Having both output transformers right next to each other in the bottom of the mic has some potential for crosstalk too. It also introduced some crosstalk as the signal ran past the bottom element and its strong magnets. This proved difficult to ‘DIY’ gracefully. “When mic elements are stacked on top of each other and wired to a single connector at the bottom, the wiring from the top element must run past the bottom element. I contacted owner Rick Wilkinson, who gave some insight to this rather unique design: As you can see it's way more simpler than the 1081 (and it's 2 channels).The option that stood out the most to me however is their stereo “True Blumlein” kit, a center-point, fixed angle offering. In the attachment is a pic of the api 312 style preamp i am working on. I just heard that Neve is cool so i took it But even with all the work i don't regret it. To be honest i didn't know what i was getting into starting this project. Not to forget that resale value is non-existent for DIY gear (exceptions seems to be those clowns flooding ebay with SSL comps). If you are a recording engineer getting paid for work and you think about the hours building a piece of equipment when you could do paid work in the meantime it's better to forget DIY. So in the end it gets me gear i really can't even think of buying. But i do all this recording just as a hobby and i enjoy DIY big time. If you count your time into it it's not worth it.
Of course you can't even dream of buying a real one for this amount. My guess is that if i get this project working (or to encourage myself i should say WHEN i get this project working) i will have about $600-700 in it. That is if you don't count the time you will put into (and the amount is huge).
Well i only sort of agree to your statement about the money. If i would have done it, you could expect half of it to be wrong. With a project as complex as this is it's really good work that he only got those errors. I am really thankful to him for all the work he put into it. I don't want to blame the guy who did all the work in the first place. Yes this is possibly the worst entry project you can think of (actually i guess the real worst would be diy'ing a Fairchild 670 heh ). I think NRGRecording is down to the 5th revision of the wiring diagram. Also the connections for all the switches aren't 100% correct. There are several wrong values for parts marked. The main problem lies in the documentation. Well the boards are ok (i think, can't confirm). Also got the board and iron from the groupbuys over there. I already posted that pic on the prodigypro forum. So right now i am finishing my Api 312 style preamps. Anyway since then i found out that the project data is quite wrong in many places so i need to rework quite a bit. The only thing indicating it was one was the output amp getting very hot. Some time ago i made the first test and nothing worked, no signal got through. You need the right iron (i used Carnhill iron which is the best alternative if you can't find any original Marinair iron, Carnhill is the successor of Marinair and from what i get the stuff AMS Neve uses now), you need 3 deck gain switches (mines from Elma which was alone around $70 just for the switch). Yes those neve projects are getting very expensive. Not as hard as i planned from the beginning to go the route of using a normal rack case rather than one of those original sized module cases.
As you can see i left out all those expensive and hard to find dual concentric switches. I am working now on my 1081 for more than several months. Whatever you do don't try the 1081! Many have and are slowly going insane! Just joking but really its a very hard project to clone.