RNP vs Presonus Firepod pres

[Peyton]

I have a firepod and i'm thinking of getting a pre amp. I was thinking the RNP because i have the RNC and its really nice so i thought to RNP might be really nice as well. My question is, is the RNP pres $500 beter than the presouns pres or would it be better to put the money toward something else (mics, ect)

[drummin4christ]

I've been using the pod for about a year and and a half now. The pres on this unit are pretty decent. If I was going to upgrade my preamp section, I would look at a sytek or a dav bg-1. Granted, I haven't heard the RNP, but you already have decent mid-level pres in the pod. They are very clean and quite. Heck, save up your money like I did and get some API's or the ADL600. Those are preamps!!!!

Good Luck!!

[nicolaad30]

I was dealing with the same issue, to upgrade or not to upgrade. Yes indeed you could get an ADL and you certainly be upgrading, but what about the rest of the chain?... is it a 2000$ chain as well?.

I finally decided to get rid of the Firepod...

[liquidorange]

i think with the rnp your going sideways. the firepods pre are fine. why not look into the api with the digital ap2-d. then you could really upgrade the pres, allow 10 total tracking inputs (8 plus 2 spdif in) and the api converters will be icing. 3 upgrades in one.

[Robzilla]

Originally Posted by liquidorange

i think with the rnp your going sideways. the firepods pre are fine. why not look into the api with the digital ap2-d. then you could really upgrade the pres, allow 10 total tracking inputs (8 plus 2 spdif in) and the api converters will be icing. 3 upgrades in one.

yeah, but it's 4 times as expensive as the RNP..

[nicolaad30]

You won't be getting a hell of a difference in sound from the RNP to the API... it is juts drops of taste, but you will actually will from the firepod's to the RNP. Consider getting the RNP, if you want to go Tube, then there might be two options to consider: MPA Gold and GT Brick.

I would pick the RNP myself... just an opinion.

[6dyslexicelephnt]

the firepod pres aren't that great. you'd be upgrading going to onyx pres in my opinion. so yes, RNP is a good idea. One good stereo pre will dramatically change how good your recordings sound

[holger]

Originally Posted by 6dyslexicelephnt

the firepod pres aren't that great. you'd be upgrading going to onyx pres in my opinion. so yes, RNP is a good idea. One good stereo pre will dramatically change how good your recordings sound

Hi to all out there. What would be very interesting to me:

A lot of people here creating theories "Product A isn´t that good. Take b.." - Could you please tell us also why it is this way and also why you know this ?

I heard from a lot of sides, that especially the Pre´s of the presonus are quite good translating. In a test-report from a big german magazine, they say this, too, but they also say that the converters aren´t that good.

I never heard the firepod, but i am considering to get one and clock it to the lynx ... Or even only use the pre´s if possible ..

So, if you telll that the Pre´s are not that good, maybe you can also tell when you´ve tested them with which conclusion !! Thanks ..

[stubbsonic]

I don't know if the pres in the firepod are the same as those in the firebox (which I have), but often I have the firebox pre's turned up ALL THE WAY and it's not enough.

[buzzjoe]

I sold my firepod a few days ago because I don't like the preamps (very noisy at high gain settings). I haven't directly compared them but the RNP is certainly better.
So now I am looking for new portable recording solution (my RME ff800 ist too big sometimes). I don't need a built in pre but 4 analog input channels and good converters would be very nice...

[bafonso]

Originally Posted by buzzjoe

I sold my firepod a few days ago because I don't like the preamps (very noisy at high gain settings). I haven't directly compared them but the RNP is certainly better.
So now I am looking for new portable recording solution (my RME ff800 ist too big sometimes). I don't need a built in pre but 4 analog input channels and good converters would be very nice...

Try a duet. pre-amp and adc heaven for the price range. But only if you can do with 2 ins for a mobile setup.

[Kristofferboeegh]

Originally Posted by stubbsonic

I don't know if the pres in the firepod are the same as those in the firebox (which I have), but often I have the firebox pre's turned up ALL THE WAY and it's not enough.

It's not the same.
I've owned both and the Firepod has way more powerful preamps.

[strat+ac30]

I used to own a Firepod. I've used the RNP before, but it's been a few years. I currently use a Onyx preamps + some Seventh Circle Audio stuff (2 N72s, an A12).

