SMPro Audio M-Patch Monitor Volume Control

[pmdundee]

I'm looking into this product to serve as a volume control and switcher for my powered monitors in a DAW setup. I've been reading a lot of the threads on here, but I'm having trouble finding some definitive answers on whether this is a quality product. Anyone who's actually used it, please let me know how much it colors the sound. If anyone has used it and could recommend something better, that would be appreciated as well.

Also, is this the same product as what some people refer to as the Violet Audio M-Patch?

Thanks

[wolffy]

I have one and it works fine. When I go from zero to loud on the pot, it doesn't crackle, make strange noise, or change the sound of what's playing besides the volume as far as I can tell. I don't have a similar product to compare it to though. All in all, it's working great for me.

[pmdundee]

Thanks for the info. Have you had any problem with the stereo image shifting or being out of balance? I have read in some of the other threads that this is a problem at lower volumes with some of these passive volume controls.

Also, is yours the SMPro Audio product or Violet Audio?

[wolffy]

It's SMPro Audio, and I haven't noticed any problems. Maybe when you go from 0 db to barely barely audible the sound will only come out one speaker until you turn it up another hair. I don't see that being a problem, or being a sign that the thing isn't doing its job right. Even if that .01db difference continues on throughout the range of volume, it's miniscule.

Then again, I might just not be experienced enough to know what I could/should be worried about in the first place. I don't see how a passive volume pot could be "colored". Like I said, I don't have anything fancier to compare it to.

It seems to me to do its job and all the options (A/B, alt input from cd player, mute, mono) come in very handy.

[SoundChances]

I've got one and so far so good, I've not noticed any change in the audio or the balance issue either...

[joeq]

I have one and like it a lot. No audible problems and it sounds way cleaner than the little mixer I was using before.

Nice to have a mono button too.

[ttauri]

When I ordered mine, the first one had serious balance problems and had to be sent back, but the replacement is working fine.

(BTW, yes, same as the Violet Audio one)

Peece,
T. Tauri

[Teacher]

when I switched to the sm pro audio m patch from the A-designs ATTY....i noticed a slight "mucking up" of the highs....VERY slight but it was there, I was using Benchmark 2008 (20bit DACs) when I heard this.

BTW there is no Violet designs to myknowledge its actually the sm pro audio....just misnamed on some sites

[pmdundee]

It seems to be the general consensus from the comments in this post and others that the M-Patch would be a better, less colored choice than Samson's C-Control. Anyone back this up? Has anyone compared the two?

Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments!

[cdog]

Its passive
Its cheap


What more do you want?

[dkelley]

I bought an M-Patch last week and it didn't get out of mono mode no matter how I switched it or set it up. Obviously something was crosswired or touching incorrectly inside the box. I returned it, got a replacement, and then it worked but the imaging was flawed -- surprising considering it's passive. Obviously there are some dumb design choices inside or very poor quality pots used as far as separation between the channels goes. Something's screwy in it's design, doesn't sound nearly as good as it should considering it's passive. But then, many passive direct boxes sound like crap too, no reason why passive MUST be better than active, just that it's a purist kind of thing and it OUGHT to be better, in an ideal world.

That being said, I just returned it again and picked up a $39 berry minimon which does twice as much stuff but isn't balanced and has a cheapo active circuit instead of passive. Here's my honest assessment: it has better imaging than the m-patch but does introduce some cheesy active white noise into the signal path. It sounds great but just does't use the lowest noise circuit/opamps in the world. I'm going to open it up and see if the circuit design is ok, if it is I might swap the opamps and see if I can make it a little quieter. For the price it is better than the m-patch as far as accuracy of the stereo field goes, and noise I can monitor without this thing inthe chain anyway so I'm keeping it until my central station arrives in the mail (expected in 3 weeks, used bargain off ebay).

I know it sounds like magic psychological bull, but I'm quite convinced that the m-patch was altering the stereo field and imaging in some bad ways. Obviously the effect was subtle, but once I pointed it out to my wife (a singer) she could point it out every time in a blind test even with some trickery invovled (saying I swapped it when I didn't). By the way, the blind tests were done with m-patch versus straight to speakers and I matched levels perfectly with a meter and confirmed them with experienced listening. It sounded identical at first until you started getting really picky and sat in the correct monitoring spot in my control area. monitors are only yorkville ysm-1 passives but they're good enough to show the problems consistently.

I'd say the active circuit in the samson... er, I mean the berry tutt ... is more accurate but just needs probably better opamps. I'll confirm that in the next few days when I get time again to play with this. If I can get my berry mon800 to have usefully low noise I may keep it as a backup for the presonus. I'll also post the circuit changes if they do prove to be good enough to make the product useful in a real monitoring situation.

By the way, the circuit is probably exactly the same as the c-control but probably with different parts, and I would imagine the c-control parts aren't exactly ideal either so maybe I can make the berry performance better than either stock unit?

PS. just added this - to anybody who thinks monitors need balanced ins, that is only true if you have to run the cables over long distances (more than a few feet) or if you're working near some nasty interference (I hope you don't have a neon sign in your control room LoL). The berry unbalanced design should be fine for most real world situations in a small project studio, just that the circuit is too noisy as stock. The noise is not from being unbalanced, it's the circuit design and/or component quality. Hopefully fixable for a few $$.

Cheers,
Don

[Acoustic Cloud]

I have the original Mpatch, and it seems to work perfect. I wish I didnt have to use anything inline, but I do with the current soundcard. I did a test where I listened to a 1 min. clip about 20 times in a row, and then hooked up the M patch......nothing I could hear was different. I have heard of a few of these going, or being bad, I dont see how, but I guess they have. The volume pots on the unit are extremely solid feeling and sounding also.

I had the ATTY for a bit, and its pot was horrible, got real gritty feeling at 12 o'clock, and then smoothed out. I am sure I got a bad one, and they arent all like that. The unit was so small and lightweight though, with 2 cables coming out of each side east and west it was like having a matchbox in between 2 hammers. []