Topic: Pre-Amp's with Meter Readouts? other then the MiniMe and V3..

[timP]

just wondering if there are any other popular Pre-AMP's with meter readouts...I have looked at the MMe and V3, a little rich for me right now...

[thoman8r]

The Sound Devices MP-2 has metering, bright BRIGHT metering.  

[MBHOTAPER]

The MP-2 has VERY BRIGHT day lights, medium light and no light meter for stealth taping. Runs on external or AA batteries, phantom power and fits in your pocket -great stealth pre!

[Chris K]

agree...very satisfied with the mp-2...and it can be had for 300-400 used.

i think cpclark has one on the block

[timP]

Thanks for the quck responses...off to research a little more....what kind of outs does the MP-2 have........

[nickgregory]

xlr balanced and mini unbalanced

[timP]

looking at it now...I would have to run an AD processor if I want to get it to my HD recorder, right?

[nickgregory]

you would need an A/D somewhere in the chain, yes

[timP]

I have a Denecke AD-20 pre/AD...bummed that it has no meter readouts....
need one with optical outs for a reasonable price..HAHA
seems like if I were to spen $on a  MP-2 and an AD converter, then I should just get the MMe or V3???

[thoman8r]

You can pick up something like an adc-20 fairly cheap ($150) if you need an adc and don't have a lot of cash to spend.  

[thoman8r]

I have a Denecke AD-20 pre/AD...bummed that it has no meter readouts....
need one with optical outs for a reasonable price..HAHA
seems like if I were to spen $on a  MP-2 and an AD converter, then I should just get the MMe or V3???

Depends on the amount of cash you want to spend.  An MP-2 and ADC-20 can be had for < $600 total.  A used Mini-me is going to run you about $1000 and a used v3 about $1200.  If you are going to spend that kind of cash I'd suggest putting it into new mics and not a more expensive pre/adc

[timP]

nice suggestions....
There are not any under 600 pre/AD with meter readings???  just fishing around here......

[timP]

def saving for the mics...just want to be able to at least ry and make accurate recordings

[Brian Skalinder]

Depends on how loosely you define "meters":

UA5
SBM-1
V2
SD MP-2 / (Shure FP24 / SD MixPre, same family as MP-2)
GP DMIC-20
GP ADC-20

[thoman8r]

nice suggestions....
There are not any under 600 pre/AD with meter readings???  just fishing around here......

dunno about that.  Another option would be to ditch the iRiver for a JB3, that has metering I believe.

[F.O.Bean]

the dmic-20 could be your all-in-one box!!!

plus,it has basically the same metering as the mme!!!

[timP]

P.S.  The reason I need a Pre/AD w/ levels is because I have no level reading on my recorder......
and an optical in HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[thoman8r]

Depends on how loosely you define "meters":

UA5
SBM-1
V2
SD MP-2 / (Shure FP24 / SD MixPre, same family as MP-2)
GP DMIC-20
GP ADC-20

The sbm-1 has peak indicators for both channels.  That may be one way to go.  Set your levels until you see it peaking at the loudest point.

The ua-5 only has a single peak indicator, so unless your mics are balanced I don't think there would be any way to tell which channel was peaking.

[timP]

on the dmic-20... what could I do with it's out put?
I don't know what BNC means........

[thoman8r]

the dmic-20 could be your all-in-one box!!!

plus,it has basically the same metering as the mme!!!

Good idea if you don't mind switchable gain.

[F.O.Bean]

on the dmic-20... what could I do with it's out put?
I don't know what BNC means........

you could do aes>coax, or bnc>coax output!!!

[timP]

the sbm-1 looks like it may be right for me..has optical out, I think?, and the basic meter readout....
I found a link on the oade site that says they can do all sorts of upgrades....
Can I use this as a pre and ad?

[thoman8r]

the sbm-1 looks like it may be right for me..has optical out, I think?, and the basic meter readout....
I found a link on the oade site that says they can do all sorts of upgrades....
Can I use this as a pre and ad?

The sbm-1 has a 7-pin output.  You'll need to get a 7-pin > optical cable to interface with the iRiver.  You could use this as a pre and ad, and oade does offer both a pre-amp upgrade and a line-stage upgrade to improve the adc.  A used sbm-1 with both of those upgrades is still going to run you about $550-$600.  Someone has a stock sbm-1 on here for $325 I think.

However having said that, you may be better off with the dmic, is it has actually metering levels and not just peak indicators.

[Nick in Edinboro]

He would have to get a AES > Coax and then a "greybox".  I can't recall if the one Brian tested was the right one for the job but search for Hosa for more details on a decent one (~$50-100 depending on who you ask).

