ART MPA Gold vs. Digital MPA

indravayu · 25th August 2006, 07:56 PM

Hi guys,
I am looking for a cheap (under $500) tube mic preamp and have been leaning towards the ART MPA Gold of Digital MPA. There is about a $100 difference in price, and some slight difference in the specs (noted below), and I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice on which one might better serve me. I am mainly going to use this for recording vocals, electric & acoustic guitar and bass in my home studio (for mics I will be variably using SM57's, an Aphex 460 tube condenser and a ShinyBox ribbon) - I am ditching my current audio interface (Aardvark Direct Pro Q10) for an RME Fireface 400 in the next month or so. I guess my big question is, do I really need to spend the extra $100 for the DMPA's digital connectors, or will I be fine the the MPA GOLD's analog connectors (and put $100 towards an EQ, or something)?

- Chris

MPA Gold

CMRR: >90dB (typical @ 1kHz)
Analog Connections: Bal. XLR (pin2 hot) inputs/outputs and bal. 1/4” outputs (TRS), unbal. inst. inputs
Controls: Input Gain, Impedance, Output level, and High Pass Filter SWITCHES: +20dB gain, Phase Reversal, Plate Voltage, Meter Sensitivity, Phantom Power with LED switches
Dynamic Range: >100dB (20Hz to 20kHz)
Equivalent Input Noise: -133dBu (XLR to XLR ‘A’ weighted)
Frequency Response: 15Hz to 120kHz (+0, -1dB)
Input Impedance: 150-3K ohms (XLR), 840k ohms (1/4")
Maximum Gain XLR to XLR: 75dB
Maximum Input Level: +20dBu (XLR), +17dBu (1/4")
Maximum Output Level: +28dBu (XLR)
Output Impedance: 47 ohms (XLR)
Total Harmonic Distortion: >0.005% (typical)

Digital MPA

CMRR: >90dB (typical @ 1kHz)
Controls: Input, Impedance, Output level, Digital Level, High Pass Filter, and Sample Rate
Analog Connections: Balanced XLR (pin 2 hot) inputs and outputs, A/D inserts (TRS) and Unbalanced 1/4” outputs (TS) inputs
Digital Connections: AES/EBU (XLR), S/PDIF (RCA), ADAT Optical In, ADAT/TOSLINK Out, Wordclock In, and Word clock Thru (BNC)
Dynamic Range: >100dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
Equivalent Input Noise: - 134dB (XLR to XLR ‘A’ weighted)
Frequency Response: 15Hz to 80kHz (+0, -1dB)
Input Impedance: 150-3K ohms (XLR), 840k ohms (1/4")
Switches: +20dB gain, Phase Reversal, Plate Voltage, Meter Source, Phantom Power w/ LED, Dither, Optical Format and Power
Maximum Gain XLR to XLR: 75dB
Maximum Input Level: +18dBu (XLR), +16dBu (1/4")
Maximum Output Level +28dBu (XLR)
Output Impedance: 47 ohms (XLR)
Total Harmonic Distortion: >0.005% (typical)

Third Story · 25th August 2006, 10:48 PM

i have been wondering if either of units are good myself!! are they worth getting and keeping around even when one reaches the point of high end pres??

mamm7215 · 25th August 2006, 11:57 PM

I have an mpa gold and thinks it's great. almost need to go A LOT more for a high-end pre to make it worth not using this one anymore.

Brian Middleton · 26th August 2006, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indravayu

Hi guys,
I am looking for a cheap (under $500) tube mic preamp

Sorry if this question is out of order, but is there a particular reason why you want it to be a tube preamp?

In that price range, and for the kinds of sources you're recording, I'd be looking hard at the FMR RNP.

mamm7215 · 26th August 2006, 01:22 AM

I actually got the mpa gold because I already had the pro vla and wanted to "match" the pair, for what it's worth. Just a me thing. I very much like the clean sound out of the mpa gold and the fact that it's NON starved-plate. You actually get high (300) voltage to the tube or you can disable the tube and use it as a straight solid state pre-amp. Nice features. You can upgrade the tubes easily as well if you're so inclined. I'm sure I'll tweak this at a later date. It's a nice stereo pre/compressor chain for my vox and bass. I use a studio projects
C1 and the mpa/vla combo takes a bit of the high harshness out of the mic while still allowing the C1 to sit great in a mix. Hope this helps.