The Firepod pres sound average but they're very low-gain. Can get pretty noisy when used with an SM7 on vocal speech, for example. Unless noise is an issue, they're definitely good enough to say "if it sounds like crap, it's not the gear." Let's be honest...home recording standards have really taken a quantum leap forward in the last 10-15 years. A firepod will be several notches above the old "Mackie VLZ + ADAT" sound.

I've only heard the RNP in reference to big $$$ preamps (Chandler, Great River, Pheonix, API, etc) and they really weren't quite in the same ballpark as those. Of course the cost is much less, but I certainly wouldn't place the RNP in a "world-class preamp" category.

The Onyx preamps haven't yet given me a reason to go "wow, I could really use a nicer preamp". Kinda vanilla, but much more gain than the Firepod pres. I've never compared them directly, but if a gun was held to my head, I'd probably put the Onyx roughly on the same level as RNP and somewhat ahead of the Firepod in dimensionality.

The Seventh Circle Audio (SCA) preamps rock. Both of the ones I have. Gain out the wazoo and certainly an extra half-dimension over the Onyx.

If you have any sort of soldering / electronics experience, I'd definitely look into that route. I haven't heard the T15s (yet) but their circuit is supposed to be pretty similar to the RNP's. Same type of design, at least. Sound unheard, I'd recommend getting a SCA chassis/PSU/wiring harness + 2x T15's for $478.

Then, when you have some more cash, you can buy an N72 for $329 and pop that in there for something that will hold its own with anything. (Michael Wagener, who owns just about every preamp ever built, has said that the N72 is his fave for vocals. Of course I change my mind about favorite gear at least once a quarter, so I wouldn't assume it's his current fave, but it does say something).

Or, alternatively, if the Firepod is working out for you as-is, either save the money or spend it elsewhere. E.g. I'd rather have Adam A7's ($1000) or the like instead of an RNP and $500 monitors.

Importance goes Monitoring --> Mics --> Preamps --> 2 Ch converters --> Outboard, imho.

And of course, just to stay grounded, Food --> Shelter --> "Rainy day fund" --> Retirement savings --> Gear is the "real world" pecking order. If you're smart with your money now, you'll have enough to be reckless with it later (and, unless you're in recording to make money, spending several grand qualifies as reckless in my book. Hey, I'm a scrooge.)

[Tom Hakala]

RNP is definitely an upgrade to your Firepod's pres. Yes I have used em both. Get the RNP, you will be satisfied... BUT...maybe within a year or two you may want something better... so why wouldn't you just skip the RNP and get something better now, something that you would probably end up keeping in a long run (altho RNP's resale value is ok).

So what a heck... how about the lunchbox thing? Start with a one pre (GR, API...). Then you will have all the single channel applications covered (vocals, bass, some electric and acoustic guitar things). You didn't btw say exactly where you will be using it for: rock, jazz, metal, classical...?
Someone mentioned that A2D...not a bad idea. If you only need a single channel and that's everything you will ever need, then Great River ME-1NV should in top of your list.

If you wanna keep it under a grand then DAV is a great great option, which is possibly a keeper in the future. So might be the RNP

My point is, RNP is an excellent upgrade. Go for it.

[6dyslexicelephnt]

Originally Posted by liax

Hi to all out there. What would be very interesting to me:

A lot of people here creating theories "Product A isn´t that good. Take b.." - Could you please tell us also why it is this way and also why you know this ?

I heard from a lot of sides, that especially the Pre´s of the presonus are quite good translating. In a test-report from a big german magazine, they say this, too, but they also say that the converters aren´t that good.

I never heard the firepod, but i am considering to get one and clock it to the lynx ... Or even only use the pre´s if possible ..

So, if you telll that the Pre´s are not that good, maybe you can also tell when you´ve tested them with which conclusion !! Thanks ..

I've had the firepod and onyx. When I switched to onyx, I was so happy with the change in sound (I wish I had been happy going from onyx to 003r). Less high end harshness, fuller, more analog warmth. A nice preamp will let your hear your mics more clearly. It's hard to explain but once you hear it you will know the difference

[drethe5th]

Originally Posted by Peyton

I have a firepod and i'm thinking of getting a pre amp. I was thinking the RNP because i have the RNC and its really nice so i thought to RNP might be really nice as well. My question is, is the RNP pres $500 beter than the presouns pres or would it be better to put the money toward something else (mics, ect)

Yup I agree with the other guy, the ADL is solid indeed. Id save up and grab it rather than shoot for a mid grade pre if i were you. The Firepod sounds good already. So take the next step. If not then yeah grab a better mike.

