Audient Mico vs my current pres?

[dickiefunk]

Hi. I've just seen the new Audient Mico for £356 and am keen to get some opinions on how it compares to my current pres.

At the moment I have an ART MPA Gold, M-Audio Tampa and DMP3.
These have been serving me pretty well with my Oktava MK-319, Rode NT-1a, MXL v67g and Studio Projects B1 condensers. I like the fact that my pres sound quite different to each other which has been useful for different sources.
I've heard that the ART MPA Gold responds well to tube upgrades and putting in NOS Telefunken Ecc83's etc can make a noticable improvement.

My question is would I be better off selling all my pres and get the Mico or upgrade the ART's tubes?

[dickiefunk]

I found out from Audient that the Mico and ASP008 use exactly the same preamps and converters.

[. . . Delete This User . . .]

the mico has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve that the asp008 doesn;t , notably the black series harmonics adjustment, and the phase adjustment...

the asp008 on the other hand has 8 pre's rather than 2 and costs less per channel.

I have a tampa, and I've used the ART, and i'd take the audient over either of them any day .

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the reply.

Have you tried the Audient?

Also, was it the MPA Gold you tried? Did you tried the ART with upgraded tubes? Apparently this makes quite a noticable improvement to this preamp. I've heard some clips with the MPA Gold with Telefunken Ecc83 tubes and was really impressed!

How would you describe the tone of the Audient compared to the Tampa?

[Hugh Robjohns]

I found out from Audient that the Mico and ASP008 use exactly the same preamps and converters.

To be horribly, pedantically precise, they aren't actually exactly the same preamps -- there are some very minor differences which work in the Mico's favour, as you'll see fomr comparing the tech specs.

But essentialy, it is the same fundamental preamp design, with thet same sonsic quality.

hugh

[dickiefunk]

Hi Hugh,

I was going on this information I received from Audient on this :-

"They both share the same mic pre circuitry and converter chipset"

[. . . Delete This User . . .]

I use Audient pre's fairly regularly... in ASP008 and Console form... and have mucked about with the Mico as well.... indeed it's made it on to my "must buy at some point" list....

clean, fairly neutral, slightly soft, with a nice open presentation and well detailed.... with masses and masses of headroom.

(indeed, on the console , you can run line level sources in to the mic pre and still not clip it.... )

The Tampa is perhaps a bit rounder in the low end , kind of slightly fuzzier, and less precise in it's fine detail resolution, although still very nice, it is definitely in a more deliberately characterful way...

some of which is possibly actually more related to it's compressor.... , I generally use the Tampa as an alternative to my Joe Meek VC3's , quite deliberately as a very flexible colour pre with flavour compression.... mucking about with input impedance , as well as the compressor... NOT as a clean accurate mic pre....

the Tampa is also rather good at getting a half decent sound from electro-acoustic guitars.... and basses.

if i want a really good, clean and detailed pre, with bags of headroom, and low noise, the Audient pre in assorted guises is always on my "first few things to try" list

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the reply and info. The Audient certainly looks like a nice pre.
Have you tried the ART MPA Gold? Also have you tried the ART MPA Gold with Telefunken Ecc83 tubes?
I've heard a few clips online with this pre (with Telefunkens) and budget mics and the sound was great!

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/333962-art-mpa-gold-clips.html

One thing I found with my Tampa is it can sound a little harsh in the high end on certain sources but my ART MPA doesn't.

I will be mainly recording vocals.

[Janne M]

I'd like to know were You've seen the Mico for £356?

Janne

[dickiefunk]

Music Technology here :-

http://www.mt247.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.mt247.co.uk%2facatalog%2fOnline_Catalogue_Second_Hand_373.html&WD=mico&PN=Online_Catalogue_AUDIENT_318.html%23ac012887#ac012887

[dickiefunk]

the mico has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve that the asp008 doesn;t , notably the black series harmonics adjustment, and the phase adjustment...

the asp008 on the other hand has 8 pre's rather than 2 and costs less per channel.

I have a tampa, and I've used the ART, and i'd take the audient over either of them any day .

What does the HMX do to the sound of the Mico?
Also, did the ART you tried have upgraded tubes? Apparently this MPA Gold doesn't sound great with stock tubes!

