spirit m-series vs dmp3

[dumass]

anyone have experience with these 2?

i'm planning on either getting the m-8 or 4 of the dmp3's. which mic pre's sound better? any help is appreciated.

[TexRoadkill]

To be honest I've used neither but I have a Ghost that the M pre's are supposedly based on. My guess is the difference in pre's will be small but the difference in functionality would be HUGE. I'd go with the mixer then add better pres down the road like a RNC or some API's etc.

Buying a bunch of cheap stand alone pre's makes no sense to me.

[Middleman]

Originally posted by dumass
anyone have experience with these 2?

i'm planning on either getting the m-8 or 4 of the dmp3's. which mic pre's sound better? any help is appreciated.

There are some people here that have both from past threads I have read.

This might be close however. I had the Soundcraft Spirit notepad which is a step down from the M-8s but a very respectable pre in my estimation; nice transient response, very clean but rich. These are slightly less usable across many instruments and vocals than the DMP3.

Now step up to the next level which are the M8's pres and I would bet they are not all that different sounding. Possilbly better on many things.

I would opt for the M8 just because of the Digital out and the routing capablilites. Plus you have 8 pres instead of 2.

The only place I would speculate that the M-8 falls shorter than the DMP3 would be on acoustic guitar. The DMP3 is just focused on those frequencies in such a nice way that it might edge out the M8 pres. That is what I use it for the most.

Hope that helps.

[Jeff_D]

I have an M8 and im very happy with it- i've never tried the DMP3

[dumass]

k thanks everyone..

but these pre's would def kill behringer mx series pre's right

[dumass]

Originally posted by dumass
k thanks everyone..

but these pre's would def kill behringer mx series pre's right

...would i definitely hear a biggg difference between them?

[tdukex]

I can only speak for the DMP3. IMO it is much better than my MX802 for vocals and acou guit. The DMP3 is clean yet smooth and warm. It doesn't have the strident sounding high end like the Behringer pres, and when recording in stereo it puts a much bigger stereo image between the monitors. That part amazed me. It's also quieter. I only use the MX802 as a headphone amp now.

[dumass]

...and u said that the m-series pre's are jus about jus as good as the dmp3?

[tdukex]

I haven't heard the Spirit pres. Best to do a search on this Board and see what others have said about them. I have only read that those who have heard both the Behringer and the Mackie pres almost always prefer the Mackie, and those who have heard both the Mackie and the Spirit pres usually prefer the Spirit.

I suspect the Spirit pres are measurably better than the Behringer. You may hear it and feel different, though. Judging pres is a fairly subjective thing anyway. One man's opinion of a pre might be that it has a clear, extended, and airy top end while to another person it sounds brite, overly hyped, and unusable on most sources. One man's opinion of a different pre might be that it has a warm and silky sound while to another it is too dark and muddy. If you could go somewhere and do your own comparison that would help you.

[TexRoadkill]

The DMP3 and M8 pre's are not considered amazing but they are definatley usable. The Behringers would generally be considered crap.