Albert · 26th August 2006, 03:40 AM

I haven't heard either unit, but I highly doubt you or anyone else would be able to hear the difference between those specs.

dasoundjunkie · 26th August 2006, 12:56 PM

If you are going to record just one channel at a time go with the ART Pro Channel. The mic pre is exellent and you also get a really good compressor and EQ. I've got one in my rack along with pres from Earth Works, SPL and Presonus and it's become one of my favorites.

Alex.ASO · 26th August 2006, 06:39 PM

wow talk about coincidence, I just bought the ART Digital mpa gold pre new off ebay yesterday(friday), I'll let you know how it is

Makinithappen · 26th August 2006, 10:23 PM

Just my opinion but I have the ART MPA Gold and the TPSII in my B Studio and personally I think the TPSII (170 dollars) sounds better. I bought the MPA after I had been impressed (for the cost) with the TPS. I thought it sounded pretty harsh on the high mids, plus the left channel is kinda glichy. Probably just mine but...whatever.

My $.02, try looking at the Focusrite TwinTrakPro. I know it isn't tube but I use it at home and I'm pretty pleased. The compressor on it sucks and a lot of the features are useless but I think the pres are pretty nice. That price range for pres is kinda tricky. Seems like stuff jumps from $200 up to $1500 real fast with not much in between.

indravayu · 26th August 2006, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Middleton

Sorry if this question is out of order, but is there a particular reason why you want it to be a tube preamp?

In that price range, and for the kinds of sources you're recording, I'd be looking hard at the FMR RNP.

Well, I suppose it's mainly because I like the coloring of the sound that the tube provides. My band is very classic rock-influenced and I am going for more of a vintage sound. I also think the MPA Gold/Digital MPA has some cool features that aren't found on the RNP.

My big decision is, do I bother spending the extra $100 for the added digital converters/outputs on the Digital MPA, or should I just stay analog and rely on the Fireface 400's A/D converters (which are probably superior to the Digital MPA's).

- Chris

indravayu · 26th August 2006, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasoundjunkie

If you are going to record just one channel at a time go with the ART Pro Channel. The mic pre is exellent and you also get a really good compressor and EQ. I've got one in my rack along with pres from Earth Works, SPL and Presonus and it's become one of my favorites.

Yeah, I was looking at the Pro Channel, too - I already have a VLA, though, so I didn't want to get redundant equipment. I was thinking about getting a pair of dbx 242's for EQ to insert on the MPA.

I will definitely be recording two channels at a time when I do electric guitars.

indravayu · 26th August 2006, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamm7215

I actually got the mpa gold because I already had the pro vla and wanted to "match" the pair, for what it's worth. Just a me thing. I very much like the clean sound out of the mpa gold and the fact that it's NON starved-plate. You actually get high (300) voltage to the tube or you can disable the tube and use it as a straight solid state pre-amp. Nice features. You can upgrade the tubes easily as well if you're so inclined. I'm sure I'll tweak this at a later date. It's a nice stereo pre/compressor chain for my vox and bass. I use a studio projects
C1 and the mpa/vla combo takes a bit of the high harshness out of the mic while still allowing the C1 to sit great in a mix. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I have a VLA and that's exactly what I want. I am a guitarist, and I love experimenting with different tubes in my gear (I already swapped out the stock tubes in the VLA for NOS Mullard 12AT7's, though I might try some JAN GE 5751's soon). I am planning on getting a ribbon mic, too, which I have never used before, but I understand that I need a lot of gain (the MPA advertises that it is suitable for ribbons, which is one of the reasons I put it on my short list).

- Chris

stagefright13 · 27th August 2006, 05:29 PM

Are you sure the mpa gold isn't starved plate? I thought ALL art gear is starved plate. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. I have an Art prochannel. The only Art piece I own and sounds good. But I sware it's a starved plate...
I almost got a digital mpa a while back but saved up more and got a UA solo610 instead. Liked it so much I just bought a second one!
Tubes rule!

dasoundjunkie · 27th August 2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indravayu

Yeah, I was looking at the Pro Channel, too - I already have a VLA, though, so I didn't want to get redundant equipment. I was thinking about getting a pair of dbx 242's for EQ to insert on the MPA.

