CoolCat
Well-known member
I was surfing and reading about gear and doing the craigslist "gear surf "in boredom...
A Focusrite ISA 430 Producer Pack was up for $650.
I went to see it, and it had the digital card also. It powered up and the VU was working, all the leds were blinking.
Took the risk and brought it home.
I am really enjoying the ISA One w/ KT2A, its probably the best chain Ive ever had. Toss in the WA47 and its maybe the most expensive mic too. Of course Im not 15 anymore and is when I would have used the stuff not studied it. But the ISA One with the KT2A is solid.
Craigslist.....430 first version, with dual transformers they said. So I popped it open and theres a huge Carnhill transformer Output and the standard Lundhall(input). The new ones dropped the output transformer. A big surprise was this unit had the Digital card in it too..so cards run $400 or more and this is an older unit, UK built, with 96k limit, 16-20-24 bit allowed.
It has the VCA compressor and a cool Limiter to police the circuits, a Preamp Clean out with the Lundhall only in the path or another socket for the Output Transformer in the loop, which I suppose goes back to a time when a lot of people werent buying anything with transformers in them, when the "super clean" was in style and transformers had distortion! lol.
The EQ is what makes this 430 unit closest to the ISA 110, in addition to the output Xformer.
I really wasnt planning on this buy but at $650 , I had to go look. I about bought a ISA 430 years ago for $900.
New these things are Obsolete
......used around $1200-$1800, digital cards are $400. Currently none for sale on Reverb or Ebay.
** IMO, I will note right away the ISA One has some functions and desktop stuff I like better. The 430 is the flagship, the Mk1 probably even more the playa with the output transformer and digital card. Also the ISA One sounds very similar when just using the PReamp.
The 430 doesnt have the Impedance options I like and instead a 110 Z at 1200-1400ohm....it doesnt have the CueMix/ Headphone Amp either, the ISA One does.
A Focusrite ISA 430 Producer Pack was up for $650.
I went to see it, and it had the digital card also. It powered up and the VU was working, all the leds were blinking.
Took the risk and brought it home.
I am really enjoying the ISA One w/ KT2A, its probably the best chain Ive ever had. Toss in the WA47 and its maybe the most expensive mic too. Of course Im not 15 anymore and is when I would have used the stuff not studied it. But the ISA One with the KT2A is solid.
Craigslist.....430 first version, with dual transformers they said. So I popped it open and theres a huge Carnhill transformer Output and the standard Lundhall(input). The new ones dropped the output transformer. A big surprise was this unit had the Digital card in it too..so cards run $400 or more and this is an older unit, UK built, with 96k limit, 16-20-24 bit allowed.
It has the VCA compressor and a cool Limiter to police the circuits, a Preamp Clean out with the Lundhall only in the path or another socket for the Output Transformer in the loop, which I suppose goes back to a time when a lot of people werent buying anything with transformers in them, when the "super clean" was in style and transformers had distortion! lol.
The EQ is what makes this 430 unit closest to the ISA 110, in addition to the output Xformer.
I really wasnt planning on this buy but at $650 , I had to go look. I about bought a ISA 430 years ago for $900.
New these things are Obsolete
......used around $1200-$1800, digital cards are $400. Currently none for sale on Reverb or Ebay.** IMO, I will note right away the ISA One has some functions and desktop stuff I like better. The 430 is the flagship, the Mk1 probably even more the playa with the output transformer and digital card. Also the ISA One sounds very similar when just using the PReamp.
The 430 doesnt have the Impedance options I like and instead a 110 Z at 1200-1400ohm....it doesnt have the CueMix/ Headphone Amp either, the ISA One does.
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