Preamps / Channel Strips

Test plots to accompany the article.

We check out this eight-channel preamp and A-D converter, the first four channels of which feature a solid-state/tube hybrid mic preamp based on the company's Twinfinity 710 and a compressor derived from their ever-popular 1176.

Neve believe that there’s scope to bring classic designs up to date — and that’s exactly what they’ve done here, taking their revered 1081 mic preamplifier as the starting point.

Can a preamp and D‑A converter successfully straddle the pro-audio and hi‑fi markets? Drawmer believe it can...

James Dunkley is on the case of the Radial Tonebone PZ Preamp.

This novel preamp design features a variable impedance and slew rate — which opens up a whole new world of possibilities from your mic locker...

This hybrid mic preamp can go from solid‑state clean to valve warmth — and for a surprisingly low price, too. Is there a catch?

Can Sicilian manufacturers MC AudioLab bring a touch of Mediterranean magic to your recordings with their new boutique preamp?

Should you build outboard gear to do the job as well as possible, or to meet a price point? Grace Design prefer to do the former, and it seems to be a philosophy that pays off...

The new recording channel from Rupert Neve is more than just the sum of his existing Portico processor modules...

The patchbay remains the cornerstone of most commercial studios, but using one to patch mics into different preamps can be risky — which is where the MicMAID comes in...

Is a high-quality valve preamp in a programmable pedal just what the SpinDoctor ordered?

There are now several Neve 1073-inspired preamps available — but theyre not always 100 percent faithful to the original design. How close does this new contender from BAE come?

This mic preamp and processor is about as flexible a device as you could hope for without taking the modular route — and all in the space of a 2U rack.

With upgraded mic amps and A-D conversion in their MkII versions, do Focusrites latest eight-channel preamps still lead the way at this price point?

Empirical Labs, purveyors of some of the most versatile compressors around, apply their dynamics expertise to a mic preamp.

Benchmark strive to make their products exactly that: something against which the competition should be judged. So how does their new preamp measure up?

AEA have tweaked the design of their TRP ribbon-mic preamp, already something of a favourite, to create a device thats much more versatile — and without compromising on quality.

Striking a useful balance between the transparent and the characterful, this high-quality, US-made preamp design brings versatility to the studio and some colour to the rack...

Presonus combine their respected analogue and digital technology in this affordable ADAT-equipped preamp.

Just in case the line-up of plug-ins available for the UAD cards wasnt tempting enough already, Universal Audio have now added emulations of classic SSL hardware.