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Author Topic: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?  (Read 20124 times)

compasspnt

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2007, 10:17:25 AM »

Galil wrote on Wed, 31 January 2007 07:55

compasspnt wrote:

You can find them on Ebay, often with the Denver mods.

Is  there a link or explaination of what the "Denver mods" consist of?





I remembered incorrectly.  It wasn't "Denver" mods after all, it was "Bolder" mods.  (See, I confused Denver with Boulder, Colorado, but the "Bolder" is actually the Bolder Cable Company.)

Here are some links:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze22yzp/id14.html

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/digital/messages/31615.html

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/169601.htm l

http://www.siteswithstyle.com/VoltSecond/ART_DIO_MODs/ART_DI O_MODs.html

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rollmottle

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #16 on: January 31, 2007, 03:23:28 PM »

well, i just bought one out of supreme curiosity based on this thread and the reviews of the DIO converter. the initial outlay is cheap enough so i'm not too worried about it. useable results have been reported everywhere so i'm optimistic. i'm most interested in using it to "tube-up" elements and mixes that are ITB. seems like a really versatile piece of kit and my expectations for it are low.

it comes on saturday so i'll report my results when i get a chance to use it.
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mshilarious

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #17 on: February 02, 2007, 08:51:31 PM »

vegas4ever wrote on Tue, 30 January 2007 08:06

 Hey mshilarious, I hate people that ask this... but ... since you seem to be the only one that has use this pre, what does it sound like: Dark Neve, clean Martinsound, or Cant do wrong API?


You are presuming that I have used much more expensive pres than I have  Embarassed  Isn't this the budget forum?  Very Happy

It seems middle of the road as far as character.  If you keep the plate voltage on high (which I would normally recommend), it is actually fairly transparent based on what you might be expecting, but I wouldn't call it sparkly, either.

I like to keep the VU meter set on "tube" (metering the level going in to the tube, after the first opamp stage), and if you keep that out of the red, THD is low.  If you peg it, it can be a useful sound for DI instruments; like the Tube MPs, but nicer.

The converter chip is AKM 5394A, which I think is their top of the range.  Opamps are BB OPA2134, and socketed.  I swapped the stock tubes for NOS GE.
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CHANCE

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #18 on: February 03, 2007, 03:04:57 PM »

Hmm,, if A R T says they're using the same converter as the old "DIO", I would be interested to see what chip a real DIO has inside.
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hargerst

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #19 on: February 05, 2007, 01:44:50 PM »

When MXR broke up, the 3 owners went their separate ways and started Alesis, Whirlwind, and ART.
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Harvey "Is that the right note?" Gerst
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Joe Black

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #20 on: February 07, 2007, 11:04:05 AM »

I've been using this a month or so on my acoustic/vocal set up. Gefell 300 for guitar, Rode K2 w/nos Mullard for vocal. I run it via AES and clock it to my MH ULN. There's a few to many options for my liking (being a simpleton and all) but the sound seems very present and upfront to me and slightly forgiving (round?) compared to the ULN's. I run it wiht the input and impedance maxed and the palte voltage at high. My biggest issue is the lack of numbers on the knobs (I need symbols for recall) and on the knobs -> like 70's stereo knobs, big and silver <- the line indicating positon does not exend to the face plate, making return to a setting a bit iffy (if I get lucky and remembered which line it was). Click stops are always nice, but proably woulda cost more. For the price I got it used of Ebay, I still was a great deal.
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SonicExplorer

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #21 on: February 28, 2007, 07:33:32 PM »

This thread kind of lost focus and died.  I too am very interested in the DMPA, so what's the verdict??  There were a couple of posters buying/evaluating one, but then never chimed back in to update....

Also, I talked to ART and the rep said the ADC chip is a TI PCM4202, NOT an AKM5394A.  There is a big delta between the price of those two chips, and sound difference.  I tried to get clock jitter information but no luck.

ANYWAY, I can't find hardly any reviews on this preamp.  Art stuff seems to have a reputation like Peavey did 20 years ago - so I'm afraid to just dive into a purchase...

Anybody???

  Sonic
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compasspnt

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #22 on: February 28, 2007, 09:21:50 PM »

As mentioned before, they were going to get me the gold tube digital-out preamp and the tube compressor to try, but never did.  Then Anthony left.

Now I wonder if they'd rather NOT have a public opinion...
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mshilarious

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #23 on: February 28, 2007, 11:43:21 PM »

SonicExplorer wrote on Wed, 28 February 2007 18:33


Also, I talked to ART and the rep said the ADC chip is a TI PCM4202, NOT an AKM5394A.


Well, I admit, I didn't get my info from a rep, I just opened my unit and looked inside it.  Mine has the AKM chip.  I don't follow ADCs very closely, so I don't know if they are pin-compatible, so maybe they were out of TIs that day, or maybe I have a "vintage" DMPA  Very Happy

Seems more likely they might have goosed the early units to generate buzz, then dropped the production cost . . .
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Joe Black

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #24 on: March 02, 2007, 07:24:43 PM »

I dunno what's inside the one I bought with my hard earned money from bakesales, but I've used it a bit more. Used it a few days ago on an electric  guitar track. Thought the Metric Halo ULN's were more.....hmmmm....articulate then needed, so I plugged the Beyer 260 and the Heil PR40 into the DMPA. Mic'd up was a 25 watt Sewell Texaplex (I love this amp) for some crunchy Marshally type sounds via a nice humbucking guitar. The guitar sound was right there, though with a thin wash across the mids compared to the ULN's. The Beyer was ass kicking with a little highend loss (which seems typical of this particular mic), though I had to crank the DMPA to the limit to get what I thought was a usable level. The Heil had a middy sound to it that the DMPA pleasantly blurred.

