i wann'a tell u something 'bout PRESONUS MP20

  • Thread starter Thread starter threshhold2
  • Start date Start date
T

threshhold2

New member
Hi everyone.

i recently bought this baby: dual channel PRESONUS MP20 preamp, and boy----this is one smooth-clean-sound producer.

up until now iv'e been playing with all kinds of one channel cheap preamps, putting one on top of the other, untill i got sick of the adjustments and crappy noise and lousy output.

this MP20 gives a great gain & warmth, and maintains quiet signal with no distortion. its not the cheapest (600 $) but for what you get in return---its fabulous.i checked other preamps,cheaper,but i really believe that instead of buying cheap equipment will eventually lead to disappointment from the sound quality, and more money spent. WELL I KNOW THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE AN ADVERTISEMENT TO PRESONUS----BUT IT AINT. I JUST WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU GUYS

:) nice day to everyone.
 
I disagree...

IMO, it's just another mediocre pre in a long list of mediocre pres available these days.....

For $400 more you can have a single-ch Great River which blows it out of the water........
 
I really hate it when Blue Bear's right, but he usually is. I'm a presonus fan but not because the pre's sound great but because they don't sound like total crap. There is absolutely nothing special about the pre's other than the fact they're fairly clean for the price. I thought all the talk about better pre's was hogwash, and at one point was convinced that you couldn't get much better than a presonus pre. Then one day I heard a great river on an acoustic guitar. Talk about exciting, I heard clarity and definition that I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to hear, I figured there'd be tiny differences but nothing special, I was wrong. Yes presonus is decent, yes there are pre's that presonus sounds better than but they aren't anywhere close to the top of the food chain.
 
Well if the Great River at $1K per channel didn't sound better than the MP20 at $250 per channel, something would be very wrong.

The MP20 is a design that's been around for 7 years or so, there are lots available used for $300. Their claim to fame was quality input transformers at a low price point. For $300 plus $5 of Burr-Brown opamps, I think it's a great deal.
 
I felt the same way about midrange gear when I moved from my ART Tube MP and Yamaha MG pre's to a mid level pre. It was a good step forward but not the last step I took. I eventually grew enough to notice the limitation.

Don't be discouraged by this thread, threshhold2. Enjoy what you have and keep growing.
 
and for 80 dollars more you can have a two channel pre that will sound better than the BOTH the great river and presonus (DAV BG1) :D

opinions, opinions....
 
Hey BigRay, can you tell me a little more about the DAV BG1?
I would like to have a nice 2 channels pre, and 600 bucks is just my budget...
Tell us your experience with it, clips or whatever...
Thanks!
 
I have a BG-1 and an original MP20 (when they used Jensen transformers). The MP20 still gets use around here. It is not as dark on some sources as the BG-1 (smooth pre). The MP20 pairs up well with some mics on certain sources. I've found the MP20 very useful at times. IF you have BLUE Dragonfly or Rode NTK, the MP20 is a good pre to use for vocals if you don't have a Chandler or Pendulum budget ;-) For the record, I haven't heard the newer MP20's (new transformers). That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
 
another important thing i want to say-

music, is my hobby.i dont make a living out of it----and even though i enjoy it more then anything else : it is still a hobby.

the money i could spend(and would sure like to...) on guitars,preamps,microphone etc. is ENDLESS. i wish i could buy GIBSON HERB ELLIS,a TELEFUNKEN vintage preamp,SCHOEPS microphones...and the list goes on and on.

what i intended to say, is that for a hobbyst---the mp20 is a real upgrade from all those 50 $ made in chine preamps that produce mostly noise, and for the home studio recorder it is an excellent choise!!!

BY THE WAY---GREAT RIVER DUAL CH. PREAMP---OVER 2000 $ !!!!!
HOBBY....BUDGET....DUH????
 
Last edited:
threshhold2 said:
what i intended to say, is that for a hobbyst---the mp20 is a real upgrade from all those 50 $ made in chine preamps that produce mostly noise ...
Click to expand...


Which ones are you refering to?
.
 
mshilarious said:
For $300 plus $5 of Burr-Brown opamps, I think it's a great deal.
Click to expand...

...absolutely! (actually, I got mine for $199. w/Jensens and did the Burr-Brown upgrade)
 
chessrock said:
Which ones are you refering to?
.
Click to expand...

i mean ALTO and BEHRINGER (I OWN BOTH....) and for first equipment they might be nice. but not more then this.

Same thing i had with electric guitar-----i started with a cheap CORT 250$ e.guitar that its pickup produced more buzzing then sound...and ended with a german FRAMUS guitar which is a beauty,that i hardly ever need to tune!!!
quality at its best.
 
