i wann'a tell u something 'bout PRESONUS MP20

  • Thread starter Thread starter threshhold2
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That's an interesting point. There aren't really a ton of components to an opamp-based pre. It's surprising that the low-end market is controversial at all. But it appears to be, so one has to wonder.

Having said that, Presonus did a number of things to raise the cost--the stereo bus, the headphone amp. The front panel, switches and knobs are a bit pricy. It has a toroidal transformer. The input trannys aren't cheap either. It has more blinky lights than some of its competition, but then again, some of those have VU meters.

They also wasted money on the IDSS "feature", which has to be the worst sounding thing I've ever heard. I recall that uses discrete components too. Don't ever set that knob on anything but zero.
 
It's overkill. If you're going to include all of these extra features on top of a discrete design, class A operation, and an input Xformer and get it out for less than 500 bucks ... then something is going to be compromised. Unless the goal is to lose money. :D
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This is a wierd thread.

It's not a "yes, but really no!" kind of issue. Instead, let's talk about price points and look at the gear that's available within them. The Presonus is a decent preamp for its price point. Maybe even a great preamp for its price point. Is that the same thing as being "like" a Great River? Hell, no. The Great River doesn't come close to comparing with the Presonus because you can't buy it in the same price point. Of course it's a better preamp! At the price, it damn well better be. In fact, it's really a decent preamp for its price point. Maybe even a great preamp.

Of course, it's high end.... :cool:
 
I've had an MP20 for about 3 years - frankly I'm a little disappointed in it. I have to turn it on for 10 minutes before I use it so it heats up and stops making crackling noises (think the power switch is a bit dodgy, the light flickers a bit in this stage), and I've had all sorts of problems with headroom and getting a decent amount of gain out of it without clipping.

I bought it because I thought it would be a good clean 2 channel pre for miking acoustic guitars, and not having an unlimited budget, once I had it, that's what I used it for. It's clean enough, but given the choice, I probably wouldn't buy it again.

Cheers
 
I have one sitting around too. BurrBrown upgrade, but non-Jensen trans. I think it is alright; I need to get it back out and try it again to see if my tastes have changed now that I am using SCA as my main preamps. I did have a problem with the phantom power on one channel going out. Got really annoying since I mostly used with my SDC mics.
I would be interested in a comparison with the RNP. Similar price, but you hear a lot more good things about the RNP. And use a good specimen of the MP20 to compare; I'm not talking about whatever similar goofy ones some of you guys have with the scratchy pots and the low headroom/level and the IDSS knob superglued to 100%. ;) I never had any of those problems.

That BG1 looks fun. Never heared of it before. Looks kind of like a cousin to the Brick.
 
Reggie said:
And use a good specimen of the MP20 to compare; I'm not talking about whatever similar goofy ones some of you guys have with the scratchy pots and the low headroom/level and the IDSS knob superglued to 100%. ;) I never had any of those problems.
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I have an M80, but no RNP. According to the HR map, nobody lives near me :(
 
mshilarious said:
I have an M80, :(
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NOPE! Doesn't count. An M80 is very similar to an 8-channel MP20, but I'm not sure it would be the same thing. :)
I wonder if there aren't power issues with the M80, as I believe I have heard more people complain about the headroom issue on them.
 
Reggie said:
NOPE! Doesn't count. An M80 is very similar to an 8-channel MP20, but I'm not sure it would be the same thing. :)
I wonder if there aren't power issues with the M80, as I believe I have heard more people complain about the headroom issue on them.
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It has an external PSU, I've never opened it, but it seems very robust.

I used to have an MP20, and I believe the preamp circuits are identical.

Anyway, my converters clip way before these pres do. It is spec'ed at +28dBu which is pretty high for an opamp based pre. It could be that they are lying, but it's such a simple thing to test the power rails, which would give some indication of the max before even considering a real-life audio test.

If there is an issue with clipping, I would expect that the input level is too high, which would be strange as the unit has a -20dB pad, and inherent gain of 12dB, for a net negative gain of -8dB, which would mean an input of +36dBu :confused:

Or the unit is defective, of which there seem to be many reports . . .
 
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