Preamps - Profire 610 vs Apogee Duet vs 003 rack

[RTR]

Originally Posted by shin.shin

I am aware that the issue in question may have been touched on in previous forum topics, but I'd like to hear your individual opinions with regards to preamp qualities of the Profire 610, Apogee Duet, and the 003 rack.

What do you guys think of Profire 610's Octane preamps? How do the Octane preamps stand in comparison to Apogee Duet's preamps? I'd like to hear your opinion (as well as anyone who is reading this, please chime in, I'd like to hear what you guys think!)

Do any of you Apogee Duet owners (or ex-owners ) use the 003 rack, and what do you think of Duet's preamps in comparison with the 003's preamps?

Also, what do you think of the 003 preamps in comparison with the Profire 610?

Ultimately, how would you rank all three products (1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place!), in terms of preamp quality?

Please, I'd love to hear from you!

WOW..a lot of people asking about the 610..well...I have never used Apogee Duet but I assume there pre's would be better, at least I hope for the price....As for the 003, CRAP compared to the 610 pre's and ad/da..yes I owned the 003 for 2 years and I loved it, but the 610 blows it far far away!! There was a thread here a LONG time ago where a few people did say that the 610 and 2626 sounded just as good as the Apogee Duet..but I can not confirm that and do not need to be flamed by the Apogee crowed(although I am probably on Chris' ignore list) !!

So for you list IMO
1.610 or Apogee Duet
2.behringer ada8000 (For real, do a search)
3. digi 003


PS. I would worry about ad/da just as much as prea mps..you can always get an extra pre amp!!

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by RTR

(although I am probably on Chris' ignore list) !!

I don't have anyone on my ignore list anymore, it was too silly of me to keep everyone on there .

I personally don't like the 003, I think the Profire is great, but the converters on the duet are better than both. Take my statement with a grain of salt, and go tryout the 3 to hear which one would work best for you.

[shin.shin]

PS. I would worry about ad/da just as much as prea mps..you can always get an extra pre amp!!

Thanks RTR and Chris for the reply! Yes, Chris you have a good point there, the ad/da converters are very important too (I had almost forgotten)!!! The key phrase I wish to discuss here is "sound quality", and yes, the ad/da converters do play a major role in sound quality (apart from the mic pre-amps of course)!

I have read that the 003, Profire 610, and Duet's mic preamps can be bypassed if an external mic preamp (like a Grace 101) is used, am I correct?

Anyone else like to share their opinions regarding:

1) ad/da converters, and
2) mic preamps

of the 003, Profire 610, and Duet, and how do they compare with each other? I'd love to hear your personal experiences! Please speak up!


ps. Dont forget to rank the 3 interfaces from 1-3, especially if you've used all 3 before!! (1 being the best and 3 being the worst!)

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by shin.shin

I have read that the 003, Profire 610, and Duet's mic preamps can be bypassed if an external mic preamp (like a Grace 101) is used, am I correct?

Yes it is correct. The Grace by the way will give you a similar sound to the duet's pres, if you've heard the m101 before. It's basically a clean gain pre.

[shin.shin]

Originally Posted by chrislago

Yes it is correct. The Grace by the way will give you a similar sound to the duet's pres, if you've heard the m101 before. It's basically a clean gain pre.

Are there any tonal differences then between the Grace 101 and the Duet? If it's similar, would it still be a good idea then to get a Grace 101 to work with a Duet?

What do you think of the Profire 610's sound, and it's tonal differences with a Duet and Grace 101?

Thanks Chrislago for your opinion, much appreciated!

I live far from the city, so I do not have the privilege of walking into a music hardware store everytime I want to try equipment (I'd have to plan my trips to the city in advance and will often buy once I am there). So guys, I really appreciate your advices!

[RTR]

Originally Posted by shin.shin

Are there any tonal differences then between the Grace 101 and the Duet? If it's similar, would it still be a good idea then to get a Grace 101 to work with a Duet?

What do you think of the Profire 610's sound, and it's tonal differences with a Duet and Grace 101?

Thanks Chrislago for your opinion, much appreciated!

I live far from the city, so I do not have the privilege of walking into a music hardware store everytime I want to try equipment (I'd have to plan my trips to the city in advance and will often buy once I am there). So guys, I really appreciate your advices!

I used a m101 when I had my 003 and I loved it, very, very clean..its a real nice preamp but I sold mine because if I need clean the 610 pre's work well, I got a gap 73 for a more colored sound..

[RTR]

Originally Posted by chrislago

I don't have anyone on my ignore list anymore, it was too silly of me to keep everyone on there .

I personally don't like the 003, I think the Profire is great, but the converters on the duet are better than both. Take my statement with a grain of salt, and go tryout the 3 to hear which one would work best for you.

On no chris, I do believe you that the duet converters are better, I just have never used them, but as far as the 003, CRAP..the 610/2626 is far better...the only reason I would go 2626 (witch I did not, I went 610) would be for the i/o compared to the duet..shit I wish I could hook a duet up to my 610 through spdif but I am on a pc..or I would do it quick!!!

[Chris Lago]

Does the duet have SPDIF? I don't think so.

[RTR]

Originally Posted by chrislago

Does the duet have SPDIF? I don't think so.

