Did someone tried this tube mic pre?

[FotisGR]

Hello friends. Did someone tried this tube mic pre by Zeman?
http://www.geocities.com/d_zeman/Projects/Micpream.htm

Cheers
fotis

 

[CJ]

Looks cool. Anything new is always welcome. The current source in the cathode thing is interesting. 12AX7's are good tubes but I think they can be beat sonically by the EF804 family and with less noise.

cj

 

[FotisGR]

Hi, CJ.
Yes it looks cool and simple. I like the idea of using high quality components and no coloration (distrotion) from audio transformers .

Cheers

 

[kevinc]

Yeah, just trade the transformer colorations for capacitor colorations. All components are colored sonically.

 

[FotisGR]

Yeah, just trade the transformer colorations for capacitor colorations. All components are colored sonically

I agree, but a transformer colorate ( destroy ) many times than a good cap :grin:

 

[adrianh]

FotisGR;

I hate to disagree.
The best system I have ever heard had 7 transformers
in the signal path. The system was capacitor coupled in the past
but when the equipment was modified for transformer coupling
it was so much more musical it was scarry.
I will use transformer coupling when ever I can
and try to limit my capacitor coupling in equipment I build.

Try good sounding transformers and you will never go back.

 

[CJ]

Yeah, but those were Lundahl amorphous.
Were talkin rusty UTC. :razz:

 

[zmix]

That pre appears to be a pair of cathode followers, how much gain can it possibly produce?

Transformers can make a preamp sound very very good, and not because of anything they add, because of all the RFI they block. I wouldn't use a transformerless tube pre in the city!

 

[FotisGR]

That pre appears to be a pair of cathode followers, how much gain can it possibly produce?

I beleive no more than 30-40db. It designed only for condenser mic , not for dynamics, i think.

The best system I have ever heard had 7 transformers

its sounds will be like a mic pre / effect combo :grin: