Avalon Pre VS. Digi 002 Pre

[metaljoseph]

This is my gear:
Imac g5 1.8ghz
2 gigs ram
250 HD
Digi 002(pro tools)...obviously

I am very pleased with the sound I am getting with the digi 002 preamps but I want to know just HOW MUCH difference is there between the digi 002 pre and say and avalon(single channel)pre like say this onehttp://cgi.ebay.com/AVALON-Ultra-5-U...QQcmdZViewItem
What do you guys think.....woth the money or no.Is there a better pre for this price> While I'm here how much difference is there between the shure ksm32 and http://cgi.ebay.com/Neumann-TLM-103-...QQcmdZViewItem or this http://cgi.ebay.com/Neumann-TLM193-T...QQcmdZViewItem

[reshp1]

I think your best bang for buck is mic, that's where energy is transformed from one form to another. The preamp just takes a signal and makes it louder (okay that's probably a little simplistic, but you get the point). My 2c

[fldrummer]

Well the U5 dosent have a mic pre. Its just a fancy DI box. You still would need a mic pre after you plug a Hi z insturment into it. I used one for a bass in to a greg mic pre today... I like it!


Now the avalon M5... I like it for a simple 1 channel pre that still has Hi z input so you can use it as a DI and mic pre. I was using mine today on some keyboards and it worked out well.

Im not really sure of any good mic pre's under $500. I'd save up and get something you wont need to replace anytime soon.

[jpfour23]

I don't know about that resh... I read before in Mix magazine that some pro studios use cheap mics through expensive pres to achieve different results. Although by cheap I mean stuff like c3000b's or AT4040, 3035 stuff.

I will say, I feel like I can put anything through my Avalon 737 and it just sounds delicious.

[endodoc]

I have an Avalon 2022 preamp (2 channel version of the M5). The +36 db Class A output of the Avalon would probably cook the input of the digi. A great demonstration of headroom is to take a lowly SM57 and plug it into the Avalon and any single chip all-in-one box like the digi... you will instantly hear the difference, the SM57 can be an awesome mic through a turbocharged preamp. Having said that, my favorite preamp to bring out an SM57 is the Great River MP2NV.