With separate control over mic and line/instrument inputs as well as variable high‑ and low‑pass filters, Trident’s 80B‑Pre is more versatile than most 500‑series preamps.
Trident’s Series 80B mixing
consoles, which graced studios from the late ’70s onwards, have proven enduringly popular, and their clean‑sounding, low‑distortion preamps played as big a part in that as the EQ. Now owned by PMI Audio, Trident recently have put a modern version of this preamp into the 500‑series format. As I’ve opined countless times in these pages, most readers are not without clean and capable preamps in their audio interfaces, so why would you splash out another £$600 on this one? Well, as with so many outboard preamps, these offer that bit more, in terms of both quality and features.
Lundahl Transformer
The Series 80B consoles had transformer‑balanced mic preamps, and this module uses a Lundahl transformer in that role. The line input is balanced electronically, and the two inputs each have a dedicated gain control: the mic amp ranges from ‑10 to +65 dB and the line one ±20dB, both being continuous pots. A switch flips between mic and line mode, and when in line mode, a separate high‑impedance instrument input on the front takes precedence when a jack is plugged in. This arrangement could prove really convenient in a home studio or songwriter setup, since you could potentially have ‘ready to go’ gains set for, say, your vocal mic and a bass or guitar, and have the output feed a single input channel on your audio interface. The output signal runs through another Lundahl transformer.
There’s switchable 48V phantom power, as well as a polarity inversion switch and an eight‑segment LED VU meter to indicate the output level, ranging from ‑20 to +15 dB. The standout feature for me, though, is a pair of separately engageable high‑ and low‑pass filters, each with continuously variable pots and a generous range (HPF from 30 to 350 Hz and LPF from 2 to 20 kHz and no obvious ‘cramping’ of the controls. So not only can you remove rumbles or compensate for the proximity effect and roll off the hiss from tape or noisy instruments and effects pedals, but you have the option to bracket any source to tuck it neatly into a mix, at the recording stage or after the fact. If you happen to have a 500‑series EQ module that lacks high‑ or low‑pass filters, using this preamp with it will put much more tone control at your finger tips.
The rack sent for review featured pairs of various Trident 500‑series modules, including the 80B preamp and EQ, the Hi‑Lo dynamic filter and, on the right, the A‑Range EQ.
Speaking of 500‑series EQs, Trident sent the review preamps housed in their Deca Dent 500‑series rack, along with pairs of their three EQ modules. We’ve looked at the Deca Dent, 80B 50 EQ and the Hi‑Lo dynamic filter previously and they all impressed, but this was the first time I’d tried the doublewide A‑Range EQ. I found it a wonderful partner for the 80B preamp. Unlike the 80B EQ, this includes high‑ and low‑pass filters, with a choice of three fixed frequencies. The preamp’s filters can usefully augment these, to allow rumble and proximity boost filters simultaneously, for example, or steeper slopes. The four main bands have switched frequencies for easy recall and, unusually, the band gain is set using faders rather than rotary pots, giving a useful visual indication of the setting. Oh... and last but not least, it sounds gorgeously smooth!
The 80B’s input and output stages are balanced by Lundahl transformers.
The standout feature for me is a pair of separately engagable high‑ and low‑pass filters, each with continuously variable pots and a generous range.
Bottom Line
So, is the 80B preamp worth it? It’s certainly well built, and it sounds clean yet classy and would be a great, versatile option for someone looking to build a 500‑series channel strip. As mentioned above, the separate line and mic stages and the front‑panel DI mean it could work very well for a home studio or songwriter set-up. And having those filters on board could make it indispensable to some engineers, making its price tag very reasonable.
Summary
A nicely thought‑out 500‑series preamp with some very handy features.
Information
£599 including VAT.
PMI Audio +44 (0)1392 826 005.
