Avid Pro Audio Community

Avid Pro Audio Community

How to Join & Post  •  Community Terms of Use  •  Help Us Help You

Knowledge Base Search  •  Community Search  •  Learn & Support


Avid Home Page

Go Back   Avid Pro Audio Community > General Discussion & Off Topic > General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-10-2012, 07:24 AM
PD-John PD-John is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 488
Default Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Looking to buy a preamp that'll be a step up from my Saffire Pro 40 pres - main use will be for tracking vocals.

I know the Mico and ISA One are miles apart (Mico = clean, discrete, AD conversion, 2 channels. ISA = coloured, transformer-based, no conversion, 1 mic channel...). Each of these have features that I really like and I'm finding it hard to decide. At the moment I'm leaning toward the ISA One because I know it will be a different flavour to the Pro 40 pres and will probably sound better than the Mico, but the Audient is enticing because of the AD conversion and dual channels. I love the flexibility with the ISA because of the DI input and Amp output, the Insert point and the Impedance switching too.

Any thoughts? My main question is if I buy the ISA One, will the conversion in my Pro 40 do it justice, or is the difference negligible? I can't afford the ISA One Digital atm.

Thanks for any advice
__________________
2011 MacBook Pro 13" 2.7GHz i7 8GB RAM
Mac OS X 10.9.3 Mavericks
Pro Tools 11.1.3
Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 w/ Saffire MixControl v3.4
Focusrite Forte with Forte Control v1.1
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-10-2012, 10:55 AM
albee1952's Avatar
albee1952 albee1952 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Norwich, CT
Posts: 39,520
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Are you into soldering? fivefishaudio.com has some very good preamps, and some are available as kits. Their X-12(I own a pair) has become my "go to" for a lot of stuff as its voiced like the old API 312(never heard anybody complain about that one!). They have some other choices and are worth a look. The ISA-ONE is a nice pre, but its mostly a "clean" pre(not a lot of "character"(I also own an ISA-428).
__________________
HP Z4 workstation, Mbox Studio
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/...0sound%20works


The better I drink, the more I mix

BTW, my name is Dave, but most people call me.........................Dave
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-10-2012, 04:05 PM
77pro 77pro is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 818
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

The MICO is very nice, and because of the A/D can run into spdif freeing up other inputs on the sapphire. Also, the 2nd channel has a variable phase adjustment ( great if 2 mics aren't exactly 180 out of phase with each other), and channel 1 has a harmonic drive adjustment. I use it along with a UA 2-610 and a vintech 273 with great results.
__________________
003r/i7-930/LE 8.0.1 cs2 on xp
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-10-2012, 04:42 PM
PD-John PD-John is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 488
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Quote:
Originally Posted by albee1952 View Post
Are you into soldering? fivefishaudio.com has some very good preamps, and some are available as kits. Their X-12(I own a pair) has become my "go to" for a lot of stuff as its voiced like the old API 312(never heard anybody complain about that one!). They have some other choices and are worth a look. The ISA-ONE is a nice pre, but its mostly a "clean" pre(not a lot of "character"(I also own an ISA-428).
Thanks Albee. Unfortunately, I'm pretty bad at all things electronics and I can't afford a 500 series rack at the moment either. Definitely will look into it when I can though! Thanks again.

Oh, and I was looking at the BLA B12A - supposedly a very convincing API 312A clone in a 1/2U space for $300.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-10-2012, 04:46 PM
PD-John PD-John is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 488
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Thanks 77pro, yes I've read only good reviews for the Mico. The A/D is definitely a big plus point. How do you think the preamp quality compares to your Vintech and 2-610?
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-10-2012, 05:41 PM
77pro 77pro is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 818
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Quote:
Originally Posted by PD-John View Post
Thanks 77pro, yes I've read only good reviews for the Mico. The A/D is definitely a big plus point. How do you think the preamp quality compares to your Vintech and 2-610?
It does very well against them...mostly comparable to the vintech for clean sound. Of course you can't color the sound as much as either one, but the mmx on channel 1 does allow a slightly driven sound.

I was going to get the api 2d, but the budget shrank too much after the UA and Vintech purchases...but definitely not disappointed with the mico at that price point...it is a great piece of gear that gives me 10 inputs on my 003r.
__________________
003r/i7-930/LE 8.0.1 cs2 on xp
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-11-2012, 01:01 AM
PD-John PD-John is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 488
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Quote:
Originally Posted by 77pro View Post
It does very well against them...mostly comparable to the vintech for clean sound. Of course you can't color the sound as much as either one, but the mmx on channel 1 does allow a slightly driven sound.

I was going to get the api 2d, but the budget shrank too much after the UA and Vintech purchases...but definitely not disappointed with the mico at that price point...it is a great piece of gear that gives me 10 inputs on my 003r.
That's really good to know, thanks a lot!
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 03-19-2012, 01:29 AM
PD-John PD-John is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 488
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

So... after much deliberation I ended up buying the ISA One, and I'm very impressed. Like others have said, it makes the interface pres comparatively sound like there's a towel over the mic (not saying the Pro 40 pres are bad, the ISA is just better). I'm sure I'll notice a big improvement when I track all the instruments in a song through it.

Thanks for your help guys
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 03-30-2012, 08:56 PM
paul psilas paul psilas is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 2
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

One thing to remember about the ISA One is that its great for layering multiple tracks. ISA amps were essentially designed for console use and the more tracks you record with them,the more colour/vibe you get.

Some say they are a bit sterile but thats patently untrue,the transformer prevents that,they're just not as 'overly' coloured as some alternatives.

The ISA's are great preamps (as is the MICO,Townsend uses those) and it should last you a life time.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 04-07-2012, 06:11 AM
PD-John PD-John is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 488
Default Re: Preamp Purchase: Audient Mico Vs Focusrite ISA One

Quote:
Originally Posted by paul psilas View Post
One thing to remember about the ISA One is that its great for layering multiple tracks. ISA amps were essentially designed for console use and the more tracks you record with them,the more colour/vibe you get.

Some say they are a bit sterile but thats patently untrue,the transformer prevents that,they're just not as 'overly' coloured as some alternatives.

The ISA's are great preamps (as is the MICO,Townsend uses those) and it should last you a life time.
Sorry, only just saw your post.

That's very true, I'm finding tracks do stack very nicely, and it certainly doesn't sound sterile (clean, yes.. but with a touch of colour).

Thanks for your post
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Audient Mico vs Sontronics Sonora nainesh 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Mac) 3 05-10-2010 12:21 PM
Looking to purchase a preamp word_play 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Win) 17 02-28-2010 01:39 PM
Have a focusrite or know about them... about to purchase. Monty_python 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Mac) 7 08-18-2009 10:04 AM
Advice on preamp purchase tonyharp Pro Tools TDM Systems (Mac) 9 10-25-2002 10:29 AM
Advice on preamp purchase tonyharp Pro Tools TDM Systems (Win) 0 10-22-2002 08:06 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:35 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited. Forum Hosted By: URLJet.com