I will definitely be recording two channels at a time when I do electric guitars.

The compressor on the Pro Channel is the same as the Pro VLA on the optical mode ,BUT there is also the tube mode and trust me , this alone is worth the price of admition! I wish ART would make a stand alone stero version of this compressor as I would buy it in a heartbeat!!!

stagefright13 · 27th August 2006, 05:58 PM

Hmm just checked the specs on this again. It says on high it supplies the equivelant of a 300 plate voltage whatever that means. But it definitly doesn't seem starved plate. Looks very interesting.
If I did get one I would personally save my 002r's spidf for a multiple "in" such as an ada8000 (wich I have) or a Mackie Onyx 800r (wich I want). So I would go with the gold :) Looks like a great item for the price. Lemme know how everyone likes it

mamm7215 · 28th August 2006, 05:12 PM

The digital MPA would be a good consideration if you need the s/pdif out. I considered that but I'm using my chain as left side vocals, right side bass. And I'm already running my bass through a Sansamp BDDI. The MPA Gold has tons of gain for ribbons. You've got you're input stage, output stage, tube stage and +20 db boost so it's all there. I started with a Bluetube DP and took it back, it just didn't have enough "juice" or sound as clean, either. Also, the MPA Gold has an input impedance adjust so you can change the characteristic of your mic, which is great for me as I've only got the C1 and can give it different flavoring with this knob. I decided against the digital as I don't need the s/pdif out of my pre-amp. I'm going to get the Soundcraft M8 or M12 mixer for my main board, it's got s/pdif out to my M-audio soundcard so I can bypass my AD/DA card converters.

indravayu · 28th August 2006, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamm7215

The digital MPA would be a good consideration if you need the s/pdif out. I considered that but I'm using my chain as left side vocals, right side bass. And I'm already running my bass through a Sansamp BDDI. The MPA Gold has tons of gain for ribbons. You've got you're input stage, output stage, tube stage and +20 db boost so it's all there. I started with a Bluetube DP and took it back, it just didn't have enough "juice" or sound as clean, either. Also, the MPA Gold has an input impedance adjust so you can change the characteristic of your mic, which is great for me as I've only got the C1 and can give it different flavoring with this knob. I decided against the digital as I don't need the s/pdif out of my pre-amp. I'm going to get the Soundcraft M8 or M12 mixer for my main board, it's got s/pdif out to my M-audio soundcard so I can bypass my AD/DA card converters.

Yeah, I am trying to figure out if I will ever need the digital outputs on the DMPA - I probably won't, but it would be nice to have them just in case, I suppose.

If I wasn't on such a tight budget, it wouldn't be an issue (I like the idea of saving $100, since I still have a lot of other gear to pick up before recording starts).

Do any of you guys think it's preferrable sound-quality-wise to run into an audio interface like the FF400 from the digital outputs of the DMPA? Or is there no real advantage over the analog outputs?

- Chris

indravayu · 28th August 2006, 07:09 PM

Well, I threw caution to the wind and bought the Digital MPA today (should arrive by Wed - I'll let you guys know what I think) - it's on sale at Musicians Friend and Zzounds, so I am at least saving a couple bucks (the MPA Gold is on sale as well - and Musicians Friend is also offering a mail-in rebate on top of that, in case anyone is interested).

Now I just need an EQ and a Fireface 400 - time to max out my credit card, woohoo!!

- Chris

mamm7215 · 28th August 2006, 08:53 PM

Chris, what are you recording in to? Is it a DAW running Sonar, or Cubase or something? If so, you probably DON'T need an EQ as many software recording programs come with a suite of plugins, and you can get many, many software plugs as good or better than a budget hardware EQ. FWIW, my chain is: Mic/bass>MPA Gold>Pro VLA>Board>Computer. For guitar, I run through a Boss GT-8>Board>Computer. Love the thought of a Fireface400 though, I'm studio budgeted out right now. Good luck!

conroy · 9th April 2007, 06:15 PM

I'm wondering about the exact same thing. I've owned the ART PRO MPA for a number of years and loved the sound. I would like to upgrade to either the ART Gold or Digital MPA. I'm curious about the minor spec differences you mentioned. How good are the A/D converters in the Digital MPA? Any better than the ones in my Delta 1010? The fact that the pre-amp section and the A/D converters share the same power supply leads me to think that the Digital MPA would suffer slightly sonically as a pre-amp comparedd tho the plain ART Gold. Any thoughts?

