M-Audio DMP3 Complaints

[famous beagle]

Ok, I've owned one of these for several years now, and it's worked fine as a good, transparent, clean pre, which is what everyone says it will do. My complaints aren't about the sound; they're about the design. I'm wondering if others have had these same complaints.

1) The VU meters are set too far back! You have to have the unit near head level in order to see the numbers. I don't see why they did this. Who normally has their equipment that high? I suppose you could put it in a table-top rack, but ... see #2.

2) All inputs on back. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but the unit is designed for both direct recording and mic use, which is how I use it. I first thought, "No problem, I'll stick it in my rack (up high!), wire the TRS jacks into my patch bay, and leave two 3 ft XLR cables dangling to plug into when I want to use a mic.

Ah, but that doesn't work, because once you plug a cable into the TRS 1/4" jack, the XLR jack for that channel is disabled!

So ... the unit has to sit out somewhere so that the back is accessible. This could have been solved by either changing that XLR-shorting design or by putting the jacks on the front. Granted, it wouldn't look pretty having chords dangling from it in front of a rack, but the way it is now, if you want to use it for both mics and direct, it's either gotta sit out on a desk top somewhere and take up valuable real estate, or you've gotta crawl behind your rack every time you want to record direct.

Am I missing something? Does anyone have a solution to this?

Grrrr.

 

[Daveg62]

I don't have one any longer, but as I recall this pre is pretty darn good for the price they go for. Those design flaws have a lot to do with why I upgraded to more expensive units. I guess it's just a trade-off you have to live with. Still a very decent 2 channel pre-amp for the price. Sorry, don't know of any solutions other than to locate the unit so you can get to the back more easily.

 

[Weasel9992]

Ah, but that doesn't work, because once you plug a cable into the TRS 1/4" jack, the XLR jack for that channel is disabled!

Well...yeah. I don't know of a preamp where you can use the mic input and the line input at the same time...unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying...

Frank

 

[crazydoc]

Well...yeah. I don't know of a preamp where you can use the mic input and the line input at the same time...unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying...

Frank

I think he's saying you can't have them both plugged in, and toggle between them from the front.

 

[Weasel9992]

I think he's saying you can't have them both plugged in, and toggle between them from the front.

Ah...yeah, there are a few that do that.

Frank

 

[famous beagle]

Ah...yeah, there are a few that do that.

Frank

Ah...yeah, there are a few that do that.

Frank

Yeah, I was just saying .... if you want to use the pre as both a mic pre and a direct recording box (not at the same time, obviously), you're going to have to repatch each time. This means, unless you like crawling into the back of your rack every time, you've got to sit the unit on a desktop somewhere so that it's accessible.

The reason this just came up after 2 years of owning the thing is that I finally sat down and got my patchbay all wired up, and, though I was able to wire the DMP3's outputs into the bay, I would have loved to wire the TRS 1/4" jacks into it as well and then just plug into the patch bay when I wanted to record direct. But since having a plug in the 1/4" jack disables the XLR input, and I use those the DMP3 my main mic pre, I can't do that.

And what's the deal with the meters being so far back? Doesn't that bug anyone else?

This is the best solution I've come up with so far. I didn't have the desk room, so I had to build a shelf for it. (See right). I've got easy access to the back, though I still have to bend down a good ways to see the meters when I'm in my chair.

 

[second skin]

And what's the deal with the meters being so far back? Doesn't that bug anyone else?

i don't think anyone really uses the meters. from what everyone that i've heard from has said they are basically just fancy lights. on mine they don't even really move until i'm clipping my converters anyway.

as for the not being able to use the DI and mic inputs at the same time i never use the built in DIs on most pres anyway. external DI box straight in to the mic inputs. also an xlr patch panel is a really good way to have access to all of your inputs without having messy chords all over the place.

really my only gripe with the DMP is that it is 1 3/4 inches high and therefore it won't go in the rack without leaving an extra space above it anyway.

 

[Shadow_7]

My main gripe is that there's only one phantom power button that affects both channels. But that's nothing new I guess.

The VU meters are pretty useless unless you're using some dynamic or ribbon mic that needs the high gain to affect those meters. Although I can't really complain for the price (relative to the competition). I've tried selling mine, but not much interest for it on craigslist with the newer and prettier black one out.

 

[dickiefunk]

Yeah I wish it was 1u high, had individual phantom power and had 2 ouputs per channel for direct monitoring.

Oh well. guess we can't have everything for $159. At least it's design more practical than the Rane MS-1s.

 

[darrin_h2000]

I think that all this stuff should be rackmountable anyhow...like we dont have enough crap on our desks

I think this is a fine deal for the price...just there is another at this price point that is so much more useful...this is merely a clean pre...the Line6 UX2 does alot more for the same price...and it has a digital out so DAWs with digital ins get capability for 2 additional inputs.

 

[second skin]

...

 

[darrin_h2000]

Just saying that you can spend your money for something that just turns up the level of the mic...or something that will do a whole lot more than that.

 

[davidguevara80]

I think that all this stuff should be rackmountable anyhow...like we dont have enough crap on our desks.

Call me Crazy but that it is a reason because i didn't buy one Yet... I don't have Space on my desktop.

 

[second skin]

Call me Crazy but that it is a reason because i didn't buy one Yet... I don't have Space on my desktop.

i just leave an empty space in my rack and sit it on top of another unit. i figure by the time i have every space filled i wont need the dmp anymore

 

[darrin_h2000]

Im at a point where Im looking at my next purchase to be my last...so Im getting the best stuff I can get...and Im working off the assumption that it is better to recomend something at a price point that will take you the farthest than a safe popular thing like this one...Ive had a DMP3 and it passed through here pretty quick...and I have to say the 8 channel I got right after is cleaner than that 2 channel peice...so why not go for the Yamaha MLA7.

 

[Shadow_7]

It depends on how you define best. At $500 and down you get functional. At $1,000-ish you get clean. Beyond that and you get more of a personal taste / preference. With all of the exceptions of course. And that's just for 2 channels IMO, arguably just one in some cases.

My next mic pre will likely be a Sonosax SX-M2, but mainly because it's supposed to be better. And is battery powered so I can better distribute my battery demands by letting the sonosax handle the phantom power. And the field recorder handle the recording. Although I'm not likely to call it the last pre I'll ever get. It's just a tool to help me reach a goal.

As the goal evolves, so will the tools to accomplish it. I'm fairly happy with what I've got. But I'm not going for that pro, can handle any situation setup. I just want pro results. For my simple two speakers, and one display setup.