Topic: SD MixPre - $320 shipped - worth it?

[joeshambro]

Hey there,

A friend of a friend has 3 of these..  $320 shipped, he's offering me for one.  I love the sound of the MP2, especially with my Earthworks SR77's...  

Are these pretty much the same as the MP2?  They look to be the same except for the ability to place the signal where you want it in the stereo image, which could be kind of cool... also I wasn't sure if it had the M/S features or not.

So, would it be worth it (especially to be an upgrade for stealth, and to throw in front of the UA5 a/d)..

[cpclark]

thats a good price on a used mixpre/mp-2, have another one for me?

[caymanreview]

i believe there almost identical, great price on that too

[hoobash]

Its not the same unit. I am not sure whats different but I know they arent the same

[Brian Skalinder]

Its not the same unit. I am not sure whats different but I know they arent the same

It's true, the MP-2 and MixPre are not technically identical.  But my ears can't tell the difference and I'd be surprised if anyone else here could.  Here's some info from the SD website:

http://www.sounddevices.com/tech/mp2_or_mixpre.htm

"MP-2 and MixPre Input Topology Differences
Electrically, the MP-2 and MixPre share the majority of their microphone preamplifier circuit topology. The high-performance Lundahl input transformer is at the core of both mic pre circuits, and both share the same six-transistor discrete output topology. However, the two units differ in how they address the first stage of input gain, which leads to important operational and electrical differences between the two products.

MixPre
Can attenuate a microphone signal completely when gain control is at minimum (off-attenuation is infinity).
Two gain ranges, depending on phantom power position. (s/n 0501_ and 0502_ only)
Phantom Off - off to 66 dB of gain, input clip level at -10 dBu
Phantom On - off to 56 dB of gain, input clip level at 0 dBu
The MixPre is generally used in production applications which need complete fader control of inputs. Its two-stage input gain allows complete attenuation of inputs and a maximum of 66 dB of gain.

MP-2
16 dB of gain with gain control at minimum level.
Single gain range from 16 - 66 dB of gain, input clip level +4 dBu
The two-stage input gain of the MP-2 allows it to handle input signals as high as +4 dBu (approaching line level!) before clipping. This allows the MP-2 to accept the hottest microphone inputs"

[hoobash]

I would prob by that unit at $320 shipped. Why not?

[Cooker]

i'd probably buy it for $320 as well. what is retail on these?

[Nicaragua]

$855 retail i think
most places are selling in for around $650 from what i've seen

that price is a steal!

[chase]

yeah if any of these are left i would take one instantly.  PM me if any are left.

[John R]

do we want to know why he has three so cheap?

jr

[joeshambro]

I'm going to check into it..

The deal falls into the "too good to be true, it probably is" category...  

I'm usually pretty wary of deals like this, so I'll see what I can dig up.. if all is legit I'll pass on to the seller that I've got some others interested in the same deal..