PheelTheMusic · 10th April 2007, 01:48 AM

I'm comparing the Digital and non-Digital MPA right now as well.

I'm leaning towards the Digital MPA because I can then use the S/PDIF output of the DMPA Gold into my Presonus FireStudio interface and not lose any analog ins on the FireStudio.

How do you think the DMPA A/D converters compare to those of the Presonus FireStudio? If this will be a downgrade then I'm gonna have to go for the regular Gold...

dkelley · 10th April 2007, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

How do you think the DMPA A/D converters compare to those of the Presonus FireStudio? If this will be a downgrade then I'm gonna have to go for the regular Gold...

that's my question too. I own and use mpa gold regularly, but I have no experience with art's a/d converters, and if they're any different from model to model, or if digital mpa is better than dps converters, or if either a/d are any good....

Don

woomanmoomin · 10th April 2007, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stagefright13

Hmm just checked the specs on this again. It says on high it supplies the equivelant of a 300 plate voltage whatever that means.

Somebody was on here a couple of days ago speculating that this might mean there was -150V at the plate and +150V through the valve or something. Electronics is not my strong point, but if there's just one reason the ART doesn't quite sound like a boutique valve unit, it probably has to do with the voltage at the plate.

dkelley · 10th April 2007, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woomanmoomin

Somebody was on here a couple of days ago speculating that this might mean there was -150V at the plate and +150V through the valve or something. Electronics is not my strong point, but if there's just one reason the ART doesn't quite sound like a boutique valve unit, it probably has to do with the voltage at the plate.

I suspect it's more to do with the chinese valves and circuit design and capacitors and op amps used and type of or lack of transformers in the art. But either way, the high plate voltage does work as it should, doesn't matter if it's 300 volts or 100 volts, it's enough to power the tube properly so it can handle the higher gains required of this preamp without distorting as it does on low plate voltage mode. As a semi-old school engineer I do understand a fair bit fo the design of the components in my signal chain, although I'm not going to be building a boutique preamp of my own design any time soon, what knowledge I do have tucked away tells me that for a preamp 300 volts isn't necessarilly what it needs or requires to run at peak performance for a given tube. However I'm certainly not an expert at it either.... but I would bet good money that the plate voltage running at whatever it is in an mpa gold at "high" voltage is plenty high enough to run the tube properly (as opposed to all of those low voltage distortion boxes), and the tone of the mpa gold is created from far more than the tube gain voltage. For one thing, it has no input transformers, along with most of the less than $800 or so preamps around (except the sixQ, running from memory here...), that is certainly one thing that separates boutique from ART. There are many other things too though... if you use high end gear for a while you start to learn what the differences are, and if you repair it once in a while as many of us do in studios then you really learn what makes them tick, the quality is just so different compared to anythign mass produced.

Cheers,
Don

woomanmoomin · 10th April 2007, 04:41 AM

No input transformers?

Chinese valves? Waste of space, a lot of them. At least they can be changed easily enough, though.

I would have thought the distortion ought to be much smoother at 300V than 100V if the valve is a 12AX7 (as I think it is) but I guess you're right that there's a lot more separating this unit from the boutique stuff than just plate voltage. Not all of it easy to put right, either.

dkelley · 10th April 2007, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woomanmoomin

No input transformers?

Chinese valves? Waste of space, a lot of them. At least they can be changed easily enough, though.

I would have thought the distortion ought to be much smoother at 300V than 100V if the valve is a 12AX7 (as I think it is) but I guess you're right that there's a lot more separating this unit from the boutique stuff than just plate voltage. Not all of it easy to put right, either.

well no, what I meant was that it exhibits almost no distortion at high plate voltage. I love this preamp by the way, it's excellent, but it does miss a bit of mojo of high end gear. best of the low end stuff in my opinion though, as far as "tube" pres goes.

