not wanting to perpetuate "rumor" but here's some more hearsay on the issue ;D
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"And this is the tranny that people associate the 1073/84 Neve sound with. It's has a large effect on the sound, much much more so than the input trannys. Alas, it's also the tranny cloner's have had the hardest time getting 'cloned'. Latest word was that AMS-Neve finally nailed it per se and that only they get the 'special' LO1166, while others get a different LO1166 (included BAE)."
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Tony Belmont in response: "Just an as an FYI, that rumor is total BS... Carnhill only makes one 10468 and one L01166 model... The only thing that makes it special is that they put a sticker on it that says "AMS-Neve". "
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"Could be....I certainly have no insider info on this......I just heard the rumor.
And BTW, what year was it that Carnhill nailed the LO1166? Was there 2 versions, early and late? 'cos they were making/cloning them for a while...."
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"yeah, there is something in print somewhere from neve about having a special deal with carnhill. possibly b.s., or not, who knows?
anyhow, i think one could just call carnhill and ask the appropriate questions to the appropriate people and find out for oneself, rather than having us guessing at it, no?"
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Tony Belmont in response: "That's exactly what I did when the rumor first started."
..more from Tony: "As a follow up to the AMS Neve special transformer thing.... I now have a letter from the MANAGER of Quality and Sales at Carnhill in my possession, which directly addresses the "special transformer" rumor... it states quite simply the following (I have paraphrased):
Carnhill/ St Ives have been manufacturing the same products for what is now called "vintage audio" since the 70's. And these products have undergone various minor changes up until the present day.
There is only ONE assembly line for these transformers. The only change which has taken place for the AMS Neve transformers is the GREEN PAINT for the mic/ line transformers outer cans. Other companies receive BLUE PAINT on the outer cans of these transformers.
This is the ONLY difference between an AMS Neve purchase with Carnhill and any of their competitor's. In 2004, various tolerances were "tightened up", and this was carried out GLOBALLY.
In a nut shell NO ONE gets any better or worse product or ANY TYPE of VARIANCE of a product from Carnhill. They are ALL the same.
Anyone who says anything otherwise is full of BS. "
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"Who specifically did you speak to at Carnhill... What is their name? This is how rumors get perpetuated on the internet.... some guy heard from some other guy that they sprinkle magic fairy dust on "X" thing.
The Managing Director of Quality and Sales Rodger German wrote the letter I have. He is second in command at the company and has been there for 30+ years.
You can think they sprinkle magic fairy dust on them if you want... it's your choice."
LO 1166, the print here shows LI 1166? Looks like LI 1166 is same as LO 2567 but gapped?