Topic: Pre amp questio/options

[kenirob]

Hi everybody, just had a question...or two, I'm getting ready to buy a pair of Studio Projects C4's, to tape outdoor and indoor shows, I'm looking at the MIC24/96 v2 to use as the pre amp to my microtrackII, has anyone used this rig combo? is the mic24/96v2 worth the money and sounds good, holds up? Do the Studio Projects C4's do well? thanks

[Todd R]

I had the MT for awhile when it first came out, but have no experience with the mic24/96.  The MT was ok for what it was, but I think there are much better handheld recorders available now.  Especially concerning battery life and field powering, the MT is a pain.

For the money, I'd really recommend looking into the "box" series of mic preamps from Naiant (mshilarious here) -- littlebox, tinybox, etc.  Do some searches, lots of information on the littlebox and tinybox, which are very nice and affordable 2ch preamps.  Also, I've been using for awhile now the Sony D50, and Sony now have a smaller/cheaper Sony M10 that many people are liking quite a bit (again, do some searches on the M10).

I'd recommend ditching the MT, and picking up the littlebox with the internal li-ion battery option (~15 hours or so of runtime off the internal battery with the C4's) for $260.  Then pick up a new Sony M10 recorder for $200 (at bhphotovideo at this price, maybe elsewhere) and pick up a flash card to go with it.  Still probably $100 less than the option you're looking at, maybe closer to $200 less out of pocket if you sell the MT.  And the M10 is much more reliable than the MT and has way, way, way better battery life.

[SmokinJoe]

C4's are a well established taper's mic.   It has a good reputation as sounding decent for the money.

Not too many people on this forum use the MIC24/96 preamp, in fact I can't think of anyone.  Core Sound makes good stuff in general, and it might be the greatest preamp in the world, but apparently no one wants to be the guinea pig.  Some mics and preamps go together like peanut butter and jelly, and some don't.  Consider hardware that is "an old standby" like a Oade or Busman moded UA-5.  You can go on archive.org and find a hundred tapes made with C4's > UA-5, so you know what to expect, and it's 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

I've never owned an MT but they have a reputation as having 3 known issues.  I don't think you need to dump it, just learn to work around those issues.  No reasonably priced piece of gear is perfect.
- you probably need an external battery pack to keep the internal going.  There should be plenty of info available on that.
- When it hits 2gb of file size and jumps to the next file, there is a gap in the recording.  At 24/48 that's a little over 2 hours.  Just hit STOP and START between songs or set break every 2 hours and you are good.
- They tend to "lock up" and/or "freeze" when there is an interruption to the digital signal.  If you wiggle the SPDIF cable just wrong it might happen.  Some people seem to have a lot of problems, others have never had a problem.  One possible workaround to this running analog into the MT from a quality analog preamp (like the aforementioned LittleBox).

[acidjack]

I agree with ToddR's comments below generally, but isn't the MT best used with a digital input? I seem to recall there being something subpar about the analog inputs. The Naiant boxes only output analog, I believe, so while they are great, they may not be the best thing to pair with an MT.

That said, Todd's suggested general approach is the right one, I think.  I have not used an MT, but I do own a littlebox and M10, and both are very high quality pieces of gear that have many fewer issues discussed on here than the MT.

I had the MT for awhile when it first came out, but have no experience with the mic24/96.  The MT was ok for what it was, but I think there are much better handheld recorders available now.  Especially concerning battery life and field powering, the MT is a pain.

For the money, I'd really recommend looking into the "box" series of mic preamps from Naiant (mshilarious here) -- littlebox, tinybox, etc.  Do some searches, lots of information on the littlebox and tinybox, which are very nice and affordable 2ch preamps.  Also, I've been using for awhile now the Sony D50, and Sony now have a smaller/cheaper Sony M10 that many people are liking quite a bit (again, do some searches on the M10).

I'd recommend ditching the MT, and picking up the littlebox with the internal li-ion battery option (~15 hours or so of runtime off the internal battery with the C4's) for $260.  Then pick up a new Sony M10 recorder for $200 (at bhphotovideo at this price, maybe elsewhere) and pick up a flash card to go with it.  Still probably $100 less than the option you're looking at, maybe closer to $200 less out of pocket if you sell the MT.  And the M10 is much more reliable than the MT and has way, way, way better battery life.