BigRay said:
and for 80 dollars more you can have a two channel pre that will sound better than the BOTH the great river and presonus (DAV BG1) :D

opinions, opinions....
Click to expand...
I assure that the Great River probably sounds different than the BG-1, but not better - at the high-end, pres are chosen for their subtle coloration characteristics.

The Presonus stuff isn't in the same league as either of them, so it's apples and oranges...
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I disagree...

IMO, it's just another mediocre pre in a long list of mediocre pres available these days.....
Click to expand...

How long did you test the MP20? Can you provide a description of how it sounded on different sources? Thx.
 
Guys, it's a midrange pre. It works fine. You probably won't step over your own mother to get one. Can we get back to arguing about toob pres now ;)
 
JuliánFernández said:
Hey BigRay, can you tell me a little more about the DAV BG1?
I would like to have a nice 2 channels pre, and 600 bucks is just my budget...
Tell us your experience with it, clips or whatever...
Thanks!
Click to expand...

it is 680 bucks shipped to the US. 710 with dual voltage. on the website, you will see all of their products.
http://www.davelectronics.com/bg1.htm is the link to their website. This quote from a very sucessful location engineer I know:
think you'll really like the BG#1!

Hey Teddy!

First off, don't let the price fool you. It is every bit as good as any of the really well known mic amps and retrieves detail, remains neutral and never sounds harsh
(unless the source is harsh)

I use the BG#1 for orchestra main pair, chamber music
recording, choral work and organ+ a lot of other stuff.
Phantom power is robust with no problems powering current hungry Schoeps.

We have 3 DAV Electronics mic amps here--BG#1, BG#2 and the "Crystal Clear." We also have some super high end mic amps to compare it to.
The BG#1 compares well with the EAR 624 tube mic amp
which costs ten times as much. MUCH better sound than Millenia, for example.

The sound of the BG is smooth, detailed and rich.
It's a very good design and I would never be without it.
We are recording every day for 25 years--classical specialists in Chicago!


the DAV BG 1 was designed by an ex-engineer at decca.Is very highly regarded for its cleanness, and loads of detail. It was designed for Decca with the goal to get the best sound possible . Of course it has been on many grammy winning recordings. David Gilmour just requested a rack with 8 of the pres for his upcoming tour. Several big name audio folks swear by it, and have, in not so subtle terms said that if one has one preamp...the bg1 should be it. Basically it is world class sound at kmart prices. Look on gearslutz, prosoundweb..any of those forums...youll see how highly it is regarded. It runs on 110 AC, or it can be made to run on 220-240AC. I had mine made with dual voltage, and also bought a voltage inverter so that I wouldnt have to use Mains power. At 110 and 220 ,power draw is about 22 watts, so a 25 watt inverter would work fine. I do strictly location recording, so i needed the portability of an inverter. HIGHLY reccomended, this pre. Dont take my word for it though, research. you wont see anything negative written about it. Of course we all know the reputation that Decca has.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec03/articles/davelectronicsbg1.htm
 
I dont care for presonus at all...cept for one product. The ADL 600. I like that one..other than that..nah. I just wanted to make some folks aware of the BG1, because in spite of it being a really great pre...you just dont see it mentioned much. Wonder why that is?? The Great River sounds loads different, I agree.


Blue Bear Sound said:
I assure that the Great River probably sounds different than the BG-1, but not better - at the high-end, pres are chosen for their subtle coloration characteristics.

The Presonus stuff isn't in the same league as either of them, so it's apples and oranges...
Click to expand...
 
CCS said:
How long did you test the MP20? Can you provide a description of how it sounded on different sources? Thx.
Click to expand...
The VXP (which I have) has the same input stage (pre) as the MP20.... I hadn't used the VXP in quite some time (before which I'd always found it adequate but not "great").... but anyways, after not using for a number of months, I decided to use it on a voice-over session (I'd normally have used the Great River, but I wanted to de-esser this particular vocalist.)

After getting used to the voice-over sound using the GR, I was surprised at how flat, dark and murky the VXP/MP20 input stage sounded by comparison. I switched back to the GR and put the VXP on the selling block.....

It's usable, but mediocre, as I said....
 
I was always surprised at how something like the MP-20 could sound so ... bad.

I mean it seems to have a lot of things going for it ... Discrete desing, Class A operation, the earlier ones even had a Jensen Transformer at the input. Yet something about it just still kinda' sucks, and I can't put my finger on it. I attended a formal mic pre shootout where someone brought theirs along, and the thing just performed so poorly, I thought it might be broken. No headroom at all, and scratchy pots when you turned up the gain. It was easily beaten out by even cheaper ones.

I just get the feeling that there was either a design flaw, or there were some big corners cut somewhere in order to get it to market at the price it sold for. Maybe someone will come up with a different mod for it, because as is, it just seems like there's something fundamentally flawed with it that negates all the typical upgrades people do to it (like putting in Jensens and Burr-Browns, etc.)
.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top