Focusrite ISA One , UA Solo 610 , UA 710 Twinfinity

[mattvon]

I own both a 610 mkII and a 710 and find myself using the 710 more frequently. The tube/solid state knob of the 710 is really useful, and I like the ability to adjust to suit the sound source/mic choice, etc.

With the knob cranked all the way over to tube, I get very similar sounds to the 610 (leaving the EQ and compression flat)...I guess to sum it up, you can't go wrong with either, but I'd suggest you go for the versatility of the 710.

[Paulie Storm]

Thanks Matt. I was leaning toward the 710. It probably gives more possibilities than the 610 and should compliment the isa one also.

[6th_World]

It comes down to personal taste at the end man.. Foe example I like solo 610 more then 710..


See If you can to try both units. Good luck!

[Silent Sound]

If you want two, I'd get the Solo 610 and ISA One. That would give you a large range to choose from. The 710 might be a good option if you only wanted one preamp, but personally, I'd rather have an ISA One or a Solo 610 over the 710. But then again, I tend to like one-trick ponies better than swiss army knives when it comes to gear. Do one thing and do it well, rather than do a bunch of things okay.

[gehauser]

Originally Posted by Silent Sound

If you want two, I'd get the Solo 610 and ISA One. That would give you a large range to choose from. The 710 might be a good option if you only wanted one preamp, but personally, I'd rather have an ISA One or a Solo 610 over the 710. But then again, I tend to like one-trick ponies better than swiss army knives when it comes to gear. Do one thing and do it well, rather than do a bunch of things okay.

+1 on this advice. I have the UA Solo 610 and 4-710d (the 4 ch. version of twinfinity), and I much prefer the 610 over the 710 for tube goodness. I recently did shootout of 7 vocal mics to see which of my preamps matched up with each the best, and the 610 was the #1 favored pre on 4 of the 7 mics (sm7b, at4047, modded mk319, mk220) while the 710 was #2 choice on 3 mics. The 610 also seems to have more gain than the 710, notwithstanding specs to the contrary. I always have to crank the 710 higher than I do the 610 on the same mic to get good recording levels in my DAW.

[Paulie Storm]

Wish I could try them first. That would help. Thanks for the insight. Guess ill just have to get all 3!!!!! I wish :-)

[dickiefunk]

I own both the UA Solo 610 and ISA One digital here and love them both! They do sound different but either can sound great on a number of sources.
I would possibly pick the ISA One if I could only have one because it has a second DI channel and a built in high quality A/D card.

I've also just picked up a secondhand Focusrite Liquid Channel but haven't had a proper chance to try it out yet.

[Paulie Storm]

Thanks guys the insight was really helpful. Ill let you know what I chose in the morning.

[popmann]

I love my LA610. I did NOT love the ISAOne. It was "ok"--nothing else in it's price point with those features. I've never used the 710. But, of the other two, I unquestionably recommend the 610.

[Shannon Adkins]

Originally Posted by popmann

I love my LA610. I did NOT love the ISAOne. It was "ok"--nothing else in it's price point with those features. I've never used the 710. But, of the other two, I unquestionably recommend the 610.

Hey popmann...I know you're a fellow sm7 user. How do you like the solo 610 with it on vocals?

[Paulie Storm]

Update. ISA one on the way and they had a package special with a blue bluebird. Can't have too many Mics in your locker. Still going back and forth with the second preamp. Stay tuned for updates. And thanks guys. I take all opinions seriously

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[chessparov]

Also "love" the 610 (and 710). Haven't tried the GAP-73 yet, which may be a worthy contender for comparison too. "Liked" the ISA, but not on the same level as those UA's.

BTW in addition to a SM7, sang through a 1980's "USA" SM57 into both the
610 and 710-VERY impressive results on each. Wouldn't be my first choice on someone like Celine-but that's a good thing.

Probably will pick up a 710 down the road...

Chris

P.S. Just realized (oops) you're getting the ISA/Bluebird, which ought to be an excellent match.