[GitWizards]

I started with a firepod, then bought a RNP, and now I have recently bought a apogee duet. I wish I had bought an ensemble in the first place, but what the hell did I know. I think the firepod is fine except for quiet recordings. I wanted more gain so I bought an RNP which I think is slightly nicer than the firepod, but I'm not sure if it's $500 better. The RNP sounds nice, but it's a little noisy at high gain. The gain can also be changed by only six degrees at a time which is somewhat annoying especially since it is somewhat noisy, but since you have the RNC you can use the RNC to adjust your gain by one degree at a time. The RNC and RNP integrate really well together. You just need two TRS cables to connect the RNC to the RNP and don't have to worry about the fact that the RNC is unbalanced and the RNP is balanced ( your firepod has to balanced inputs on channel 1 and 2 on the back).
The duet has really blown me away. The 75 dB of gain is incredible and the converters are so nice. I am very happy with it. It is very limited compared to the firepod though when it comes to ins and outs. There are no inserts on the duet which sucks if you have outboard gear. My SM57 came to life and sounded so great and silky through the duet with very little noise at high gain. I can' give my full opinion on the RNP yet because I have not fed it through the duets A/D converter. I had to order an adapter since the duet's line in goes through a XLR connection and the out on the RNP is 1/4 TRS. The RNP might sound great through the duets A/D converter. One thing that I found interesting and maybe disturbing was that I think I like the DI on the RNP to firepod better than the DI on the duet (need to do more comparisons though since the two recordings were so spaced apart). Again I haven't tried RNP to Duet yet. I'll be trying it in a week or so. I will post here when I do in case you haven't made a purchase decision by then. If the weak link in the firepod is the A/D conversion (not sure myself, need to test more when I have time) then maybe a different audio interface would be a good idea. The firestudio got a nice review in this month's Sound on Sound. I've heard some good things about RME's, but have zero experience with them. Good Luck

[juan162]

Instead of starting yet another RNP thread, I though I'd do a little hijacking.

How does the RNP stack up against the pres in the Octopre, M-Audio Octane, or other $600-$800 8 channel pres out there? While I would really like to add 8 more channels to my recording rig, I think I'd rather get a couple pres that are better quality than the ones onboard my Alesis io14.

In a related question, would the Octopre or Octane represent a step up in preamp quality from the io14, or am I just adding more channels?

Juan

[Tom Hakala]

Originally Posted by juan162

How does the RNP stack up against the pres in the Octopre, M-Audio Octane, or other $600-$800 8 channel pres out there?

IMO RNP is better. When I was comparing RNP to my RME preamps there was no comparison. RNP was hands down better than RME. Of course RNP just isn't as good as high end pre's, but definitely better than pre's in those budget 8 channel units.

[liquidorange]

i thought i read somewhere that there was a way to get a mic pre insert into a duet.

[partnering]

i have a firepod and also some nice pres, germ, gama, phoenix drs -1
yeah those are fuller sounding pres for sure. the firepod is okay until high gain settings and it can get a highend harshness. but at moderate levels its fine.
I have the electro harmonix 12ay7 pre and its not as "thick" or colored as the big boys but in terms of smoothness its the same. its definitely smoother on the top than the firepod which i did do a/b tests on awhile back and found the firepod high end abit harsher sounding. only drawback is i'm on my third wall wart for the electro harmonix unit so even tho its good price 190$ and sounds good the quality control maybe lacking. other than that i like the electro harmonix and i have 2 for my overhead duties. its got a wooley thick mids in the sound and a really cool high top end on that pre. also try running a di bass thru it
really cool sound smoothing out the transients and giving it a cool mid thickness to it.
if it was me i would just use a cheaper decent solution like the 12ay7 or save up and go for a big boy pre like a great river, heck even a lunchbox +pre is cool. i think just that the 500-700$ range your above the firepod but then couple more paychecks and you get what you really want and not go thru the selling the unit a couple months down the road for what you really want.

[jdier]

Originally Posted by Tom Hakala

RNP is definitely an upgrade to your Firepod's pres. Yes I have used em both. Get the RNP, you will be satisfied
My point is, RNP is an excellent upgrade. Go for it.

I agree with this. I have used the firepod and the RNP and I have a Great River and some meek stuff.

the Rnp is better sounding, but not hugely different. I think you would hear more of a difference from different mics.... that said, I would not think about sell in my rnp's.

[opdev]

I just got an RNP because I wanted a better sound for my acoustic/vocal recordings.

I "may" hear a slight clarity increase only because I spend more on the RNP than I did on the firepod.