On play back I didn't notice any noise on the Beyer channel though that channel was cranked all the way. All in all, I was quite pleased and used the Beyer track.

I used the DMPA last weekend on some 2 mic acoustic recordings. I like to take an SDC (in this case a Dorsey mod Oktava 012) and put it right behind the head stock. Mixed under the SDC (Gefell m300 through the ULN) at the 12th fret position. It seems to add just a nose hair of high end shimmy (no, not shimmer) to the softly flatpicked twonk of my old Guild M20. Again, the DMPA provided a most usable wave to the sound I was looking for.
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SonicExplorer

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #25 on: March 03, 2007, 06:27:04 PM »

Hello Folks,

Thought I'd share some information I learned from some tenuous exchanges with ART...

ART changed the ADC chip from the AKM to a TI4202 about a year ago.  I asked why they did such a thing and got a semi-hostile response.   I also asked what the jitter specs on the clock were and was instead given a link to the TI4202 chip specs.  However, those specs indicate the TI4202 chip relies upon an external clock (if I read things correctly).  So again, no answer.

SO.... I'm not feeling very warm and fuzzy about all this.  When a manufacturer doesn't list certain specs, won't offer the specs when asked, and isn't willing to share any rationale behind major chip/design changes (and then gets irritable about the inquiries) it all adds up to a major red flag in my book.

I really wanted to like the DMPA and was considering purchasing one, but now I'm veering away from it until such time as I see enough unbiased user reviews that prove the DMPA has merrit and isn't just another pile of marketing rubbish.

   Sonic
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Ironklad Audio

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #26 on: March 16, 2007, 08:21:32 PM »

that's why i got the MPA gold, and said screw the digi outs
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rollmottle

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #27 on: March 16, 2007, 09:04:30 PM »

after much wrangling with the MPA, i decided to send it back. i was having heavy jitter problems on the digi outs at 44/16 and i could never figure out why. at 96/24 it was rock solid, but with the DIGI002's limitations on digital I/O i was kind of hamstrung using the digital I/O on the MPA anyways. also, the left channel of my unit was registering a low volume noise on the meter that i troubleshot to be more than just a bad tube or ground trouble. i will say that it DID add a nice quality to my mixes. it tended to have a soft clipping type of effect on the material i sent through it, without harshing it or killing the top.

i did send it back in exchange for an ART ProVLA. now THAT thing is doing exactly what i wanted. it "warms up" and "rounds out" my digi mixes very nicely - in a more fully dynamic way than the MPA did. i will upgrade the tubes the same as i did with the MPA and i expect it to be even more useable.

despite my woe on the MPA, i will say ART has made 2 very solid products for the price. they are solid, rugged units and i daresay you won't find very many products at this price point that will come close to the results you can achieve.
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vegas4ever

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #28 on: March 19, 2007, 08:34:46 AM »

rollmottle wrote on Fri, 16 March 2007 20:04

after much wrangling with the MPA, i decided to send it back. i was having heavy jitter problems on the digi outs at 44/16 and i could never figure out why. at 96/24 it was rock solid, but with the DIGI002's limitations on digital I/O i was kind of hamstrung using the digital I/O on the MPA anyways. also, the left channel of my unit was registering a low volume noise on the meter that i troubleshot to be more than just a bad tube or ground trouble. i will say that it DID add a nice quality to my mixes. it tended to have a soft clipping type of effect on the material i sent through it, without harshing it or killing the top.

i did send it back in exchange for an ART ProVLA. now THAT thing is doing exactly what i wanted. it "warms up" and "rounds out" my digi mixes very nicely - in a more fully dynamic way than the MPA did. i will upgrade the tubes the same as i did with the MPA and i expect it to be even more useable.

despite my woe on the MPA, i will say ART has made 2 very solid products for the price. they are solid, rugged units and i daresay you won't find very many products at this price point that will come close to the results you can achieve.


So you had the Jitters @ 44 and not a 96?
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rollmottle

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Re: ART Digital MPA... Are you serious? can it be? ART?
« Reply #29 on: March 19, 2007, 12:50:41 PM »

vegas4ever wrote on Mon, 19 March 2007 05:34

rollmottle wrote on Fri, 16 March 2007 20:04

after much wrangling with the MPA, i decided to send it back. i was having heavy jitter problems on the digi outs at 44/16 and i could never figure out why. at 96/24 it was rock solid, but with the DIGI002's limitations on digital I/O i was kind of hamstrung using the digital I/O on the MPA anyways. also, the left channel of my unit was registering a low volume noise on the meter that i troubleshot to be more than just a bad tube or ground trouble. i will say that it DID add a nice quality to my mixes. it tended to have a soft clipping type of effect on the material i sent through it, without harshing it or killing the top.

i did send it back in exchange for an ART ProVLA. now THAT thing is doing exactly what i wanted. it "warms up" and "rounds out" my digi mixes very nicely - in a more fully dynamic way than the MPA did. i will upgrade the tubes the same as i did with the MPA and i expect it to be even more useable.

despite my woe on the MPA, i will say ART has made 2 very solid products for the price. they are solid, rugged units and i daresay you won't find very many products at this price point that will come close to the results you can achieve.


So you had the Jitters @ 44 and not a 96?



yep.
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SENTRALL Sound East
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