[Todd R]

Yes, agreed, the analog inputs on the MT aren't very good, and if you want to keep the MT, the mod-UA5 digital-in to the MT is a good recommendation (as might be the mic24/96, I just don't know that piece of gear).

For the money of the mic24/96, I was recommending ditching the MT in favor of a M10, along with a littlebox.  Less money, better rig in my view.  But acidjack is right -- I wouldn't go halfway on my recommendation and get the littlebox but still keep the MT.  Not a good pairing there.

[fmaderjr]

Yes, agreed, the analog inputs on the MT aren't very good, and if you want to keep the MT, the mod-UA5 digital-in to the MT is a good recommendation (as might be the mic24/96, I just don't know that piece of gear).

I don't have a MTII, only the MT24/96, but that recorder has great analog inputs if you get a proper cable to go line in. Only the 1/8 Mic input is sub par. So I assume the MTII also has a fine line in. It does require a special cable to get rid of the much discussed "sprinkler noise" when fed an unbalanced signal though. Otherwise you need to keep the MT's gain at the minimum and get all your gain from your preamp.

That said, the M10 is a much better choice if you want to get a littlebox and go line in. The M10 is much more user friendly and has much better battery life, among other advantages.

I have the old version of the  Mic24/96 and wouldn't recommend it or the new version. Sounds great but not as user friendly as the littlebox and you will need an external battery if you want it to provide phantom power (so it isn't as small as you think it is). If you really want a pre with ADC, go with Todd's suggestion and get a modded UA-5. Much cheaper and I'm sure it sounds just as good.

[SmokinJoe]

He has the MTII, and is asking what else to go with it, and tells is what he is looking at.    I think it is discouraging for people who ask questions here when the answers they get are "dump what you have and buy something else" on the one piece of gear they do own.    The MT may not be everyone's first choice, but a lot of that comes down to "I like Chevy and you like Ford".  Get the C4's and a decent preamp, run them into the MT and get started.  If you decide later that the MT doesn't suit your needs then replace it.

[kenirob]

Thank you guys for the awesome input!! The MTii wasn't my first choose for a bit bucket, but I'm for sure going upgrade. The UA-5 is a preamp that the tapers at the Furthur show in Philly were speaking very highly about as well. I'm leaning towards it way more than the MIC24/96 V2. From the options on it its sounds much more realiable. Thanks to everybody again!! Oh anybody have any suggestions on were the UA-5 could be bought from? mod'ed or unmod'ed? It doesn't seem to be available on the market anymore.  thanks again

[Todd R]

I'd agree if people were saying what the OP has and what he wants to spend isn't nearly enough, spend more to get a better system.

But that isn't the message being relayed, so I guess I don't really know why this is so discouraging.  What I and others have been saying is don't spend the $600 you're thinking about when you can spend $400-500 and get a better solution.  I guess though my advice is getting a better system for an implied budget (cost of the mic24/96), not thinking about holding out to use a piece of equipment you already have on hand, whatever the cost. 

That said, I think a MT + UA5 option is an excellent idea, and makes for a good system for a ~$200 investment.  I just wouldn't throw $600 at a MT just to keep using a MT.

[sunjan]

The UA-5 is a preamp that the tapers at the Furthur show in Philly were speaking very highly about as well. I'm leaning towards it way more than the MIC24/96 V2. From the options on it its sounds much more realiable. Thanks to everybody again!! Oh anybody have any suggestions on were the UA-5 could be bought from? mod'ed or unmod'ed?

The UA-5 is great value if you don't mind the size. I assume you won't be stealthing.
Look at the YS here. Unmodded can be found for $125-$150 and modded are maybe $175-$300 depending on type. Basically you get what you pay for. I'm very happy with my wmod, but if a nice deal pops up on another version, just grab it and get started! You can and will have chances to upgrade later.

[anr]

Sony M10 for $200?  You lucky devils.  Quick look on Amazon says £326 over here, which is north of $450.   Zoom H2 is £145.   No contest I'm afraid.