ATI 8MX2 opinions (8 ch mic pre)

[theom]

I hear these are super nice.

Anyone care to share their opinions on these?
Comparisons to other pres?
What type of circuit is it? 990 op-amp?
Color, or lack there of?
+/-48v rails seems robust.

[adamaudio]

Hi there; I've owned an 8mx2 for several years. I also own API 512's. I originally purchased the unit for live sound when I wanted 1 good pre for the vocal at live gigs. The unit was very appealing because it was supposed to sound great and I thought it was discrete enough looking so as not to stir any egos while bypassing the mackie / yamaha pres usually present, that in my opinion totally suck and should only ever be used once to announce that they suck and should never be used, ever.

My prime business is recording with live peppered in. The 8mx2 pres for live are fantastic - yes fantastic. Speed is the thing. Voice slices it's way to the front of the mix, bass is huge and defined, snare sounds like a plank of wood being snapped in two. Elec. guitars rip through like a a brand new machete through farmer's fields. What a joy! Kick drum has so much speed and girth it makes you look over your shoulder to see if a storm is coming. Recorded sound is similar and the room is so important.

I would describe the sound as agressive in all of the ways that you want. Speed, power and girth.

.:The River Pilots:. News has mp3 samples.

I recorded all the tones flat and altered the tones by moving mics around. I then applied global eq (550a's) to the whole mix after getting levels. I think this is a great way to record and a great demo of these pres and this band.

Everyone would rather have API's of course but considering I paid what you'd pay for one API and got 8, I think these are awesome. Check out True audio P8 too, these are very nice and yes I've heard them so I'm not talking out my bum.

regards, adamaudio.

[LiveWire]

I've had eight 8MX2's for about a decade, and they rock. I've received lots of positive comments from clients with critical ears. Six in a rack gives you 48 great sounding channels in a ridiculously small space. Used them on live albums for Lilith Fair, Cowboy Junkies, Randy Bachman, Great Big Sea, Tragically Hip, Mad Caddies, Shaggy, Manhattan Transfer, and dozens of other bands,

[jwh1192]

good to see canada likes hem too ....

i have 2 that i have had for a couple years ... they are easy to get a good sound ... i also use them as 16 channels of mixer / summing ... has opened up my sound quite a bit ... have them in a patchbay so i can use them with a sudo insert ... like themas pres into an EQ (focusrite 110 or avalon 2055 or old allen&heath) and comp (atomic squeeze box or dbx160) on the way in ...

used them for a coupe 16mm film shoots for music TV shows and they are just a pleasure to use ..

do not hesitate ... one of those with 550 eq would be cool ...

i was told you can open up the sound a little more by taing the limiters out of the circuit .. have to ask how to do it .. would be cool if you could do it by the channel ...

cheers

[1979]

Awesome, I've been waiting for more info on these. Can any one comment on how the summing sounds vs. ITB. Are the limiters sonically useful?

I have been kind of looking for tracking/summing solution to pair up with an 003 or 002. I have just racked up and modded 4 pm1000 strips and am quite pleased with them as far as colour goes, I'm looking for something a little more neutral. The PM1000's have me covered in the 'very coloured dept.'

Hey adamaudio, Great Sounds man! Not having an eq to fix stuff with sometimes is a very cool way to record. I'm an Ottawa Valley guy and I'll be back in the area in a couple of weeks to do some FOH work. Any chance I could drop by your rig and hear those ATIs in real life? (As we all know it's kind of hard to throw money out on stuff you can't hear.)

... and great to have you here on GS, Doug!

cheers.

[Jimbo]

Bump...Anybody else want to chime in on this one?

[NOCCA]

Used eight of them to record a Jazz sextet as well as an ISA 428 and a pair of Hamptones, and I think what has been said has been accurate, though I simply found them to be very unobtrusive, but in a good way.

If you are looking for a character piece, this is not it, but otherwise great piece. And some limiters and summing to boot.

>>AG

[Slipperman]

Fast, clean and quiet.

Limiter is best employed as 'last line of defense'.

I have had 2 in use since they were brandie new kit.

My only 2 complaints.

1.) They have had to be repaired too often over those years compared to most of their peers.

2.) A few of the switches ya want on the front face of the unit are on the back.

Best regards,

SM.

[adamaudio]

Hi all; Love my 8mx2 AND avoid those limiters, really. I've tried to use them several times and every time I do wish I hadn't. They just plain suck. Sorry but that's the truth, apart from that it's a truly great product and I meant everything i said before. Cheers, adamaudio.

[audioboy6]

I was working at a studio that had one of those. I used it to track drums. Everything sounded great. Not a lot of color just good solid pre's. They seemed to have a bit of a midrange hype that helped things cut through a little. Kind of like an API but not as cool maybe. The metering wasn't that great but there really isn't any room for it. I used the limiters a bit, be careful with them thou. They can be cool but you might regret it later. One of the better units around for recording live gigs.

