A question about mic preamps

  • Thread starter Thread starter MidoBan
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MidoBan

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Hi, i wanna understand something about mic preamps. Lets take the Pendulum SPS-1 as an example. I noticed that it has 2 XLR outputs on its rear panel, and lets say that i want the signal to get to my DAW after the SPS-1, so do i plug the XLRs from the SPS-1 outputs into my audio interface XLR inputs? or to the DI inputs?
Also, isn't the quality of the recording chain is as good as its weakest link? i mean, can an average audio interface (lets say Saffire pro 40) harm the signal quality from a higher level of equipment like the SPS-1?
 
Not knowing that piece of equipment very well I would say that you would want to use the TPS out puts to go to your interfaces Dis. That is if your interfaces XLR inputs are preamps.
 
That Pendulum is a pretty flexible piece of gear. You could set it up using either the channel direct outs or the main out depending on if you're using one of their pickup blending schemes.

The Saffire looks like it will faithfully reproduce anything you throw at it.
 
c7sus said:
That Pendulum is a pretty flexible piece of gear. You could set it up using either the channel direct outs or the main out depending on if you're using one of their pickup blending schemes.

The Saffire looks like it will faithfully reproduce anything you throw at it.
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Yeh, but if i want to get something like the Pendulum in order to improve the sound quality of the pc audio interface, it wont work? because the signal is still going through interface eventually.
 
A mic preamp doesn't *improve* the sound quality of the gear that follows it. Especially an interface. They are really two very different animals. A mic preamp's job is to amplify a mic signal to line-level with minimal distortion. An AD/DA converter's job is to convert a line-level signal into the appropriate 1's and 0's and back again, at whatever sample rate and bit depth, hopefully with minimal jitter.

The THD+noise rating of the Saffire line input is less than 1/1000th of a percent. Whatever you put through it is what you are gonna get back out of it. You're gonna have more *distortion* from your monitors and the room modes than from the Saffire itself.
 
c7sus said:
A mic preamp doesn't *improve* the sound quality of the gear that follows it. Especially an interface. They are really two very different animals. A mic preamp's job is to amplify a mic signal to line-level with minimal distortion. An AD/DA converter's job is to convert a line-level signal into the appropriate 1's and 0's and back again, at whatever sample rate and bit depth, hopefully with minimal jitter.

The THD+noise rating of the Saffire line input is less than 1/1000th of a percent. Whatever you put through it is what you are gonna get back out of it. You're gonna have more *distortion* from your monitors and the room modes than from the Saffire itself.
Click to expand...

So bottom line, if the options are:
1. plugging the mics to the Pro 40 XLR directly.
2. plugging the mics into the Pendulum XLR and from there to the Pro 40 DI.

You say i better skip the Pendulum because it wont improve anything?

If thats the case, how do you get the quality of the Pendulum into a DAW?
 
MidoBan said:
You say i better skip the Pendulum because it wont improve anything?

If thats the case, how do you get the quality of the Pendulum into a DAW?
Click to expand...

No, that's not what I'm saying. You seem to be confused about how signal chains work.

Take a look at the specs of the Saffire. It is essentially a stright-wire-with-gain preamp. It is designed so as to not add to or diminish or otherwise obscure whatever signal you put through it. i.e. if the specs are to be believed the Saffire is sonically transparent. And the same goes for the line inputs and outputs. Whatever you put into the Saffire, that's what will come back out of it.

Saffire PRO 40 Audio Interfaces Professional 20 In / 20 Out Firewire interface with eight Focusrite Pre-amps

This transparency can cut both ways. If you put a noisey, or mid-high or high-end hyped mic you're likely gonna get mid-hyped or brittle result.

That can be good or bad depending on what you are recording and what *sound* you are after. The brittle part is probably not gonna be good.

Likewise, if you have a darker mic you are likely to get a result that reflects that characteristic.

Putting a preamp like the Pendulum ahead of the Saffire is gonna give it different "flavors" than running straight into the Saffire by virtue of the EQ capabilities of the SPS-1. It looks like the amp portion is meant to be a stright-wire-with-gain design too, but with parametric EQ so you can shape the final signal.

But that doesn't affect the *quality* of what the Saffire is doing. The fidelity of the Saffire stays the same regardless of the input source.

Because the Saffire is essentially transparent, proper mic technique and a good sounding room are going to play a major factor in the outcome of the recordings you do with it.

What is it about the Saffire that you find lacking?
 
c7sus said:
is it about the Saffire that you find lacking?
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I didn't get the Saffire yet, but i'm going to. It's just that i read so many good stuff about dedicated mic preamps (not just the Pendulum), and i wanted to know if i will be able to get the most out of one when i'll get it in the future, now i know i can.
You were right, i was confusing "quality" with "flavor", and the "flavor" is what i wanna get through. Thanks!
 
get the saffire. its a little confusing to figure out at first but once you 'get' it... you wont ever replace it.
 
I had this same thought but someone more exp. informed me "pads" are often used for hi end gear and the input to a interface, can be such. Yes, technicially sonic mathematics is involved, but just use your ears.....you'll be fine.

what i found is more important is getting a good signal level in a chain of gear, and work with that.

obviously a awesome pre into a awesome a/d to your pc is excellent.

I played around recently with a nice preamp and tried using the insert input to avoid the "interface preamp" and the db was too much coming in from the outbaord preamp and so it was a bad match to the insert of the interface unit.

then moving the output of the outboard preamp, getting a great tone from it setup, then ran it into the interface preamp input, but now using it as a "pad" not a gain circuit.....it worked fine.

theres no law you cant do this, and thats what the more experienced "working engineer" had told me. He was right..

I dont know a lot about the internals of "pads' but they are another device in the chain, similar to the interface.

Uneeda Audio - Build your own attenuator pads
 
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