[Paulie Storm]

Yeah the bluebird was a bonus. Can't wait to try it out. Ill probably end up getting the 710 to compliment the isa 1.

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[popmann]

Originally Posted by Shannon Adkins

Hey popmann...I know you're a fellow sm7 user. How do you like the solo 610 with it on vocals?

The La610 is fab...but, it has a brighter voicing according to UA. And a high shelf. It is the pre I use with the sm7b for vocals. Been using a vintage um70 lately, but...the difference in the two into the 610 is nuance.

[Paulie Storm]

The ISA one and bluebird have arrived. Ill be running it through some tests all day tomorrow. And let youwhat I think if it. Still flipping the coins on the second pre. Driving me nuts!!! :-) in a good way

[s.d.finley]

I have both the 710 and 6176. The 610 does have more tubeness to the sound and there are xformers in the 610s signal path. The 710 appears to be faster on transients and doesnt smooth them out so much as does the 610. Both make very good DIs. I use the 6176 more for vocals. I have an sm7b and notice the 2.0k mic setting is the less noisy for me. 710 and sm7b pair very nicely but gain can be a problem for quiet singers; just patch that compressor in for more gain! Although the 710 is very nice on percussion, for snare I use both. 610 and 57 top and 710 & I5 on the shell. The 710 also has more of a stompbox overdrive, pherhaps due to all solid state and no xformers just a tube and ICs. Which can be cool in its own right most certainly. I have used the 710 to overdrive vocals during mixing. Just a bridge part! If I could only have one, I would want it to be the 610.

[Paulie Storm]

Thanks for the insight. How is the 710 on guitars? As for vocals..no shortage of power in mine so using the sm7 wont be an issue. Wish the price points were closer

[s.d.finley]

Originally Posted by Paulie Storm

Thanks for the insight. How is the 710 on guitars? As for vocals..no shortage of power in mine so using the sm7 wont be an issue. Wish the price points were closer

No problem Paulie. GTRs, clean to slightly overdriven thru the 710 mic'ed sound good. Not huge and phatt, but cleaner, well defined and a lil more dynamic until you start to crank the gain. For heavy GTRS stuff I like the Mono Gama and CAPI vp26. I have not used the 710 on acoustic yet. I also have NOS RCA blackplates tubes in the 710. One odd thing about the gain on the 710, it appears to jump quite a few db between 3.5 and 4. More so than anywhere else when gaining on all sources that I have used them on and this is the same for both 710 units I have. Weird.

[chessparov]

Paulie, owe you a bit of an apology.

It seems that, as some fellow GS folks may know, changing the impedance setting on the ISA can change the pre's tone brighter/darker.

Didn't experiment with that when trying it out, and certainly will in the future vs. the 710. (the 710 did work awfully good though IMHO!)

Am pretty certain you'll be diggin' that Bluebird/ISA combo...
Chris

[bluefaced]

Haven't tried 710 but between the other two I would say the Focusrite isa one. And I'm not saying one is better than the other, just what I prefer. If we're talking bout the old 610 now that's a different story.

[Paulie Storm]

Ok so I must be doing something wrong with the isa one. My new interface hasn't arrived yet so I am going through my PreSonus audiobox. Here is what im doing and what is happening. I am going straight in the DI and out to the audiobox, no line in so I turn the gain all the way down. When using some plugins, amplitude, it sounds great however when I turn off the plugins it is clipping and breaking up no matter how low I have the gain set on the isa one. I haven't even bothered trying the mic yet as I want to figure this out. If its the interface then fine as the new one is coming Monday. If not I want to learn how to use this pre amp properly. This is my first pre amp so maybe im doing something wrong. Thanks guys
EDIT: by clipping I don't mean in the DAW but on the interface even with the gain all the down. The sound is just breaking up no matter how the input and channel fader is. Thanks

[fito_88]

are u guys talkin about the old UA solo 610 or the solo 610 mKII ?????????

[Paulie Storm]

I was talking about the solo 610 not the mk2