[1979]

How would you guys say these preamps stack up to the Midas venice stuff? Maybe apples and oranges, but I would say that at the price point the ATI 8mx2 and Midas Venice 160 are competitors. Any one out there using the 8mx2 as a summing box for stems coming out of a Daw?

Cheers

[adamaudio]

My buddy has a venice 320. If I had to describe I'd say venice pres are clean and fairly quick. The 8mx2's are comparably quicker with more attitude - more pronounced mids.

[HughH]

Hello,
We have 12 of the units (96 ch) in one broadcast truck and 12 more in the other, and have been using them for 10 years now.
They are definitely in the neutral category. No coloration, very clear. Very high headroom, quiet, and the mixer is an added bonus. We have a custom version that moves the rear panel phantom switches to the front and removes the ground lift switch.
Only one person I know uses the limiters for taste, I use them as protection limiters when recording. A lot of the gain happens in the upper range of the knob, so repeatability can be peculiar, but for our uses this is not a problem.
Compared to other units this is an under-priced high performing box.
To your original questions, they're using a discrete input circuit, cascode if I remember but I'd have to look at it again.
H

[superburtm]

Are these still in production?
can't find much info on them. got to check one of these puppies out!

[Silvertone]

I have a friend who has several of them. In fact he is about to sell a couple of them and keep a couple for himself. Let me know if you are interested and I'll put you on to him.

Bang for the buck I always thought they were hard to beat.

[Lynn Fuston]

I took two of them to Africa for a recording over there. Glad I doubled up, because one arrived there with a rattle inside and was useless, wouldn't power up. That's my only experience with them.

[Jimbo]

Lynn,

Any comments on the performance of the (working) unit?

[Lynn Fuston]

It did a respectable job. This was not a situation that allowed for comparisons/evaluation.

[Lynn Fuston]

ADDENDUM: For the record, if it doesn't work, does it matter how good it sounds?

[crypticglobe]

I have used these around town for live recordings (I rent them). Everyone has always been very, very thrilled with the quality of the final product. I think they are definitely the best thing going for live recording. The sound fantastic, and take up half the rack space that 2 3124's would (which would give you 8 API pre's)... and cost much less.

Definitely my first choice for live recording, and I wouldn't be upset if I had some to use in the studio as well. Clean, fast, aggresive... perfect for live recording.

JMTC...

[Cut It Live]

These are definately a great way to expand your track capability. The line returns (which are D-Sub and interface nicely with Pro Tools) and the ability to cascade them make it a great choice for recording shows where additional pre amps, line returns and submixes are needed. The new model has a 48 volt phantom switch on the front, along with a phase, mute, cue, and "follow" switch that allows either the preamp or the line return to be sent to the 2-mix output. I recently used them for an 80 track production and they worked and sounded great. Clean and transparent. Excellent when you have a 50 input band...and at the last minute the producer adds an orchestra and maybe a choir

SP


Available for rent at Design FX Audio
(818)843-6555
www.dfxaudio.com

[roonsbane]

I have two ATI's and at my last job I had an API 4X2. I would take the ATI over the API any day of the week. In fact, we had to substitute our four channel millenia for the ATI for a few months in our studio. We did mostly acoustic work. A few weeks after the millenia came back and had been used on a few session, my former colleague and I were speaking about how much better everything was sounding (how much less hard we had to work to get natural sounding recordings with the millenia or grace 802R). With that being said, I know some of the magic of these API pre-amps happens when you drive them hard and I have not had the pleasure yet. Luckily now I have a legacy at work to work on if needed so I look forward to driving them hard on some rock and roll. I know these are fighting words, but at this point, I am soooo not impressed with the API preamps. I Just don't get the API hoopla. With the ATI's, stuff just sounds great! no matter what. Rock, classical or jazz. For "aggressive" "tight" color, I would reach for a Daking before API if given a choice.

Cheers!

Cameron

[locosoundman]

Everyone keeps referring to these as API mic pre's, but I don't think they are related at all to the 512 or 312 mic amps (meaning it's not the 2520 opamp - I think this is a discrete opamp, no?)

I know the company name is API, but aren't these basically the mic pre's from the ATI Paragon console? Not that this is a bad thing - the Paragon had nice mic amps.

Does anyone know if these are these class A?

[Jimbo]

ATI (Audio Toys Inc) bought API many years ago, and have recently changed their moniker from ATI to API.

API/ATI no longer makes the Paragon II consoles, and, yes these mic amps have the same gain-stage used in the console from what I've read. The gain stage is discrete. I don't know if it is class A, since the circuit is proprietary.

I'm speaking as an owner of the 8mx2, and I'm not affiliated with ATI/API in any other way.

Search for "8mx2" in the High End forum, and you'll find input on this unit from GS member "APIsez" who works for API.

[Cabo Robo]

Over the years I've done hundreds of remote recordings with them. They are my go to pre in the field. I'm actually selling six of my twelve if anyone is interested send me an email.

Rob Dennis

rob@racknrollaudio.com