At Sonic Sense we carry the most popular portable pre-amps. Each of these delivers two-channels of phantom power and offers notable sonic improvement over the onboard pre-amps found in portable tape recorders.
An Introduction to Microphone Pre-amps
Calibrate your A/D Converter to your microphone Pre-amp
Sonic Sense is proud to be the company that introduced the Lunatec V2 to recording engineers and hobbyists throughout the U.S. The release of the V2 marks the most dramatic portable pre-amp upgrade in a long time. This unit, produced by Grace Design, offers everything a two channel recording expert could desire and the sound quality of first rate studio units.
With the growing use of outboard pre-amps, Sonic Sense is staying on top by offering the greatest variety of portable units available. We are proud to have released the very popular Lunatec V2 from Grace Design. In keeping with our earlier Equipment Comparison Tapes which let you hear the differences of high-quality pre-amps, we now have lots of recordings featuring the Sound Devices MP-2 with some of the best microphones on the market.
Additionally, we have now posted a Calibration Page for optimizing the gain structure between your pre-amp and deck or outboard a/d converter.
For those just learning about pre-amps, they are devices which boost the low level voltages generated from a microphone up to a higher voltage (line level) which the deck records. It is during this process that the detail, clarity, definition, dynamic range, and frequency response of a microphone can be fully revealed or severely compromised. While most portable recording equipment, and lots of studio equipment, include pre-amps, they seldom have the resolution of the better outboard units.
Additionally, pre-amps typically include phantom power, the voltage necessary to run the mics. Otherwise, external supplies, known as phantom power, are connected via XLR (three-pin) cables to the microphone and and then to the deck. While some power supplies, made by companies like Neumann, are sonically "cleaner" than others, the benefits of a pre-amp are unparalleled.
As most of the common portable machines have put most of their design funds into developing decent technology at an affordable price, they have had to cut many corners. Even with high-end DAT manufacturers, the quality of the internal pre-amp, or a/d convertor, does not match up to the quality of those made by dedicated experts in the industry.
As it is relatively simple to boost mic level to line level for recording, the pre-amp sections have notoriously been compromised by the tape-deck manufacturers. A high-quality microphone pre-amp, which almost always provides phantom power, will reveal the full capacity of the microphone. A listener will hear more defined low-end, greater detail in the mid-range, and extended high-end in addition to enhanced imaging and depth of the soundstage.
A pre-amp is not an artificial processor but rather a device which allows you to fully recognize the capability of the microphones being used. As one pre-amp producer once said, "It makes taping section tapes sound like they were recorded in front of the board." This really means that instead of having to go to the extreme of taping up front, where it is often not allowed, you can achieve all the sonic excellence in the comfort of the taping section.
*****Note of CAUTION when using Pre-Amps:
ALWAYS connect the entire recording system before turning it on. Patching
microphones into a transformerless pre-amp when it is ON can cause extensive,
and costly, damage to the pre-amp.
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