repair service in the US now) and that's an expensive proposition.
The Grace is very easy to fix and has a 5 year warranty, I know from personal experience with the Grace that it is easy to repair, because the
Op Amp for my Amp Out failed, and Grace repaired it and turned it around in less than a week.