So far (a few days in), it was not worth the money. Especially since my mics are all pretty "well reviewed" cheap ass mics.

I have tried the RNP so far with Studio Projects B1 and MXL 603S.

We'll see how it works with my Fathead II when it comes since I may need the extra gain.

[6dyslexicelephnt]

Originally Posted by opdev

I just got an RNP because I wanted a better sound for my acoustic/vocal recordings.

I "may" hear a slight clarity increase only because I spend more on the RNP than I did on the firepod.

So far (a few days in), it was not worth the money. Especially since my mics are all pretty "well reviewed" cheap ass mics.

I have tried the RNP so far with Studio Projects B1 and MXL 603S.

We'll see how it works with my Fathead II when it comes since I may need the extra gain.

I find that really hard to believe. I used to have a firepod and it was harsh. Mackie Onyx and and MPA GOLD were both improvements by a large degree

At first it's hard to hear by itself. But if you use the RNP, or another nice pre, for everything in the whole mix, versus the firepod, it should sound richer and cleaner and smoother. Once you can hear how much better your mix as a whole sounds, then you'll start to notice it by itself

Here is an example: I've been looking at getting another 4033 for overheads because I was really digging the splash. I was out of MPA Gold channels so I figured hey I'll just plug it into the 003r preamps. And it sounded like shit. I couldn't figure it out - why did I like it so much before and not now? Then I realized, the mic sounds harsh and brittle and ugly in the 003 preamps to the extent that it didn't even seem like a good mic in that use even though I had thought so before

Anyway it's subtle because everyone hypes up preamps, you expect it to blow you away. After a while you realize it is incredible what it does even though to the inexperienced ear you would have to A/B it back and forth to notice

[dwpthe3rd]

Hi, first post here. (after years of lurking)

I got a RNP for my b'day a couple of months ago. Prior to that, I used either a Symetrix 528e, ART tube mp or mackie board amps. I do voiceover work. My primary mic is a sony c48. Over the years I've used an nt1 and mxl v69me with this setup as well.

I'm genuinely impressed by the step up in quality with the sony mic hooked up to the RNP. This has been the standout improvement for me - a lesser improvement with the RNP/nt1-v69 combo.

Of the pres you've cited, my experience is only with the RNP and, imo when matched to a good mic, this pre goes beyond the inexpensive mackie/symetrix/ART product. For me, the RNP is very good, exceeding my expectations, when matched to a good mic.

Dave Paton

And thats how it sounds to me, +/- 3db

[warhead]

Originally Posted by strat+ac30

The Onyx preamps haven't yet given me a reason to go "wow, I could really use a nicer preamp". Kinda vanilla, but much more gain than the Firepod pres. I've never compared them directly, but if a gun was held to my head, I'd probably put the Onyx roughly on the same level as RNP and somewhat ahead of the Firepod in dimensionality.

That's a very fair overall placement of quality for each. I still use an Onyx 1640 for drum tracking and even some live recording gigs, way more preamp than you expect (and not an off the shelf design, but Presonus don't use off the shelf mic amps either).

War

[6dyslexicelephnt]

i agree that the onyx preamps are much better than the firepod pres. The reason you might want better preamps is for something smoother with more gain. The onyx preamps make some mics get a little fuzzy in the high end. Overheads, acoustic guitar, vocals, cello etc. have sensitive high end information that can easily be made unnatural sounding without careful amplification. Dynamic mics are less affected by crappier preamps because they're not "supposed" to sound natural, and they don't have as much high end information.

if you get a chance, try the overhead test

[jeronimo]

I don't know about the Firepod, but I compared a Digimax LT with my RNP and as soon as I switched from the RNP to the Digimax I felt like someone put a blanket over the mic AND turned the hi pass filter on... it really sucked...

[opdev]

I have a firepod and just bought an RNP. Tough call. Not the black/white difference I expected.

Maybe it sounds a little better but I have also been getting better about mic positions, room noise etc some some of the improvement is technique.

I think in hindsight, I would pass on the RNP and move further up the food chain.

[jeronimo]

Originally Posted by opdev

I have a firepod and just bought an RNP. Tough call. Not the black/white difference I expected.

Maybe it sounds a little better but I have also been getting better about mic positions, room noise etc some some of the improvement is technique.

I think in hindsight, I would pass on the RNP and move further up the food chain.

That´s great!
I think there´s someone from Presonus that posts in this forum... maybe when he chimes in we can clarify the differences.