[timP]

thanks for the input everyone..
thinking of just using my Denecke AD-20> into my HD optical in> out my HD optical out> into a MD with levels...
pretty shitty, huh? but alot less dough....
once I get some real mics, I'm going to pop for a MMe or V3... just trying to see if there was other ways to solve my rpob

seriously folks, THANK YOU for all the info I get from this board..........

[Chris K]

I have a Denecke AD-20 pre/AD...bummed that it has no meter readouts....
need one with optical outs for a reasonable price..HAHA
seems like if I were to spen $on a  MP-2 and an AD converter, then I should just get the MMe or V3???

if i were confronted with this dilema, i would sell the ad-20, and buy a w-mod ua-5 from oade which has pre's, meters, ad conversion, optical outs, and does 24/96 recording

but that's what i would do

[Nick in Edinboro]

As stated before the UA-5 doesn't have "levels".  It has *a* peak (-3db) indicator.

[timP]

I have been leaning towards the UA-5...it just has lights to tell ya if yr clipping?
I could just turn the levels up at first, and then down until the light goes off?

[Chris K]

correct

[timP]

I could prob make some decent recordings with just a overload light....just interested in making the best tapes possible for the $ I have now......

[Nick in Edinboro]

The UA-5 has many plusses, that go along with that one minus too.

Decent sounding box when stock (with digi-mod), great sounding box when modified for $150!  High resale value, easy to power, etc.

Worth it for now, and in the long run later when you get new mics IMHO.

[dklein]

I could prob make some decent recordings with just a overload light....just interested in making the best tapes possible for the $ I have now......

As mentioned before, the UA-5 light is not an overload.  It's -3 dB. so if you see it flicker on peaks you're good.  You just don't want to see it pegged.

[kgreener]

FWIW, I just taped my first show last weekend (Bomb Squad) using my new warm-mod UA-5, and I must say (IMHO) it came out way better than I ever expected.  I'm shocked at how well this pre/AD works.  I too was concerned about metering, so I took advice from a Craig T post I read (and I know others have said the same thing), and it worked just great.  This was his advice:

"all I do is increase the gain in one channel unil the LED lights up, back off a bit until it stops and repeat for the other channel.  If it gets louder and the LED comes on again for more than a brief flicker, I back both channels down equally.  Seemed to work fine the few times I ran the ua5>PDA (poor meters like the JB3)."

I know the JB3 meters are crappy, but this approach made it easy.  Levels on the JB3 were peaking about where they should have been.  I actually could have gone a little higher, i.e. my LED wasn't blinking at *all* and my levels came out a tad low, but it still sounds sweet.  I've since read from others that an occasional "wink" from the LED is not a bad thing, which I will try next time.

peace,
Keith

[Nick in Edinboro]

I actually could have gone  higher, i.e. my LED wasn't blinking at *all* and my levels came out a tad low, but it still sounds sweet.  I've since read from others that an occasional "wink" from the LED is not a bad thing

I'd replace occasional with fairly regularly.  You can run the UA-5 surprisingly "hot" I've found.  I think a better "measure" of how hot you can go is how sustained the blink is.  The blink should not be sustained for seconds but rather flicker.  If it flickers a lot during loud passages I am still comfortable as long as it's not a "sustained on" looking flash.

Also, with bumping your levels you lower your noise floor and can make "all around" better tapes AFAIK

Just my $000,000.019 on that
Nick (I like to put words in quotes)

[timP]

Making a list of pros/cons..
It will prob be the UA-5 warm mod.....
seems like the right package for my price range...
Don't even know if I'm going to really use my IRIVER as my primary recording device...just using it to learn/experiment...My get a JB3 or that ARCHOS....
Thanks for insight.......

[F.O.Bean]

good luck!!

[thoman8r]

Making a list of pros/cons..
It will prob be the UA-5 warm mod.....
seems like the right package for my price range...
Don't even know if I'm going to really use my IRIVER as my primary recording device...just using it to learn/experiment...My get a JB3 or that ARCHOS....
Thanks for insight.......

If you get the ua-5 you can always play around with your mics and figure out if they're balanced or not.  If not, once you figure out the difference between the two you can always adjust accordingly on the ua-5.

I agree with the others, go with the ua-5.  It's cheap, sounds good even stock, and is "scalable" (i.e. upgradeable - sorry for the comp sci nerd verbage).  Just make sure that if you don't buy a unit with the digital or warm mods already, that you buy it from oade (or you can confirm the person selling it used bought it from oade).  Douge only mods ua-5s that were bought from him, *no exceptions*.

Good luck and enjoy!

[kgreener]

Nick, thanks man, that really helps a lot.  I was wondering about this, i.e. occasional blinks vs. sustained blinks, and you just answered my question.  

This board rocks, I'm amazed at the wealth of information here!

peace,
Keith

[Brian Skalinder]

confirm the person selling it used bought it from oade

If there's any doubt on a used unit, just call the Oades - I believe they track serial #s of all the devices they mod.