Don

conroy · 10th April 2007, 03:16 PM

From my understanding, these ART pre-amps aren't really tube pre-amps in the class-A sense. I believe that the pre-amplification is actually solid state. The tube is just there as an effect. It's not really doing the pre-amplification. It's merely adding warmth to the sound when you dial it in. I will say that the interior of the new ART Gold looks better than the old ART Pro MPA which I like the sound of. The transformer is beefier and the circuits are laid out a little more nicely. The question is whether or not it's a good idea to pack a pre-amp and an A/D converter in the same box. In my experience, the digital apparatus will hash up the power supply and slightly degrade the sound of the pre-amp. You got to keep 'em separated.

dkelley · 10th April 2007, 04:40 PM

This has all been discussed before - the MPA GOLD actually is a hybrid preamp, and class-a or class-ab or class-b have nothing to do with it (class-A is a circuit design type that can be used in either tube or solid state gear). There are three gain stages in an MPA GOLD. An op amp gain stage, a tube gain stage, and an additional output solid state gain stage. There are controlls for all three on the front of the machine (one control is only a 20db gain boost switch). The tube runs at a switchable plate voltage, either low voltage which distorts rather quickly and isn't what most people would want in a good mic preamp, or high plate voltage which from my experience doesn't distort at all while offering the best sound that the tube gain stage can offer.

There is no way in an MPA GOLD to actually have the tube out of the circuit, despite what anyone will tell you, there is no bypass control or tube warmth control, just gain stage level controls. There is a tube warmth digital meter which is IMHO incorrectly labelled. It should really say "tube output level" since that is very clearly what it really is displaying. Even the ART documentation doesn't make it clear, but in operation it is very obvious. If you're the paranoid type who doesn't trust someone off the 'net (how do you know if I really know what I'm talking about after all :-), then take out the tube and see what happens. No more sound. The tube is always in the circuit.

The MPA Gold shares nothing in it's design with the tube mp or the earlier ART dual mp rack mount unit. This is the only true tube rack mount preamp in it's price range. The only other tube mic pre that is inexpensive, and a true tube mic pre, is the electro-harmonix. It is unfortunately a table top item that looks like a stomp box designed to appear in "Lost in Space", and it is very picky about setup and usage compared to the mpa gold, although it is capable of great results and is (I believe) only a tube pre, no solid state stuff in the chain. However the MPA gold is capable of it's incredible 75 db of clean gain due to it's hybrid approach, multiple gain stages, one of which is a true tube preamp gain stage.

I'm not working for ART or anything, but I don't like it when the masses assume a product is the same crappy design as everything else in it's price range/by the same company just because it's by ART or whatever, despite what they read people saying about it.

I wouldn't own and use this preamp every day if it wasn't capable of the same quality of sound as the high end pres I use every day professionally. Just that of the gear I personally own (rather than use in pro studios) this is the sort of thing I can actually afford, and I'm proud to own a tube pre.

I'm really surprised how people think that making a tube preamp is so difficult - it isn't actually, tube circuits are very straight forward to design and build on the cheap, but what is truly amazing about this preamp it that is has continuously variable input impedence, continuously variable high pass filter frequency, phase reverse, and a tube gain stage. oh yes, and two channels, great metering, instrument DIs, and trimmable meters, all for the $300 range.

Cheers,
Don

Quote:

Originally Posted by conroy

From my understanding, these ART pre-amps aren't really tube pre-amps in the class-A sense. I believe that the pre-amplification is actually solid state. The tube is just there as an effect. It's not really doing the pre-amplification. It's merely adding warmth to the sound when you dial it in. I will say that the interior of the new ART Gold looks better than the old ART Pro MPA which I like the sound of. The transformer is beefier and the circuits are laid out a little more nicely. The question is whether or not it's a good idea to pack a pre-amp and an A/D converter in the same box. In my experience, the digital apparatus will hash up the power supply and slightly degrade the sound of the pre-amp. You got to keep 'em separated.

dkelley · 10th April 2007, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woomanmoomin

No input transformers?

