Millennia started off as a recording and production company for classical music. When they discovered that most recording gear on the market exhibited coloration, they created the Millennia HV-3 preamp—a transparent, colorless preamp that could accurately capture acoustic instruments. The Millennia HV-3R, a neutral and clean-sounding preamp, is able to bring out the subtleties of the instrument, room, and microphone. The HV-3R is the same preamp design as the two-channel HV-3C and the four- and eight-channel HV-3D.
Millennia HV-3R
The Millennia HV-3R has a clear and easy-to-use interface with all the features you would expect to find on a great preamp. You can manually select a channel and then choose from the selections on the left of the preamp that include mute, polarity reverse, pad, 48v phantom power (on or off), as well as link. Link connects channels together for stereo recording, and then you can simultaneously adjust the gain or other features.
Millennia 8 Channel HV-3D
On the back panel of the HV-3R there is an Ethernet port for connecting remotely to a PC using AE Logic or other Mac software. There is a midi connection that allows the unit to connect directly to Pro Tools, as well as an outstanding, optional A/D card that connects to your Pro Tools rig’s AES inputs. There are 8 XLR ins and outs standard, but two optional sets of 8-channel DB25 line outputs may be installed, making it possible for backup and redundant outputs while monitoring or working on location. The reserve bank and serial port are for potential upgrades by Millennia in the future.
It is also possible to switch the preamp into remote mode. You can then control the Millennia HV-3R’s features through Pro Tools. This is possible if the HV-3R is nearby the computer workstation or far away from it. If you click on the polarity, pad, 48-volt phantom power buttons, etc., you will see that the HV-3R simultaneously engages those selections. Although the roll-off and instrument buttons in Pro Tools do not control the HV-3R, everything else does, including the preamp gain. The HV-3R connects digitally to the Pro Tools interface, but uses its own A to D converters.
Millennia 2 Channel HV-3C
Here at Sound Pure Studios, the Millennia is our go-to preamp when we want to get a great, transparent recording. It allows us to capture microphone and instrument exactly as we hear them. Check out our YouTube channel and watch the many videos that utilize this great preamp.