Help me make a wise decision.

Rooster21 · 12th July 2008

Soooo, I'm going to be upgrading some of my equipment soon, I'm getting my hands on a M-Audio Sputnik Tube Mic this week (I've narrowed it down to this because of it being labeled as most bang for your buck here at gearslutz, thx guys!).

Now i am planning to get a preamp to compliment my new mic, I just can't deal with the stock pres on my Firewire 1814 any much longer. I am about ready to spend ~$500, but since this is my first piece of outboard gear i am going to need a couple of opinions to help make the right decision.

A number of things I have been curious about,

- "Impedance matching" how much of a difference does this make? I've heard it can really add "character" to a mic's signal, is it worth searching for a pre with this feature?

- "Hybrid pres (Solid State and tube)", this sounds like something of interest, but i feel like it may be a feature that is there to make you start drooling and forget about any of the other tubeless pres. Can anyone elaborate on how useful this is?

I've narrowed down some possible contenders, Im not dead set on these but they have gotten my attention based on deep gearslutz research.

-Rnp
-Grace Design M101
-Joemeek Sixq
-Summit Audio 2BA-221
-Aphex 207D

Ideally i would want at most 2 channels in one unit, It's going to be for female vocals, acoustic and electric guitars (mostly). I have no preference when it comes to getting a "clean" or "colorful" unit, if anyone has any experience with the Sputnik and any particular preamp lets hear it.

king of sweden · 12th July 2008

regardless of the abuse it gets here. the presonus eureka really is a great box for the price. Clean pre, comprehensive comp/limiter, and a nice para EQ. It's a hybrid I believe, with variable impedance on the input. This provides a ridiculously subtle tone shaping. emphasis on subtle.
The RNP is pretty noisy, and the joe meek stuff in my experience is pretty fischer-pricey.

Rooster21 · 13th July 2008

The reason why I'm getting the Sputnik is because it's really a good price, it's 6 months used (on vocals) and I'm going to be paying a little more than half price, the money can be quickly recovered.

Thanks for letting me know that the Rnp is a noisy unit, that really changes things for me, I can't be boosting high gain with a noisy pre in combination with a tube mic!

Although I am still going to need a better preamp than the ones i use now.
Does anyone have any experience with some of the ones i've listed?

NorseHorse · 13th July 2008

Good idea buying the mic used. I've known one person who owns a Sputnik, and he says it isn't worth the money. However, a good deal can make it worthwhile.

From personal experience, I'd stay away from the Joe Meek pre.

I've used the Aphex 107, and it's a surprisingly solid pre with a tight low end. The 207 is probably even better and the digital option is handy, plus it's a dual channel pre which might be very useful.

On reputation, the Grace 101 is might be the absolute best choice. It's crystal clear and is the same pre that's on their 201 and 801. Basically top-of-the-line and is used by all sorts of studios, especially classical. Of course, you're only getting one channel. But it's one really good channel.

Cheers.

Rooster21 · 15th July 2008

Well thx so far, I think after all I'm going to go with the Grace Design pre.

Although I have not gotten the Sputnik....yet. I'm having second thoughts about the mic choice, I'm considering doubling up my budget for the mic to ~1k and putting off the preamp for a little while longer. I know that the mic is not the place to become a cheapskate, so I need consultations on some decent options for tube mics (in this price range).

12th July 2008	#1
Rooster21 Gear Head Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Montreal, QC. Posts: 71 Thread Starter	Help me make a wise decision. Soooo, I'm going to be upgrading some of my equipment soon, I'm getting my hands on a M-Audio Sputnik Tube Mic this week (I've narrowed it down to this because of it being labeled as most bang for your buck here at gearslutz, thx guys!). Now i am planning to get a preamp to compliment my new mic, I just can't deal with the stock pres on my Firewire 1814 any much longer. I am about ready to spend ~$500, but since this is my first piece of outboard gear i am going to need a couple of opinions to help make the right decision. A number of things I have been curious about, - "Impedance matching" how much of a difference does this make? I've heard it can really add "character" to a mic's signal, is it worth searching for a pre with this feature? - "Hybrid pres (Solid State and tube)", this sounds like something of interest, but i feel like it may be a feature that is there to make you start drooling and forget about any of the other tubeless pres. Can anyone elaborate on how useful this is? I've narrowed down some possible contenders, Im not dead set on these but they have gotten my attention based on deep gearslutz research. -Rnp -Grace Design M101 -Joemeek Sixq -Summit Audio 2BA-221 -Aphex 207D Ideally i would want at most 2 channels in one unit, It's going to be for female vocals, acoustic and electric guitars (mostly). I have no preference when it comes to getting a "clean" or "colorful" unit, if anyone has any experience with the Sputnik and any particular preamp lets hear it. __________________ Why would I when I could be mixing? Giancarlo Da Soghe Assistant Engineer @ Planet Studios http://www.planetstudios.ca/

13th July 2008	#4
NorseHorse Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2008 Location: DC Posts: 2,095 2 Reviews written	Mic, then Pre Good idea buying the mic used. I've known one person who owns a Sputnik, and he says it isn't worth the money. However, a good deal can make it worthwhile. From personal experience, I'd stay away from the Joe Meek pre. I've used the Aphex 107, and it's a surprisingly solid pre with a tight low end. The 207 is probably even better and the digital option is handy, plus it's a dual channel pre which might be very useful. On reputation, the Grace 101 is might be the absolute best choice. It's crystal clear and is the same pre that's on their 201 and 801. Basically top-of-the-line and is used by all sorts of studios, especially classical. Of course, you're only getting one channel. But it's one really good channel. Cheers. __________________ http://www.facebook.com/ArtsLaureate I-95, I-64, I-85

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12th July 2008	#2
king of sweden Gear Head Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 73	regardless of the abuse it gets here. the presonus eureka really is a great box for the price. Clean pre, comprehensive comp/limiter, and a nice para EQ. It's a hybrid I believe, with variable impedance on the input. This provides a ridiculously subtle tone shaping. emphasis on subtle. The RNP is pretty noisy, and the joe meek stuff in my experience is pretty fischer-pricey.

15th July 2008	#5
Rooster21 Gear Head Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Montreal, QC. Posts: 71 Thread Starter	Well thx so far, I think after all I'm going to go with the Grace Design pre. Although I have not gotten the Sputnik....yet. I'm having second thoughts about the mic choice, I'm considering doubling up my budget for the mic to ~1k and putting off the preamp for a little while longer. I know that the mic is not the place to become a cheapskate, so I need consultations on some decent options for tube mics (in this price range).