M-Audio DMP3

Gain range button needs a better label. Of course, after you try it once, you know which is which, but I'm guessing it will take several days of use to get the difference lodged in permanent memory. In addition, I don't want to be forced to commit something that should be labeled to permanent memory.

I'm no expert, but this is the quietest thing I've tried in this price range. I have a cheap ribbon mic that needs all 66 dB of gain, and it is very usable cranked to the max. I don't own anything else that is usable at its maximum gain range. The sound seems very natual and detailed to me, but I don't spend enough time behind a console to say with any authority.

Several knobs pulled off in the shrink wrap when I unpacked it. It appears to be made as cheaply as humanly possible, given the design paramaters. But that's exactly what I want - cheap, good sound from a piece of home demo studio gear; and who cares about roadworthiness.

I am primarily a guitar player. I have been playing 25 years. Spent a lot of time in the electronic music lab in college, plus I've spent a lot of time on the studio side of the glass in recording environments. Since everything is so cheap nowadays I put together a DAW for my latest project and had an engineer friend guide me toward some books and gear. I got a cheap ribbon mic b/c I wanted to try Mid-Side mic'ing (requires a mic with a figure-8 polar pattern) and I didn't want to just buy one more cheap Chinese condensor; the obvious choice was the Behringer B2 and I already have the B1. The problem with the ribbon mic was that it was too weak to give good amplitude at normal gain levels, and my cheap mixer is noisy at high gain. This preamp solved my problem, and it also sounds a touch cleaner at normal levels. I feel like I lose a little less sound in this thing than when I use the mic pre's in my mixer.

Right out of the box it sounded great. If you've had experience with pre's before, then you know there will always be some tweeking.

Compared to any of the ART and Behringer stuff there is no comparison. This preamp is a hugh leap from the ART Tube MP, Tubepac the TPS or even the Presonus Bluetube. The sound is crisp and clear and has dimension. Used it on an Ampeg VT-40 with a Strat, with a couple of 57's put the headphones on and it was like taking a wet blanket off the rig. I was using the ART Tubepac's, but using these became a whole new ballgame. Excellent sound quality. I also use Symetrix 302 pre's which are higher end pre's. The DMP3 rivals those preamps. Ton's of headroom.

Hasn't died on me yet. Feels sturdy.

Haven't had the need. Hope I never do.

I can't really tell what's good until I get it home and put it through the test. I've tried a number of different preamps (As stated above) for electric guitar and this one is by far the winner hands down. I got caught up in the notion that my DAW (Akai DPS24) had to have tube preamps to "warm" up the sound. Most of the lower end tube stuf is a gimmick and actually sounds "flat" or in some cases just plain bad. Through trial and error I bought myself some quality solid state stuff and I'm finally recording some sonically exhilirating tracks. For the money it's definately worth having at least one.

I don't know how much more simple you can make it. This is a two channel pre with seperate gain (no volume) pots for each individual channel. Each channel also has its own VU meter, High/Low gain switch and low cut filter. The outs are 1/4"--I'm using TRS cables for lower noise.

I'm using this with the E-MU 1212M, which has no breakout box or built in mic pre's. I'm running out from the E-MU into a Soundcraft Compact4 and out from that into M-Audio BX8's. My LD condenser mic is a solid state FET Groove Tubes 5sc. Previously, I had been running out from the mixer into the E-mu and, while the results were pleasing for most applications, I really ran into significant noise problems for mic'ing softer picking on my acoustic. The preamps in the Compact4 had a very lively sound, but they just couldn't get enough gain without a lot of noise for mic'ing softer sources. I narrowed my choices down to 2 preamp's based on reviews--the VTB-1 by Studio Projects and the M-Audio DMP3. I initially decided on the VTB-1's, but apparently Sweetwater was out of them for about a month and a half. I also had concerns about the VTB-1 being a gimmick pre like most of the cheap, shitty preamps that incorporate tubes. I had a tube based pre (the Bellari MP105) and I don't have anything good to say about the experience. I still plan on buying a VTB-1 just for comparison in the future...perhaps I will write a post with my thoughts on it comparing it to the DMP3. For now though, I am quite happy with this pre. It is extremely quiet and seems to have more than enough gain. I would describe the sound as articulate, dark and flat. It does not have the brighter, more lively sound of the compact4's pre's, but the difference in clarity and noise is astounding. While I can't say that I love the sound of the DMP3 flat, I will say that it takes EQ extemely well. You can really make very slight changes with EQ and the changes really seem to jump out at you--this was definitely not the way w/the soundcraft's pre's, which just kind of sounded like they wanted to. I wanted clean reproduction with very little noise and this box has given that to me.

I would imagine, being solid state, that this should be a pretty reliable pre. I don't like the VU meters though, because they don't seem very responsive. Anything less than 2 on the meter seems to result in inconsistent meter movement. Once you get above that point, it seems to work really well.

Who knows?

Compared to the pre's I've used previously--Bellari MP105, Behringer Mixer Pre's, and the compact 4 pre's--this is a huge leap in quality. The compact4 pre's definitely dominated the previously mentioned pre's, but using the DMP3 is like the first time you mix using real monitors (I think the BX8's count :) compared to the times before when you mixed with home stereo or computer speakers. You realize how at least somewhat professional gear can make such a significant difference. Definitely worth the price. I seriously doubt that most breakout box pre's that are shipped with soundcards are going to keep up with the DMP3, and I'm extemely happy with my choice.

Simple as can be. The hardest part is merely deciding if your wiring is balanced/unbalanced, and whether you need phantom power.

The polarity (phase) switches on each channel are an added bonus.

I've been dealing with manipulating signal coloration for years. For instance, back in the 80's, it was standard practice to put those sterile digital synths (so popular at that time) through any tube-based or analog gear to "warm" them up.

