#preamps

Finding The Right Microphone & Preamp Combination

When entering the world of recording, the combinations of microphone, preamp, compressor, and equalizers are pretty much endless. With that in mind, I’m going to be explaining a little bit about microphones and preamps in the $500 to $2000 budget range. 

When you hit about $1000 for any microphone it’s going to sound great, but at that point it’s mostly about sound preference. In my setup, I chose to go with an AKG C414 XLS (left image) because it has a very balanced sound. In my opinion, it’s not too bright or too dark. It sounds just right, to me. Some people say it has a very flat sound but again, everyone has a different preference when it comes to their sound. Most people go with a Neumann TLM 103 for its nice bright sound and others may go for something very dark like the Mojave MA-200.

A good microphone is nothing without a decent preamp. The Focusrite ISA One (right image) has a very clean signal and it’s only about $500. I love this thing, it has a great clean sound with no distortion. I haven't really seen it in any of the recording studios I’ve been to, most places have some kind of Blue or Neumann mic hooked up to an Avalon or Solid State Logic. You can’t go wrong with Avalon’s beautiful warm sound but every studio has it. 

So the choice is up to you, do you want the same sound as every other studio or do you want something unique and different? Why not try hooking up a Shure KSM 44 to a Neve 5017? How many other people have that same set up? Nobody knows, but it probably sounds amazing!

Every professional audio system relies on a Preamplifier as its foundation. The decision between clean and colored Preamplifier designs directly impacts sound character, workflow, and audience perception.

This analysis explores how different Preamplifier philosophies influence modern audio production.

The Strategic Role of a Preamplifier

A Preamplifier determines:

Dynamic response

Tonal balance

Noise behavior

The earliest gain stage often has the greatest sonic influence.

Clean Preamplifiers and Sonic Transparency

Clean Preamplifier units aim for neutrality.

Performance Metrics

Low total harmonic distortion

Flat response across frequencies

Stable operation at high gain

These designs align with broadcast, corporate, and large-scale sound reinforcement needs.

Colored Preamplifiers as Creative Tools

Colored Preamplifier designs intentionally influence sound.

Sonic Impact

Adds harmonic layers

Enhances midrange presence

Introduces musical saturation

These traits are valued in artistic and performance-driven audio.

Workflow Implications in Professional Environments

Live Production

Clean Preamplifier units simplify mixing and reduce troubleshooting.

Recording and Post-Production

Colored Preamplifier units reduce reliance on plugins and effects.

Cost, Longevity, and System Compatibility

High-quality Preamplifier models from reputable vendors provide:

Better component tolerance

Improved thermal stability

Consistent performance over time

Professional retailers ensure Preamplifier units meet industry standards.

Strategic Selection: One Size Does Not Fit All

Many audio professionals adopt hybrid workflows, using clean Preamplifiers for capture and colored Preamplifiers for enhancement.

Lets talk about phono pickups or cartridges if you prefer. The slaves to expense love 4 and 5 figure devices. I stay well in the three figure range.

I avoid moving coil types. No secret there if you go back in my previous stuff. I resisted because it is not just the tiny thing on the end of the tonearm, it is the other accessories. It's like buying a boat. Once you have a boat you need a trailer and a big pickup truck to haul it. Moving coils require either transformers, or outside pre-preamplifiers or stupid high gain in the phono stage. Each of those options has ardent fans who have endless bad things to say about the other options.

Transformers distort. Maybe nice distortion maybe not but signals that are not on the LP get to you.

Pre-preamps add a layer, more layers are generally not good and specifically usually bad.

High gain preamps can be noisy and depending on the method.... Oh and then there is the input impedance problem. As moving coils took over the extreme high end they required far more capacitance in the phono input than the other types. The electronics are voiced to sound better as moving magnets like Audio Technicas react very badly to high capacitance. My ARC preamp came with 600 pF at the phono inputs. I took it off.

And if you read what Mr Sound Smith says about all MC types having high frequency resonance and bad tracking well into the bin with all of them

Dig into it and very clever people who know far more than I do also avoid them. LP mastering engineers, and those two guys in New York who build Moving Iron types. The mastering gurus judge by sound. Sound Smith and Grado are competitors but have very credible things to say that are not good for moving coils.

Moving Iron and Moving Magnet types are very common and range from dirt cheap to holy shit! So If you want to spend big bucks you can. That also means there is a big choice in almost any price range you care to look at.

My most expensive pickup cost in today's money about $600 bucks. My most expensive purchase in the last 5 years was $500. My current favorite was $320. I have several between $120 to $250.

WA12 mkII mic preamp modifications

This is something I'd intended to post last year before the fire, but hadn't gotten around to. The WA12 is a pretty well-regarded budget mic preamp, being largely a clone of an API312 topology for under $500. I'm not a deep expert on the history of API or the 312 circuit, but the broad outline is there. Warm Audio opted to go with a Melcor 1731 style opamp here, instead of copying a later API 2520, but it's socketed and you can change it (if you do, see the note down at the bottom!). To their credit, they chose a vintage 1:8 input transformer ratio, rather than the 1:10 you see on modern APIs. It's a weird choice that the 'default' mode on this preamp (tone switch off) is 1:4, whereas 1:8 (tone switch on) is the more vintage-correct configuration, but whatever. This post references the current black-panel mkII version, which seems to have a slightly different PCB and layout than the orange-panel mkII.

I keep looking.

I can't help it.

There are issues with the basic idea of tubes. They are strange and familiar as the basic operation is easy to visualize. Transistors are just lumps of metallic stuff. The accepted truth that different production runs, brands and age of the same type will sound different is really annoying.

Bottom line is I like the sound. Is it real? Is it accurate? A choice between a good solid state preamp and a tube unit is a conundrum. I have both and voted for the vacuum. I have had my tuber for a looong time. I have the opposite opinion of power amplifiers.

Yet I still check the ads. Right now there are two candidates within an hours drive of my house. One is pure tube, the other a tube FET hybrid. They are roughly the same vintage which explains the price being reachable to me.

One is a CJ PV11 and has 6 tubes of three different types including some 12AX7s. "Each one selected for the precise properties required in the circuit location." That is rather annoying, but I accept it may help. It makes replacement just that more complicated as you can get bad tubes when you order them. Needing extras can get expensive.

Also I have a certain disdain for 12AX7 tubes as they are really common in the low end preamp designs. Nothing rational about that but there you are.

The other is the Audio Research SP-9 and has 2 tubes of the same 6922 type and is hybrid with FETs. BUT that had three versions. The first being described as not as good as the second and the third. The local one is probably the mk1. For a few hundred more there is a mk3 in the states. AR is my favorite brand.

They are of similar vintage and were compared in the day with each other in magazines (gasp printed on paper!). Not too different.

They push different buttons as one advertises no global feedback. That is a thing in some peoples audio religion. The other would be simple to maintain.

This exposes the fact that such choices are emotional. I like this brand or that in the same way I prefer a sporty car over a family transportation appliance. Both get you somewhere sometime.

There is no better or best just different and liking this more than that. If I hear more of something like tiny details then OK that may be a bit better. I have been fooled by seductive textures that were just distortion.

There is also the small potential of getting a "deal". If someone is dumping a device on the market because they upgraded then I could benefit. Or you may at least only not lose any money. The nice thing about old stuff is it holds value. You can usually sell it on for the same money.

I have thought about asking the guy about the version and for a discount if it is mk1, but will it be better than the one I have? I have to spend the money to find out. Then I would have to sell my current one.

I am trying to stay cheap here in a relative way.