Best 1 channel preamp...

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MartyMcFly

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1 Simple question...
What is the best 1 channel preamp I can get for $500.00 to $700.00? Either Tube or non Tubes.
Thanks
Marty
 
It depends on what you want it to do.


Are you looking just for something to amplify your mic signal to line-level, or are you looking for an all-in-one channel strip with EQ and compresssion, etc.

BTW -- Right now, there's a new player in the market of single channel Mic pre / compressor / limiter called Safe Sound. I've been hearing all of these outrgageously good things about it, and if I had the cash and was in the market, this is what I'd be getting: www.frontendaudio.com
 
Gees!!! Talk about micro-electronics galore!

Not something I'd usually trust my audio with. Computer motherboards, yes. Audio, probably not.

Based on that being a unit with some majorly crammed micro-electronics, from what I can tell in the small picture, and the ever so tiny bit I know about what it takes when it comes to sheer physical requirements of designing good audio circuits, my instict tells me "No!", but you really never know until you give it a good try. It could be great... I have not a clue.

Then again, some of the units we all love for audio are of crappy design! So, all bets are off!!!
 
recording engineer

recording engineer i like building my own mic preamps.
i do it because then i dont sound the same as others.
fyi - i have two basic designs. an op amp design and a transistor design. if i want different textures i just substitute on the board
a different op amp or transistor.
op amps i favour for low noise mic pre's are the harris range HA5137 op amps or others in the op37 range. LT1115.
for example and in transistors eirdly enough some of the common 2n2222a give some nice textures as does mpsa18 by motorola and mps6521 and 2N5088/9.
this year i'm experimenting with transformers in front of very simple gain of ten low noise transistor stages. the main cost is the transistors. try a st ives or llundahl in front of a transistor stage sometime. very cheap to build , and i think youll be pleasantly surprised by the audio quality.
 
Just get an API 312 from Brent Averill and stop fuckin' around with the flavor of the month!
:p
 
I'm not sure I'm following your point here manning1... I would have thought you were the Safe Sound P1 designer, but I see you're in Canada, not the UK...

I just read the P1 Audio Processor White Paper. The power supply, opamps, and VCA are actually pretty impressive. I can only imagine how much better it would have sounded not being so damn crammed in there.

By the way manning1, I'd sure LOVE to hear your "transformers in front of very simple gain of ten low noise transistor stages" preamp once it's finished and ready. How much would you charge me for you to build me something like that? If you'd be open to something like that...
 
That looks like a nice unit, but I wonder how it compares to a Jim Williams modded Symetrix 528. I hope to have mine back in early January. I went for the full upgrade with the mic pre. I'm hoping for some really tasty vocals with my SM7 and EV 666.
 
Michael Jones said:
Just get an API 312 from Brent Averill and stop fuckin' around with the flavor of the month!
:p
Click to expand...

That's going to cost at least $1300 with the case and power supply. Good suggestion but way out of the $700 range.

In that price range, I think the Focusrite Voicemaster Pro, Envoice, or M-Audio Tampa have the best sound.

If you save up another $250 you could go for a John Hardy M1, Great River ME-1NV, PHOENIX AUDIO DRS-1, or one of the 1272s from Brent Averill. Much more professional stuff.
 
The Grace 101 should be on the list in this price range.
 
Best 1 channel $5-700? Ain't one I can think of that's worth a fuck. Two channels for under $500-... IMNTLBFHO, the FMR Audio RNP fits.

Best of luck with the search.
 
recording engineer.

recording engineer. what i meant to say is the transformer is the costliest part. the transistors are cheap. typing error.
never thought about selling them. i'm a songwriter with a lot of electronics background. dont know if i want to get into selling them. FYI in this months nuts and volts december issue on page 25 (its an electronics mag). is a pretty clean mic preamp schematic thats low noise. using a TLC2201 op amp.
you could try subbing other low voltage op amps like max 412
op amp and see how it sounds.
nice thing about this design is the power supply is as easy as it gets.
all you really need to do is put a transformer from llundahl say in front of it and experiment. its pretty simple to build.
recording engineer , another neat design is look for the taos mic pre schematic on the net. very decent design. high quality.
BUT , dont play around with this stuff until you take a safe electronics engineering course at an adult college at night say.
ive saved a lot of money building my own pre's.
 
Michael Jones said:
Brand new, a single channel, with power supply is $900.
http://www.brentaverill.com/312a/
Bet you could buy used for close to $700.
Click to expand...

Michael, my bad, I was looking at the lunchbox stuff. Yeah at that price it may be the best value in next step up preamps.

If a guy is going to pop for $700 its better to wait and add a few more bucks. The resale value is better, the sound is better and overall you will be happier than reselling a prosumer box to step up later and losing $200 worth of value.
 
Fletcher... I'd love for you to evaluate my Dottie preamp once it arrives; if you're interested. It might be a preamp @ $700 that might be worth a fuck.

It probably won't arrive at least a good month from now. The PO lost my damn money order and we all know how quickly the PO acts on getting you your money they owe you! They said they won't send me a replacement until a full 2-months after I purchased it!

manning1... Yes. Good transformers are expensive. But I am still missing your point as to why you bring that up.

I fail to see your point for bringing up the fact that opamp or transistor based preamps can have pleasing results. I've never thought otherwise.

I've simply said that micro-electronics (I'm meaning what looks maybe to be extremely-small surface-mount technology, from what I can tell from the smal picture, not opamps or VCAs or anything of that nature.) crammed into such a small area is not good engineering practice when it comes to audio recording equipment.
 
So would I be better off with a "Grace 101" at $599. or a" Presonus Eureka pro recording channel" at $499? I kinda like the idea of doing compression and eq right there on the strip. But I guess I could live without the extra stuff if the Grace will sound that much better. Im currently using the preamps in my digi001 rack. So I realize that any of these will be better. So is having all that extra shit on the preamp going to mean that the preamps will be crappier cause of costs and things? I guess if there is a specific sound Im going for it would be close to that of Darthfaders stuff.
Thank guys.
 
recording engineer

oh i see what you were saying. frankly i dont like all the smt (surface mount tech) in todays equipment. ive been burnt by it a couple of times when needing service. in the old days you could often fix a mixer etc if it went down. but smt is another story. and particularly in remote areas its difficult sometimes.
 
As far as preamp quality alone, I'd say go with the Grace over the Eureka.
 
OK then...
how about betwen the Grace 101 for 599. and the M-audio Tampa for the same? I like the tampa for its size and it only has a comp on it extra. So the preamp should be pretty good. I just cant see using a half rack mount thing. Looks too small to be anygood.
 
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