Are there any more people out there with experiences with any of these pres?

I will be mainly recording 4-5 tracks of vocals. I tend to do the rest of the stuff with VSTi's but occasionally record guitar or bass.

I thought that you only notice a big difference between more expensive pres when you stack lots of audio tracks?

Also, what do you think of the DAV BG-1 compared to the Mico

[dickiefunk]

What does the HMX do to the sound of the Mico?
Also, did the ART you tried have upgraded tubes? Apparently this MPA Gold doesn't sound great with stock tubes!

Are there any more people out there with experiences with any of these pres?

I will be mainly recording 4-5 tracks of vocals. I tend to do the rest of the stuff with VSTi's but occasionally record guitar or bass.

I thought that you only notice a big difference between more expensive pres when you stack lots of audio tracks?

Also, what do you think of the DAV BG-1 compared to the Mico

Anyone?

[Persuazion]

What does the HMX do to the sound of the Mico?
Also, did the ART you tried have upgraded tubes? Apparently this MPA Gold doesn't sound great with stock tubes!

Are there any more people out there with experiences with any of these pres?

I will be mainly recording 4-5 tracks of vocals. I tend to do the rest of the stuff with VSTi's but occasionally record guitar or bass.

I thought that you only notice a big difference between more expensive pres when you stack lots of audio tracks?

Also, what do you think of the DAV BG-1 compared to the Mico

Anyone?

I haven't used the micro but have the ASP008 And 2 DAV BG-1u's.

Both very clean pre's. Might be tough to tell in a blind shootout.

But to cut a long story short...

If there is difference it's that the BG1 sounds slightly 'bigger' and the Audient slightly 'smoother'. But both very clean. The audient I'd say is also a bit quieter than the BG1's.

Hope that helps.

If it were me I'd actually be kind of stuck to make a choice!

The extra features the Micro seems to offer, though (and being slightly cheaper per channel) would probably put that above the BG1.

Tough choice though!

[dickiefunk]

I haven't used the micro but have the ASP008 And 2 DAV BG-1u's.

Both very clean pre's. Might be tough to tell in a blind shootout.

But to cut a long story short...

If there is difference it's that the BG1 sounds slightly 'bigger' and the Audient slightly 'smoother'. But both very clean. The audient I'd say is also a bit quieter than the BG1's.

Hope that helps.

If it were me I'd actually be kind of stuck to make a choice!

The extra features the Micro seems to offer, though (and being slightly cheaper per channel) would probably put that above the BG1.

Tough choice though!

Thanks for the helpful reply. Which of these pres would sound least harsh on vocals?

[Persuazion]

I haven't used the micro but have the ASP008 And 2 DAV BG-1u's.

Both very clean pre's. Might be tough to tell in a blind shootout.

But to cut a long story short...

If there is difference it's that the BG1 sounds slightly 'bigger' and the Audient slightly 'smoother'. But both very clean. The audient I'd say is also a bit quieter than the BG1's.

Hope that helps.

If it were me I'd actually be kind of stuck to make a choice!

The extra features the Micro seems to offer, though (and being slightly cheaper per channel) would probably put that above the BG1.

Tough choice though!

Thanks for the helpful reply. Which of these pres would sound least harsh on vocals?

Based on the ASP008 (not the micro cause I aint used it) I'd say the Audient would be the one that would sound less harsh as it does seem to round things off nicely. But having said that I mainly use the DAVs as my 'go to' for vocals.

Like I said... Tough choice!

With the added extra's the micro has it may be worth a shot.

Plus I have the BG1u which gives you a very nice DI. The straight BG1 does not. But the micro does...

Looking like the micro would give you the most bang for your buck.

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the reply and info!

The Audient Mico sure looks very tempting and seems to offer a lot for the money!!

I'm currently selling some gear so I'm gonna have to see how much that makes before I can make a definite decision.

Ideally I'd like to keep my ART MPA Gold and sell my other pres and get the Mico.

My other option would be to upgrade the MPA Gold tubes and if I have enough from the sales buy the new Cubase 5.1 upgade from my old SX 3.1.

Hmmm decisions!!!