Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: audBall on October 30, 2008, 08:07:13 PM
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I haven't seen this pre/AD before and couldn't find anything on here with the search function. It runs on DC, analog ins/outs, digi(opti,coax/AES) outs, wordclock in. The DI and 'HMX Harmonic Sculptor' might not be too useful though. It's geared to the 'desktop user', so I'm not sure how it would hold up in the field. Seems interesting...
http://www.audient.com/audient/product/mico
(http://images7.thomann.de/pics/prod/139385.jpg)
(http://cwsalesandmarketing.com/audient/Mico_Back_Straight_cropped-small.jpg)
Mico is a compact, feature packed twin Mic Pre with built in ultra-high quality ADCs, making it an ideal front-end for desk-top users. The front-end design is Audient's renowned balanced discrete Class A design which is also used in the ASP008 and the ASP8024 mixing console - guaranteeing outstanding sonic transparency and detail.
Mico also features one channel of the unique HMX harmonic sculpting technology from the Audient Black Pre making the creation of vintage style character and complexity as simple as turning one knob. For recording a single source with twin mics or mic+DI, the Variphase control on Mico's second channel allows precise phase alignment (or creative mis-alignment) of the two signal paths.
Key Features:
* Twin ASP008 discrete Class A Mic Pres
* Rear panel Mic/Line inputs on Combi XLR/Jack
* Rear panel line output on XLR
* Switchable Hi-Pass filters - 40Hz, 80Hz, 120Hz
* Phase invert
* Switchable 48V phantom
* -10dB Pad
* 6 to 66dB gain continuously variable
Unique to Ch 1:
* Front panel DI input - 500kOhms
* HMX Harmonic sculpting function from Black Pre
Unique to Ch 2:
* Variphase - phase shift between 0-180o
ADC
* Ultra-high performance 24 bit 44.1/48/96kHz low-jitter internal clock
* 44.1 to 192kHz using external word clock
* AES/EBU, S/PDIF Coaxial and TOSLINK outputs
* Word Clock input on BNC
* Switchable Word Clock termination
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actually, this thing needs to be grounded, right? The manual also says MiCO is despatched with an external PSU which will accept voltages between 100-240V. MiCO itself requires a DC input voltage between 10-16V to operate correctly.
It doesn't look like it would work..
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I asked about this pre when it was in the pre-production phase back in September of 2007, and Audient were kind enough to send me all kinds of info on it.
It can work in the field. The biggest issue for most tapers is going to be its physical size. The manual states 430 x 270 x 80 (mm) which equates roughly to 17 x 11 x 3. Basically it's not much smaller than a regular piece of rack gear. Try fitting THAT in your Sonicase or Nova 5... :P
Audient are excellent sounding preamps. I had an ASP-008 for a while and it always sounded great.
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Searching online, the price for an Audient Mico is $900 to $1100.
Just FYI.
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Thanks for the info, Dirk!
I just checked the manual online (pg. 15) here: http://www.audient.com/audient/files/mico-manual-2pp+addendum-260308.pdf
and noticed the dimensions state "216mm x 270mm x 45mm" which would be roughly 8.5 x 10.5 x 1.75 (in). Am I reading the wrong part?
Good news on the ability to run in the field.
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Thanks for the info, Dirk!
I just checked the manual online (pg. 15) here: http://www.audient.com/audient/files/mico-manual-2pp+addendum-260308.pdf
and noticed the dimensions state "216mm x 270mm x 45mm" which would be roughly 8.5 x 10.5 x 1.75 (in). Am I reading the wrong part?
Good news on the ability to run in the field.
That's weird. I'm looking at the manual they sent me last year and on page 15 it says 430mm x 270mm x 80mm...Perhaps the old manual is a misprint?
I just compared the two PDFs side-by-side and everything except this line appears to be the same. The word "dimensions" is even spelled (incorrectly) the same...
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Saw this on fleabay: http://tinyurl.com/58cbjc
Looks like a good deal. I asked to seller if they'd be so kind as to even give a rough measure of the unit's dimensions. We'll see.
There are just WAY too many pres/ADs/recorders available right now FS (especially in the yard). I guess that coincides will all of our lack of current funds. :P
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Saw this on fleabay: http://tinyurl.com/58cbjc
Looks like a good deal. I asked to seller if they'd be so kind as to even give a rough measure of the unit's dimensions. We'll see.
There are just WAY too many pres/ADs/recorders available right now FS (especially in the yard). I guess that coincides will all of our lack of current funds. :P
The pic for the back panel of this unit looks substantially different from the one at the top of this thread. It looks like there's an "in" and "out" on the power supply (?), and I don't see the Toslink or coaxial S/PDIF out . . .
The sample rate selection is handled rather differently, too (is it just 48 and 96 on that switch for the internal clock--no 44.1?).
And, finally, the mic inputs are different--there would appear to be only one XLR input, and it's not a combo like the ones in the picture in this thread. There is a 1/4 input on the back, plus the one on the front.
That's seems like a lot of differences to me.
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I did not even notice the picture of the rear panel. They are very different. I wonder if this is an older model.
edit - It appears this seller has conflicting pictures. The front & rear panels at the top of this thread go together. The rear panel the seller has pictured goes with this (I'm assuming, older version) unit: http://www.wwbw.com/Audient-Mico-Dual-Channel-Mic-Pre-with-HMX-and-Variphase-i778246.music
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Yeah, the combo input on the front makes a little more sense, but there are still some features at both the WWBW site and at the ebay listing that I'm not seeing--namely the Toslink and coaxial S/PDIF output, and the ability to run 44.1 internally. Looks like an interesting unit, but I think the (what we're assuming is newer) design at the top of the thread is preferable.
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I haven't seen this pre/AD before and couldn't find anything on here with the search function.
There was a thread started about the Audient back in May:
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,103414.0.html
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Cheers, Sunjan. I wasn't able to find that thread. I blame it on the search function. ;)
I got a response from the seller stating:
So it's 7"x9"x2" About half rack
I'm not going to great lengths trying figure out which 'revision' his unit is, but I've got a feeling it might be the older unit, not the one mentioned at the top. I'm not currently in the market for a pre, but it's nice to learn about 'new' gear that works for our purposes. I'd love to hear one next to a V3 for giggles, though.