Sytek pre???

  • Thread starter Thread starter frist44
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frist44

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I have decided to upgrade my pres in the next while. I have various inexpensive units: audio buddy, omni studio (dmp-2), mindprint envoice, SP VTB-1

I'm really interested in a couple really clean pres. I noticed every once in awhile the name Sytek comes up and i've done some research and they seem to be a good deal. I can get the 4 unit, 2 with Burr Browns, for about $200/channel.

My question is:

Are the pres something that i'll have for awhile and enjoy and not feel the need to upgrade in 6 months? (i don't think i'm gonna jump for the neve or api anytime soon, so home-recorder speaking)

Also...i know the grace uses the burr brown IC's, would the 2 channels on the sytek that use the burr browns be comparable to the grace 101 then?

Please anyone has tried this unit give me some opinions.

Thanks,
Brandon
 
steve albini loves them:

***

I wholeheartedly agree that the Syteks are excellent mic amps and excellent
value.

They are also an interesting oddity, in that they don't follow any of the
current trends in mic pre-amp design, and are excellent by virtue of how they
are made, and not a quirky topology or exotic components.

If you open one up, you'll see a simple, elegant amplifier using what appear
to be bog-standard TL072 (I think, I don't recall) J-FETs. No expensive
transformer, no video-speed op-amp, no silver-foil-on-beeswax capacitors. In
short, no magic. Just a simple, well-laid-out design, using standard but
high-quality components which have been individually-selected for low noise
and tight tolerances.

The designer, Mike Stoica, builds and tunes them himself, and sells them not
for the highest price he could possibly get (he could easily get more), but
for a _reasonable_ profit which ensures he makes money from repeat business.

I own many channels of these, and I rate them qualitatively as equals - not
substitues for - my Massenburgs, Neves, John Hardys and the best console
pre-amps I have ever heard. They are crisp, clean and noise-free, and they
provide more-than-adequate gain for low-output mics like old RCAs, Altecs and
the like, without adding breakup, instability or hiss.

There is a golden age for any style of electronic design. Tubes began as
unruly, low-bandwidth, noisy, inefficient beasts. Transformer and tube
technology matured to the point that we were graced with lovely sounding
equipment by the late '50s and into the '60s. Microphones, oweing to their
simplicity, matured faster.

Transistor electronics were even more bastardly until designers like Neve,
Flickinger, API, and Trident placed the emphasis where it belonged, in signal
integrity as a whole, not just in the frequency-domain.

With excellent IC-based electronics currently being built by GML, Neve
(Rupertless), Neotek and Sytek, we may be approaching a breakthrough in the
quality of IC-based audio, as designers solve the subtle but serious problems
of earlier designs.

Most folks do, however, get it wrong, and we still have to suffer through
mass-produced semi-professional crap being used on a regular basis. Sytek and
things like it are an excellent alternative to this caliber of equipment, for
no more money. Hurrah.

-steve albini

***

I have not tried one. If you have questions, then Mike Stoica at Sytek will answer them.

Steve
http://www.piemusic.com
 
I love the sytek. with it, you dont have to worry about preamplification being a source of less than perfect sound.



this was a rush job that was ALL sytek. The bass was direct though.
 
Thanks for the responses.

You reiterated what i found when doing research on them.

cyan-those tracks sound really nice.

Thanks again,
Brandon
 
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