Any news on the Purple Audio BIZ preamp??

[Ziggy!!]

It was mentioned somewhere a while ago and only remembered it a few days ago...

Have they started shipping yet? Any news on how they sound? or how much they go for?

It looks like owning an API 500 rack is going to be an even more versatile option... API, Brent Averill, 4 Preamps from OSA and now 5 planned preamps from Purple Audio... looking good!

[Buddhaman]

VAPORWARE.....andrew at Purple Prove me wrong!!!

I called and left 2 messages at the # on the site over the last 3 months---they never called back

No BIZ...wonder what's the deal?

Buddhaman

[column17]

i emailed andrew to inquire in november here was his response:

"The biz price is $675. I have shipped 20 units. I will have more at then end of next week"

i haven't really heard too much about what they sound like although i remember reading a description of them as being very "forward" like i said i don't really know firsthand so take it with a grain of salt.

[NathanEldred]

Purple promised us a shipment delivered 'in a couple of weeks' and that was a couple of weeks ago, so I hope to see them at the latest next Friday.

[sounddevisor]

I have had a pair of the Purple Biz in my rack for a couple of months now - they are definitely NOT vaporware!

They sound great - I would say they are generally in the "API family" of sound (vs. the "Neve family"), so "FORWARD" is probably a fair adjective. I compared them side-by-side with a pair of Brent Averill 312s (older ones with the actual API op-amp) and the Purples spanked the BA modules. The top end was much clearer and more open, and the Purples benefit from a switchable second gain stage and both input and output controls. You can hit the amp hard for a thicker, more colored sound or back off the input for a cleaner sound. I will definitely be adding another pair to my rack soon. I'm also eager tocheck out the other modules Andrew is building - he's working on at least two other preamp modules with various input/output transformer configurations, and I think he is also working on a compressor module in the same form factor.

-sounddevisor

[sounddevisor]

I'm trying to attach some pics - hope this works.

-sounddevisor

[sounddevisor]

Originally Posted by Kent

Hey, Sounddevisor.

Thanks for posting the pictures. They look better in real life than I thought! Congrats!

No problem, Kent. The promo photo someone posted up above doesn't really do them justice - to my eye it makes them look kinda flimsy, which they are not! The front panel is pretty heavyweight, the knobs feel good, and to my admittedly inexpert eye the build quality of the electronics is clean and solid. I know from talking with Andrew that he cares a LOT about the quality of his stuff, which may be why it's sometimes slow to come out - he goes to a lot of trouble to make sure that the sh*t is ON.

-sounddevisor

[Ziggy!!]

thats cool news guys


sounddevisor, how did you pick them up for may i ask?

[Matt M]

I had the pleasure of doing some of the beta testing of the first BIZ modules. I had a pair for a few months that ended up getting used on ALL of the guitar overdubs on a recent project. I have also used them on drums, percussion, and vocals. I would say they are cleaner and more open than an API pre, less "weighty" and colored than a 1073 pre, but much less sterile than a Grace or Avalon pre. Since they have tons of clean gain they work great on ribbon mics. My Royer 121's into the Biz was AWESOME. Old RCA ribbons (77,44,Variacoustic) also sound great with them. I also tried various condensors and dynamics through the BIZ. All of the dynamics I tried benefited from the quick response and clean gain/headroom on the pre. These included SM57, SM7, MD421, MD409, MD441, D12E, M88, blah, blah, blah. On condensors it really depended on what I was trying to achieve. I found the BIZ too open up top to use with a U67 on twangy guitars but that is mainly a palette choice. Just so everyone knows, I share the space where my shop and studio is with Purple Audio. I have no affiliation or business partnership with them but Andrew is a good friend. I would never alter my opinion on a piece of gear because I am friendly (or not) with the manufacturer. The BIZ is a top notch mic pre. I always wanted a transformer based mic pre that was realatively clean but not boring. I am happy that Purple has fillled that void. It is also no secret that the MC77 is the most used compressor in my studio which has lots of other great choices.