I would have thought the distortion ought to be much smoother at 300V than 100V if the valve is a 12AX7 (as I think it is) but I guess you're right that there's a lot more separating this unit from the boutique stuff than just plate voltage. Not all of it easy to put right, either.

just reading this post again - I think I may ahve been misunderstood a bit so will try to clarify here :-). Why is it grim that it has no input transformers? How many preamps have input transformers (that actually add anything useful to the sound) in the less than $1000 price range? I'm talking about good quality iron core trannys that alter the sound somewhat, therefore making their inclusion in the circuit useful in some way. There are non-transformer ways of handling the input stage that are far more clean and clear than using transformers, and many really high end units don't use input transformers either.

The number 100 volts I chose wasn't intended to mean that it is running at 100v or that the number is a good example of how little it takes, I'm sorry if it came across that way. I was intending to say that we don't know what the voltage is, nobody has checked it here in the MPA Gold, but it doesn't matter what the number is to prove that the design is a true high plate voltage pre that sounds good, what really matters is that it obviously does work in the circuit at what they consider to be high plate voltage and the audible result is very much the sound of a high quality tube mic preamp.

And while there is a lot separating it from boutique gear, I didn't bother explaining that I feel what separates it is true mojo which to me is stuff like the quality and feel of the pots/knobs/input jacks/switches, I feel that this preamp sounds great still and is best of class for it's type of sound in the el cheapo price range and competes well with much more expensiv preamps. Its not a high end unit, but does a very good emulation of one. blows away anything by other companies creating new gear in the sub $500 range, at least for pseudo mojo (it has more mojo than a grace 101 LoL).

EDIT: not entirely true actually, I think mojo comes through in the sound, but I feel that the MPA gold is capable of audible mojo like that, which is what separates it from the pack of cheapness mic pres. It's so hard to say what I feel, sorry for the mass confusion... I'll get my words out right one of these times! This is why I record for a living instead of writing lyrics...

IMHO anyway :-)

Cheers,

Don

woomanmoomin · 11th April 2007, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkelley

Its not a high end unit, but does a very good emulation of one. blows away anything by other companies creating new gear in the sub $500 range, at least for pseudo mojo

I think this is the bottom line as far as this unit is concerned. Best of the cheap ones.

25th August 2006, 07:56 PM	#1
indravayu Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 179	ART MPA Gold vs. Digital MPA Hi guys, I am looking for a cheap (under $500) tube mic preamp and have been leaning towards the ART MPA Gold of Digital MPA. There is about a $100 difference in price, and some slight difference in the specs (noted below), and I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice on which one might better serve me. I am mainly going to use this for recording vocals, electric & acoustic guitar and bass in my home studio (for mics I will be variably using SM57's, an Aphex 460 tube condenser and a ShinyBox ribbon) - I am ditching my current audio interface (Aardvark Direct Pro Q10) for an RME Fireface 400 in the next month or so. I guess my big question is, do I really need to spend the extra $100 for the DMPA's digital connectors, or will I be fine the the MPA GOLD's analog connectors (and put $100 towards an EQ, or something)? - Chris MPA Gold CMRR: >90dB (typical @ 1kHz) Analog Connections: Bal. XLR (pin2 hot) inputs/outputs and bal. 1/4” outputs (TRS), unbal. inst. inputs Controls: Input Gain, Impedance, Output level, and High Pass Filter SWITCHES: +20dB gain, Phase Reversal, Plate Voltage, Meter Sensitivity, Phantom Power with LED switches Dynamic Range: >100dB (20Hz to 20kHz) Equivalent Input Noise: -133dBu (XLR to XLR ‘A’ weighted) Frequency Response: 15Hz to 120kHz (+0, -1dB) Input Impedance: 150-3K ohms (XLR), 840k ohms (1/4") Maximum Gain XLR to XLR: 75dB Maximum Input Level: +20dBu (XLR), +17dBu (1/4") Maximum Output Level: +28dBu (XLR) Output Impedance: 47 ohms (XLR) Total Harmonic Distortion: >0.005% (typical) Digital MPA CMRR: >90dB (typical @ 1kHz) Controls: Input, Impedance, Output level, Digital Level, High Pass Filter, and Sample Rate Analog Connections: Balanced XLR (pin 2 hot) inputs and outputs, A/D inserts (TRS) and Unbalanced 1/4” outputs (TS) inputs Digital Connections: AES/EBU (XLR), S/PDIF (RCA), ADAT Optical In, ADAT/TOSLINK Out, Wordclock In, and Word clock Thru (BNC) Dynamic Range: >100dB, 20Hz to 20kHz Equivalent Input Noise: - 134dB (XLR to XLR ‘A’ weighted) Frequency Response: 15Hz to 80kHz (+0, -1dB) Input Impedance: 150-3K ohms (XLR), 840k ohms (1/4") Switches: +20dB gain, Phase Reversal, Plate Voltage, Meter Source, Phantom Power w/ LED, Dither, Optical Format and Power Maximum Gain XLR to XLR: 75dB Maximum Input Level: +18dBu (XLR), +16dBu (1/4") Maximum Output Level +28dBu (XLR) Output Impedance: 47 ohms (XLR) Total Harmonic Distortion: >0.005% (typical)