[timP]

no prob with the mod.. my cousin is the head of a media department for some serious Arts and Science college in NYC... he's a huge eleronic whiz, and has been answering MANY qesutions of mine via email.
He can do just about anything with audio/video..does crazy media instaltions that are sic....mind blowing...will go into details, but yall might htink its weird stuff..Dancers triggering random recorded sounds..ie the more they dance and where they dance trigger diff sensors that trigger the sound bites, so it's all a free-form cyclical thing...Anyway, he can def do the mod..

[nic]

no prob with the mod.. my cousin is the head of a media department for some serious Arts and Science college in NYC... he's a huge eleronic whiz, and has been answering MANY qesutions of mine via email.
He can do just about anything with audio/video..does crazy media instaltions that are sic....mind blowing...will go into details, but yall might htink its weird stuff..Dancers triggering random recorded sounds..ie the more they dance and where they dance trigger diff sensors that trigger the sound bites, so it's all a free-form cyclical thing...Anyway, he can def do the mod..

warning, if your cousin does the mod it will void the warranty. if you purchase and mod from Oade, the warranty stays valid

[timP]

thanks for that info...def want to keep the warrenty...........

[thoman8r]

thanks for that info...def want to keep the warrenty...........

Yep, plus Doug picks what op-amps and other components he knows will sound good in the *field.*  Not saying your cousin doesn't know his shit but Doug has years and years of experience building pre's and using them in the field.  

To put it bluntly, he's the best.  I wouldn't trust my shit with anyone else.

[timP]

just called down there 500 for the warm mod UA-5...
found a reg UA-5 on the bay for 250...
I trust my cuz, and he would prob hook me up for just cost of parts....I know that people take their DAT machines to him to be fixed...
my cousin has been recording stuff and into heavy electronic for 30 yrs...used to work on an assembly line making  boards for damns and nuclear recactors...

[Chris K]

nuclear-mod ua-5...i like the sound of that!

 

[timP]

put a little power reactor in there and I could juice up the whole tapir section...
just looking to saze some money.........but prob will go oade to keep the warrenty...means I just have to wait a few more pay-days...

[F.O.Bean]

put a little power reactor in there and I could juice up the whole tapir section...
just looking to saze some money.........but prob will go oade to keep the warrenty...means I just have to wait a few more pay-days...

yeah, it might be worth it just for the warranty!!

[Sean Gallemore]

sounds like yer more in look out for a a/d with levels

[F.O.Bean]

sounds like yer more in look out for a a/d with levels

schwill, are you  

[Sean Gallemore]

sounds like yer more in look out for a a/d with levels

schwill, are you  

:-D

but I say that because an a/d can change your levers, which will directly correspond with the recorder levels though optical/coax

PS don't listen to me, a drunken rant

[F.O.Bean]

sounds like yer more in look out for a a/d with levels

schwill, are you  

:-D

but I say that because an a/d can change your levers, which will directly correspond with the recorder levels though optical/coax

PS don't listen to me, a drunken rant

i see what youre saying, its more optimization when ya have a seperate pre/ad.....when ya have an all-in-one box like the v3, you are adjusting a gain that determines BOTH the analog and the ad levels....

does that sound correct anyone???

but personally,i think the v3 does a might fine job of doing that, hence why i got one!!

[Sean Gallemore]

yeah, the adc is after the preamp, For eaxample, you can't just read the mp-2 meters and decide what your levels will be on a jb3...

[F.O.Bean]

yeah, the adc is after the preamp, For eaxample, you can't just read the mp-2 meters and decide what your levels will be on a jb3...

nope, i read somewhere how the v3 does what it actually does analog/ad "gain"(for lack of better word on the ad side), and it was quite interesting!!!

its neat how it shapes all of that jazz!!!

[BobW]

on the dmic-20... what could I do with it's out put?
I don't know what BNC means........

From webopedia.com :
Short for British Naval Connector or Bayonet Nut Connector or Bayonet Neill Concelman, a type of connector used with coaxial cables such as the RG-58 A/U cable used with the 10Base-2 Ethernet system. The basic BNC connector is a male type mounted at each end of a cable. This connector has a center pin connected to the center cable conductor and a metal tube connected to the outer cable shield. A rotating ring outside the tube locks the cable to any female connector.

My add:
These are 75 ohms. small, locking, and work for spdif quite well.
See the pitcher below
V
V
V

[Lee]

You could buy my ad500e, which has "meters" (a -12 and a +4(I think) light), and an optical out for your iriver or jb3.  Throw a PS-2 for phantom power and some line transformers in there and you're good to go!  Then you could add a better pre in there when your budget catches up.

Just a self-interested suggestion.  SOMEONE BUY MY APOGEE SO I CAN GET AN SBM!!