In this case, I grabbed a DMP3 specifically for the *opposite* reason: because I was looking for something that was dead quiet and had a full-spectrum frequency response with little or no coloration. I needed something to replace the average-quality mic/instrument preamps on my soundcard, so I could just use the DAC's on the interface to bring a high-quality signal into the DAW.

The DMP3 performs spectacularly in this regard!

Frequency response is excellent. There is little sense of any signal loss, or that the preamp is coloring the sound. This unit is great for converting any unbalanced instrument input to a balanced line, and for doing proper level and impedance matching before digitizing the signal.

I don't know what any of the other reviews are talking about in regard to hiss or noise. If you keep your signal chain at +4db balanced, use short leads, and make certain you've got clean power, then this thing is dead quiet.

Well, I wouldn't run a truck over it, but at least it's made of thin sheet metal and not plastic. Switches and jacks are well constructed, and it looks like they should be able to withstand a few years of wear-and-tear. I can't imagine the electronics being very complicated inside the little guy either.

So far, I've been taking it out with the road rack and laptop and that's had no ill effects. Overall, the only thing I can imagine going wrong is perhaps having a light bulb behind one of the meters burn out. <*shrug*>

Never had the pleasure of dealing with them...

I've been involved in engineering electronic music since the early seventies, and I've been participating in computer-aided and HD recording since the first commercial systems came onto the scene twenty years ago.

In this case, I had a need for a device to use as a 'swiss army knife' with a variety of mic'ed acoustic and electric instruments. I needed a device that I could use to transparently match input levels, and I didn't want any "extras" getting in the way or interfering with the instrument/microphone's own native frequency characteristics. Set it and forget it; simple, fast, and out of the way.

I found what I looking for with this device. The DMP3 just gets the job done -- period. And the fact that it's bloody inexpensive sure doesn't hurt either. So, yeah, if it were stolen or lost, I'd go get another.

The only caveat I have about this unit is that it only *looks* as if it might fit into a half-rack space. Sorry, but this thing is about a third of an inch too tall (even after you pull off the little rubber feet). You could easily mount it onto a rack shelf, but only if you can afford to sacrifice a half or full rack space above it. Drat!

Plug it in, turn it on, adjust the gain.

Couldn`t be easier.

i use a godin electric guitar, and simon and patrick acoustic. also some voice, a bit of percussion. the noise is really impressively low. i plug it in my 24/96 audiophile soundcard, which has unbalanced RCA In`s, which contributes to noise which is not produced by the balanced outs on the pre, and i still have to try to hear the hissing... recording elect. guitar with an amp (mine is a marshall) straight with my Studio Projects B1 mic seems pretty weak... i can`t seem to get the richness in the sound that i tweak to get through my amp... plugging the guitar straight through the preamp into the soundcard and recording through Native Instruments Guitar Rig is pretty phenomenal, i cant beleive it...

i wouldn`t ask myself this question twice.
seems very robust,
it is very well made.

m-audio customer support has been no good for me up to now...

but i`ve never really needed their help, i can figure out whatever problems i have myself, or using the forums on the net...

this is a great pre for a serious, but budgeted musician.

ive been playing for 10 years, trumpet, piano and guitar and study electroacoustical composition in university.

i needed good quality,

now i have it.

if you recognise yourself
don`t think,
just do !

Straight forward and pretty simple to use. Good easy to read manual.

I recently sent back a tube preamp because it had hiss in the background. I thought this solid state unit with great specs would be dead quiet. Unfortunately it is not, as long as it is plugged into my digital recorder I can surely hear light hiss in the background even at low levels of output. The good news is that it really brings a condenser mic to life and has very good signal strength without the colorization. I'd have to guess that most all preamps in the under $300 range have hiss, perhaps even the higher dollar units.

simply don't know, but the unit comes with a life time warranty.

no comments

Use the DMP3 with an AKG c1000s in my home recording studio (Yamaha AW16G). I was disappointed that it had XLR inputs, but 1/4" outputs. I had to buy a cord with stereo 1/4" plugs to get TRS balanced signal. I'm not sure if there is a better unit for the price. Chose it over the Presonus models because the DMP3 has an on/off switch and cool VU meters> I do not like gear that have to be unplugged to turn off. I feel all preamps are overpriced considering all they do is boost anemic signals with added noise. But until mixing boards come with hi quality powerful built in preamps, you have to have one!

very easy to use.just plug in your mic and run a line into your recording box or whatever.simple. a few options to play around with on the front to get the sound you are chasing

Excellent sound quality. best twin channel preamp for the price by far I reckon. My recording quality has gone ahead with leaps and bounds due to the dmp3

so far so good. bought my first one 2nd hand so don,t know how old it is maybe a year or 2 I geuss. not missed a beat.

not yet had to deal with the company

I use this for recording accoustic guitars and drums, vocals , eeverything. works best with my rode nt1 and mco1 studio condenser mics.like the first one so much I got another one. am thinking of getting another couple and putting them in a rack case 2up. might make things easier in my little home studio

Very easy of course. The only inconvienence is that all connections are in the back

I use this as a front end to my Echo Mia card. I use Cubase SX. I hesitated buying this since I had a small mixer that had mic pre's. I never really understood why there were so many separate mic pre's available and that people loved them untill I got this unit. The difference in sound quality is unbelievable. This unit sounds so good. Really alive and natural sounding. Compared to my mixer (mackie) pre's the mixer sounds flat and dull. The Mia card has balanced inputs and this has balanced outputs... i'm sure that helps quite a bit too (I purchased balanced cables).

Only have had it a month.

After spending money on good monitors and a good audio card it would have been self defeating to not have this. I don't see how spending more could provide better more natural sound transfer.