26th August 2006, 03:40 AM	#6
Albert Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,481	I haven't heard either unit, but I highly doubt you or anyone else would be able to hear the difference between those specs. __________________ http://www.misterpotts.com http://www.myspace.com/albypottsmusic

26th August 2006, 10:23 PM	#9
Makinithappen Gear addict Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hot Louis (Nellyville) Posts: 364	Just my opinion but I have the ART MPA Gold and the TPSII in my B Studio and personally I think the TPSII (170 dollars) sounds better. I bought the MPA after I had been impressed (for the cost) with the TPS. I thought it sounded pretty harsh on the high mids, plus the left channel is kinda glichy. Probably just mine but...whatever. My $.02, try looking at the Focusrite TwinTrakPro. I know it isn't tube but I use it at home and I'm pretty pleased. The compressor on it sucks and a lot of the features are useless but I think the pres are pretty nice. That price range for pres is kinda tricky. Seems like stuff jumps from $200 up to $1500 real fast with not much in between. __________________ http://www.jupiterstudios.net/

25th August 2006, 10:48 PM	#2
Third Story Gear nut Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 144	i have been wondering if either of units are good myself!! are they worth getting and keeping around even when one reaches the point of high end pres??

25th August 2006, 11:57 PM	#3
mamm7215 Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: South Surrey Posts: 119	I have an mpa gold and thinks it's great. almost need to go A LOT more for a high-end pre to make it worth not using this one anymore.

26th August 2006, 01:22 AM	#5
mamm7215 Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: South Surrey Posts: 119	I actually got the mpa gold because I already had the pro vla and wanted to "match" the pair, for what it's worth. Just a me thing. I very much like the clean sound out of the mpa gold and the fact that it's NON starved-plate. You actually get high (300) voltage to the tube or you can disable the tube and use it as a straight solid state pre-amp. Nice features. You can upgrade the tubes easily as well if you're so inclined. I'm sure I'll tweak this at a later date. It's a nice stereo pre/compressor chain for my vox and bass. I use a studio projects C1 and the mpa/vla combo takes a bit of the high harshness out of the mic while still allowing the C1 to sit great in a mix. Hope this helps.

26th August 2006, 12:56 PM	#7
dasoundjunkie Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 255	If you are going to record just one channel at a time go with the ART Pro Channel. The mic pre is exellent and you also get a really good compressor and EQ. I've got one in my rack along with pres from Earth Works, SPL and Presonus and it's become one of my favorites.

26th August 2006, 06:39 PM	#8
Alex.ASO Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kingston Posts: 8	wow talk about coincidence, I just bought the ART Digital mpa gold pre new off ebay yesterday(friday), I'll let you know how it is

27th August 2006, 05:29 PM	#13
stagefright13 Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 786	Are you sure the mpa gold isn't starved plate? I thought ALL art gear is starved plate. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. I have an Art prochannel. The only Art piece I own and sounds good. But I sware it's a starved plate... I almost got a digital mpa a while back but saved up more and got a UA solo610 instead. Liked it so much I just bought a second one! Tubes rule!

