Which of the following preamps is the best?

karambos2

karambos2

New member
I'm looking for a preamp with the following characteristics:

1. must be stereo i.e two channels - no more, no less
2. must have digital out
3. must not cost more than approx $1280 / 700 pounds / €1000
4. must not cost less than approx $400 / 210 pounds / €300
5. must not be made by Behringer

I've narrowed it down to the following:

a. Focusrite TwinTrak Pro
b. ART Digital MPA
c. DBX 386 Silver Series
d. MINDPRINT Envoice MK II
e. PRESONUS DigiTube (I would buy two)
f. SPL Goldmike MK II
g. TL Audio 5060 Ivory II

Which one has the clearest sound quality? Can you think of any that aren't in the list that fit the bill and that you would recommend?

I have to narrow this down to one before the weekend. I'm grateful for any advice. Thanks.
 
I would *highly* recommend you drop the requirement that the preamp have a converter built in. That is really limiting your options. Instead, purchase a two channel AD converter separately. In doing so, you can optimize your choices for both the preamp and the converter.

I would also suggest that if you are looking for the clearest sound quality that you eliminate the tube preamps from your list. When it comes to tube gear, your budget still allows only for the low end. You'll do a lot better with solid state preamps in your price range.

A pair of preamps/converters that would fit your price requirement would be the FMR RNP preamp and the Lucid 2496 stereo AD. I would take that any day over the choices you listed. Except possibly the Envoice and SPL, and only because I am not familiar with them.

Sytek also makes a preamp that gets high marks from its owners. Although it is four channels, you can get it with different options on the stereo pairs, allowing you to stay in your budget but get a couple different tone color options. Again, pair it with a converter like the Lucid.

In addition, the inexpensive Rane MS-1b surprisingly gets good comments from those using it. The low price would let you spend more on a converter. Your low price restriction is reasonable, but I think the Rane would be an exception to it.

I know the advice I'm giving is not what you asked for or probably want to hear, but I have to say I don't agree with yor approach of limiting yourself to pres with converters built in. And in your price range tube units should be avoided if you want the clearest sound. Hopefully some of this will be helpful.
 
But if you need stereo, you need stereo...

Seems like that's the one requirement that can't be dropped.
 
if you must have stereo,than i would still drom all other requirements and stretch my budget just a bit and grab a used u/a m-2610. dual channel with tubes and eq. i have seen them for $1,400. if you can spend a little more than you can step up the quality of choices.
 
I have a RNP/RNC (rack mounted) and a GR MP 1NV. The RNP is a real nice compliment to the GR. The RNP has more detail in the upper mids. I think the RNP-RNC plus the rack mount will set you back about $800.

NO digital converters on the RNP.

Rob
 
the rane ms-1b kinda scares me. from what i know this was a pre used as a joke in a session by recording " guru "roger nichols and he actually liked it. not that i dont believe him but its amazing how one opinion turns into cult status and how overnight its one of the most recommended pre-s in its price range from people who dont own them. to make things worse when i checked into getting one because of all the hype i found that there are older models out there that used different parts. so which one do you get? i think OLE ROGER MIGHT BE KICKING BACK HAVING A GOOD LAUGH AT THE WHOLE THING}
 
gemsbok said:
the rane ms-1b kinda scares me. from what i know this was a pre used as a joke in a session by recording " guru "roger nichols and he actually liked it. not that i dont believe him but its amazing how one opinion turns into cult status and how overnight its one of the most recommended pre-s in its price range from people who dont own them. to make things worse when i checked into getting one because of all the hype i found that there are older models out there that used different parts. so which one do you get? i think OLE ROGER MIGHT BE KICKING BACK HAVING A GOOD LAUGH AT THE WHOLE THING}
Click to expand...

I have a Rane DMS22, which uses the same pre as the MS-1b (except one is SMT, the other isn't). It's a decent pre, certainly not world class, but better than most in its price range.
 
gemsbok said:
to make things worse when i checked into getting one because of all the hype i found that there are older models out there that used different parts. so which one do you get?
Click to expand...

I don't know much about what you were talking about there, but if it was a MS1 B, then that is all you need to know.

The other models were the MS1 and MS1a.

The only people I've really seen saying much about them own them and have plenty to compare them to, so I wouldn't be too worried about a bunch of guys who have no clue hyping it up. Really, everything is like that. You can usually tell when people are just saying they heard something is good or have it and think it is good, but never really compared it to anything else.
 
gemsbok said:
the rane ms-1b kinda scares me. from what i know this was a pre used as a joke in a session by recording " guru "roger nichols and he actually liked it. not that i dont believe him but its amazing how one opinion turns into cult status and how overnight its one of the most recommended pre-s in its price range from people who dont own them. to make things worse when i checked into getting one because of all the hype i found that there are older models out there that used different parts. so which one do you get? i think OLE ROGER MIGHT BE KICKING BACK HAVING A GOOD LAUGH AT THE WHOLE THING}
Click to expand...

It's kind of hard to second-guess that stuff. RN may indeed have used them on sessions and liked them. I think enough people would give him a hard time about it if he was messing with them that he probably is not having a joke at other's expense. If you look at the Rane it is no frills, all the money went into the pre itself, not a fancy box to appeal to home studio buyers.

The problem is your budget: too low for a couple channels of good preamp and a good converter. So you are going to get recommendations like the Rane because there really is very little of worth in lower price ranges. You also mentioned clean, and then listed a bunch of tube pres. I'd take a solid state preamp any day for clean, unless it was a *really* expensive tube pre.

If the Rane doesn't seem right to you, then don't discount the Sytek I mentioned earlier. Another pre I'd add to the list would be the Grace 101 (you'd need two of them). I think that kind of blows your converter budget though, but I can't think of a better pair of low priced pres than the Grace. I own a Grace 201 and love it. The RNP has also been mentioned.

Another preamp to consider is the Apogee Mini-MP. The list price is right around $1,000 I believe. If you get good deals, you could probably get one of those and the Lucid 2496 converter without totally blowing your budget. The Mini-Me would be another one to consider, as it is a preamp with converters built in. The Mini-Me does not have analog outputs though, just digital outs.

Your budget is basically right below the range where you start to get into some really good pres. Like the Millenia HV-3B is around $1,400 for a pair of channels I believe. A different world.
 
just a note:

I've looked into the MS1b, I don't have it, but I got the following comments that may shed some light on the subject:

1) no good for bass instruments (50hz rool-off)
2) great for quiet acoustic stuff
3) Best "Bang for Buck" single channel no frills pre (taking into account #1)
4) It is only MS-1b that has the new burr-brown circutry.
 
well - heres my 2 cents. frankly unless you are already a big star or
hitmaker or a big record label type or big SOMETHING (eg; you are a big LA or nashville studio) spending lots of money on mic pre's for a small daw to write songs on i would question. if karambos already has a big studio with a big name clientele that expects all the "toys" then it makes sense, otherwise
it doesnt. if your hoping to impress a record label for signing it really doesnt matter. any good A/R type is looking at a number of factors. not the mic pre
used. the highest i would go on a crank out the demoes songwriters daw for a pre is the rane or dmp3 level. way more than enough imho spec wise.
the song and how you present it and produce it far outweighs gear imho.
 
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