i've got
a minime and i like it a whole lot.
the mic pres are clean, clear and at the same time pretty "big" sounding. a lot of times people think "thin" when they think of "clean and clear". i find they excel on things like acoustic guitar and drum overheads, you know, places where i typically want clarity and transient response.
at the same time, i don't hesitate to use the preamps on things like vocals and electric guitars, when i want the sound that the minime's pres give me. i haven't tried it on snare/kick, simply b/c i've been using it on OH's when i record drums.
the compressor/limiter is quite nice as well. the first setting is subtle but noticible (i usually leave it on, actually), the 2nd setting is a bit more aggressive and the 3rd is pretty extreme. playing a DI'd guitar through the 2nd and 3rd comp settings can really be a LOT of fun--you can get some great spank and sustain out of it....makes a DI'd guitar sound a lot less DI'd, if that makes any sense.
also of great use is the clock. i've got my delta 1010 clocked to it, and it makes a HUGE difference in the 1010. the low end tightened, the highs softened (became less harsh) and the mids got this creamy presence to them (as opposed to being grainy and in your face) they never had before.......which says to me that the converters in the 1010 are plenty fine, but that the clock could certainly use a little help.
i've used the USB option a couple times in the field, and it's worked just fine. no complaints there either. certainly a lot more secure than some of the firewire devices i've encountered in the past.
a couple nitpicks: the silkscreening doesn't *quite* line up with knob on the sample rates, etc. the phantom power can't be turned off without turning the unit itself off. the gain is very sensitive and it's easy to dial in a little too much--which goes hand in hand with my gripe about the metering.....4 LEDs just isn't precise enough--there's a BIG difference between the bottom (-40) and the next one up (-12).
i think you could certainly do a lot worse than adding a minime to your setup, especially if you can find a good $$ on a used one. and, as you said, being able to say "apogee conversion" to clients sure carries a lot of weight--even if it's only 2 channels and even if it's only on the a/d side of things.
cheers,
wade
PS--yes, i know that Mytek, Prism, etc., converters are considerably better and more highly regarded.....but i do wager that if you were to give the typical client a list of converters and asked them which one they "thought was best", i betcha you'd find apogee near or at the top of the response chain more often than not, simply b/c everyone's heard the name.....for better or worse.....