Yet another reason I don't use it

[shin.shin]

Originally Posted by RTR

Yet another reason I don't use it

What do you usually use S/PDIF for in your work? In what circumstances do you think I might need S/PDIF, and in what circumstances do you think I do not?

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by shin.shin

What do you usually use S/PDIF for in your work? In what circumstances do you think I might need S/PDIF, and in what circumstances do you think I do not?

You use SPDIF usually to get a different AD/DA converter in there, and sometimes it can be in conjunction with a preamp like the Art Digital MPA, Joemeek pre, DBX and Focusrite ISA or others, or a channel strip like the SSL Alpha Channel, and others.

[shin.shin]

Originally Posted by chrislago

You use SPDIF usually to get a different AD/DA converter in there, and sometimes it can be in conjunction with a preamp like the Art Digital MPA, Joemeek pre, DBX and Focusrite ISA or others, or a channel strip like the SSL Alpha Channel, and others.

So the SPDIF allows the option of expandibility if you have a better AD/DA converter, as well as a preamp that can be plugged into the SPDIF? Am I correct?

[RTR]

Originally Posted by shin.shin

What do you usually use S/PDIF for in your work? In what circumstances do you think I might need S/PDIF, and in what circumstances do you think I do not?

Umm..I would use it (if it were pc) to run spdif into my 610 to add another 2 inputs plus I could use it's ad/da instead of the 610's if I wanted to!!

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by shin.shin

So the SPDIF allows the option of expandibility if you have a better AD/DA converter, as well as a preamp that can be plugged into the SPDIF? Am I correct?

Exactly, for example I upgraded my AD first with SPDIF to my M-Audio Firewire Solo, and then Upgraded the DA with a Mytek DA via SPDIF. I get Firewire option, SPDIF connectivity, and I only need 2 channels, so it's perfect for my needs.

[christopherrr]

Hi sorry, all of this stuff was informative, but I'm only interested in the vocal quality of the preamps. Duet or 610? I only need 2 channels and I'm using a rode nt1a. PLEASE HELP! I DON'T KNOW WHICH TO GET! is the duet worth the 500?! some forum some dude said he used them with his neuman 103's, so i assume it must be pretty good?!

thanks

[msl]

Duet pre's are killer on vocals, super clean. Never liked the octane pre's, but haven't really used the ones in the 610. If all you need is 2 channels and you can live without spdif go for it, you won't regret it. I was using TC Konnekt impact pre before I got the Duet, big difference in pre quality.



.

[skiltrip]

The 610's pres sound nice. Nothing exciting, but they won't ruin your sound either (like the older M-Audio stuff or MBox/003 stuff). Very clean, just transparent. They do what they should.

The one thing about the ProFire pres is that the gain ramping on the knob is very annoying. You've got to get the knob up to about 3 o'clock before you hear a significant gain boost. Then between 3 o'clock and max you get a massive increase with very little wiggle room to adjust between them. You get used to it. But it's just odd. This is normal too, a lot of people have confirmed that there's are like this as well. I also had a 610 last year for a while that was the same. That said, once you accept them for what they are and embrace the fact that they do sound nice and good and clean, everything is good. No, it's no Grace m101, but you can certainly get some really pro results using them.

[tvboy123]

I recently got myself the duet (used to have an mbox 2 pro), it works well for what I want it for, and I read a lot around and decided on my budget it was the best I could go for. It's so neat haha. But on the topic of preamps I'm just wondering if anyone had experience with it and the gap 73? How does its pre's compare to the duets and would it be worth buying it?

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by tvboy123

I recently got myself the duet (used to have an mbox 2 pro), it works well for what I want it for, and I read a lot around and decided on my budget it was the best I could go for. It's so neat haha. But on the topic of preamps I'm just wondering if anyone had experience with it and the gap 73? How does its pre's compare to the duets and would it be worth buying it?

I suspect that most will say, both good, but different. Duet is clean. GAP73 is colored via transformers. So both excellent pres, each with a different flavor.

[tvboy123]

Originally Posted by skiltrip

I suspect that most will say, both good, but different. Duet is clean. GAP73 is colored via transformers. So both excellent pres, each with a different flavor.

Cheers for the info skilltrip i'll hold on to my savings for a little bit longer then have a nice day!

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by tvboy123

Cheers for the info skilltrip i'll hold on to my savings for a little bit longer then have a nice day!

You too. I'm actually kind of eyeing the GAP73 myself for a future purchase but I'm waiting. At the moment, my 610 pres serve me well, and I'm having my DMP3 modded but haven't gotten it back yet. So I'm anxious to see how nice that sounds when I get it back.

[tvboy123]

Originally Posted by skiltrip

You too. I'm actually kind of eyeing the GAP73 myself for a future purchase but I'm waiting. At the moment, my 610 pres serve me well, and I'm having my DMP3 modded but haven't gotten it back yet. So I'm anxious to see how nice that sounds when I get it back.

It would appear that gearslutz is good for me and my recordings, but not my bank lol. I laid off the gap73....but i bought the sm7b from ebay, got it pretty cheap :D my savings for a future mortgage are slowly getting depleted..best start saving again lol. Thanks for the advice u've given me though, in other threads too =] anyways have a good one!