27th August 2006, 05:58 PM	#15
stagefright13 Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 786	Hmm just checked the specs on this again. It says on high it supplies the equivelant of a 300 plate voltage whatever that means. But it definitly doesn't seem starved plate. Looks very interesting. If I did get one I would personally save my 002r's spidf for a multiple "in" such as an ada8000 (wich I have) or a Mackie Onyx 800r (wich I want). So I would go with the gold :) Looks like a great item for the price. Lemme know how everyone likes it

28th August 2006, 05:12 PM	#16
mamm7215 Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: South Surrey Posts: 119	The digital MPA would be a good consideration if you need the s/pdif out. I considered that but I'm using my chain as left side vocals, right side bass. And I'm already running my bass through a Sansamp BDDI. The MPA Gold has tons of gain for ribbons. You've got you're input stage, output stage, tube stage and +20 db boost so it's all there. I started with a Bluetube DP and took it back, it just didn't have enough "juice" or sound as clean, either. Also, the MPA Gold has an input impedance adjust so you can change the characteristic of your mic, which is great for me as I've only got the C1 and can give it different flavoring with this knob. I decided against the digital as I don't need the s/pdif out of my pre-amp. I'm going to get the Soundcraft M8 or M12 mixer for my main board, it's got s/pdif out to my M-audio soundcard so I can bypass my AD/DA card converters.

28th August 2006, 07:09 PM	#18
indravayu Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 179	Well, I threw caution to the wind and bought the Digital MPA today (should arrive by Wed - I'll let you guys know what I think) - it's on sale at Musicians Friend and Zzounds, so I am at least saving a couple bucks (the MPA Gold is on sale as well - and Musicians Friend is also offering a mail-in rebate on top of that, in case anyone is interested). Now I just need an EQ and a Fireface 400 - time to max out my credit card, woohoo!! - Chris

28th August 2006, 08:53 PM	#19
mamm7215 Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: South Surrey Posts: 119	Chris, what are you recording in to? Is it a DAW running Sonar, or Cubase or something? If so, you probably DON'T need an EQ as many software recording programs come with a suite of plugins, and you can get many, many software plugs as good or better than a budget hardware EQ. FWIW, my chain is: Mic/bass>MPA Gold>Pro VLA>Board>Computer. For guitar, I run through a Boss GT-8>Board>Computer. Love the thought of a Fireface400 though, I'm studio budgeted out right now. Good luck!

9th April 2007, 06:15 PM	#20
conroy Gear interested Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 3	I'm wondering about the exact same thing. I've owned the ART PRO MPA for a number of years and loved the sound. I would like to upgrade to either the ART Gold or Digital MPA. I'm curious about the minor spec differences you mentioned. How good are the A/D converters in the Digital MPA? Any better than the ones in my Delta 1010? The fact that the pre-amp section and the A/D converters share the same power supply leads me to think that the Digital MPA would suffer slightly sonically as a pre-amp comparedd tho the plain ART Gold. Any thoughts?

10th April 2007, 01:48 AM	#21
PheelTheMusic Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Long Island, NY + Boston, MA Posts: 461	I'm comparing the Digital and non-Digital MPA right now as well. I'm leaning towards the Digital MPA because I can then use the S/PDIF output of the DMPA Gold into my Presonus FireStudio interface and not lose any analog ins on the FireStudio. How do you think the DMPA A/D converters compare to those of the Presonus FireStudio? If this will be a downgrade then I'm gonna have to go for the regular Gold...

10th April 2007, 04:41 AM	#25
woomanmoomin Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London, England Posts: 956	No input transformers? Chinese valves? Waste of space, a lot of them. At least they can be changed easily enough, though. I would have thought the distortion ought to be much smoother at 300V than 100V if the valve is a 12AX7 (as I think it is) but I guess you're right that there's a lot more separating this unit from the boutique stuff than just plate voltage. Not all of it easy to put right, either.

10th April 2007, 03:16 PM	#27
conroy Gear interested Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 3	From my understanding, these ART pre-amps aren't really tube pre-amps in the class-A sense. I believe that the pre-amplification is actually solid state. The tube is just there as an effect. It's not really doing the pre-amplification. It's merely adding warmth to the sound when you dial it in. I will say that the interior of the new ART Gold looks better than the old ART Pro MPA which I like the sound of. The transformer is beefier and the circuits are laid out a little more nicely. The question is whether or not it's a good idea to pack a pre-amp and an A/D converter in the same box. In my experience, the digital apparatus will hash up the power supply and slightly degrade the sound of the pre-amp. You got to keep 'em separated.