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Pjones9 « You basically get what's advertised and what you pay for it. »
Published on 07/25/14 at 12:09The Focusrite OctoPre MkII Preamp is an 8 channel preamp strip. I was looking for an affordable mic preamp extension for my audio interface ( only has two mic preamps) and the Focusrite Octo Pre was the best thing I found. Simple, straightforward and easy to use, also great sound quality for the price.
This unit features:
-8 Pre-amps
-Built-in eight channel 24-bit / 96 kHz digital output
-The first two inputs can be used as Hi-Z instrument inputs
-5 LED input metering on every channel
-10dB Pads on every channel
-8 analog outputs, one for each input
-48V Phantom power available on every channel
-BNC World Clock Input
I needed to record a live session with drums, bass and two guitars and I have an Apollo Twin audio interface which only has two pre-amplified analog inputs. So what I needed to do is to get advantage of the 8 bulit-in digital inputs of the Apollo via ADAT. And with this unit the process was quick and simple, and I'm very satisfied for the results. The live session sounded great and with surprisingly good audio quality. It's not rackable, but for me this is irrelevant.
UTILIZATION
When it comes down to operation the Focusrite Octo Pre is pretty easy to use and I found instructions straightforward. The manual is clear and sufficient but unfortunately I didn't find the only thing that I was searching for in the manual, which was the impedance value of the Hi-Z inputs. I wanted to know this info to be able to compare these inputs to other manufacturers' direct boxes. But anyway, the general configuration is simple and I had no problems with it.
SOUND QUALITY
You get a great sound but obviously you won't get the sound of the most expensive preamps and converters. For example the preamps of the Apollo are better my opinion, but the difference is really minimal. If you are willing to invest more you could get better quality, but as I stated before, what stands out in this case is the low price of this unit. Normally you would lower quality for this price but the OctoPre sounds great! It really keeps up with professional studio standards.
OVERALL OPINION
For this unit you basically get what's advertised, you get a good sound for the price and the ease of use that we all love, thanks to features that fulfill this purpose such as the 5 LED input meters, the 10 db pads, the BNC Word Clock input, and the ADAT outs through the Toslink cable. The only not-so-perfect thing (that you have to keep in mind if you plan to use a ribbon microphone with one of this preamps) is that you have to use phantom power in groups of four, but hey!, I think that 500 bucks is a really fair price for what you get. I recommend this product and would definitely buy again if I needed too. I'm really happy with it and I can't really find significant disadvantages to even make a cons list. Pros: Clear sound, great quality for the price, easy to use.
This unit features:
-8 Pre-amps
-Built-in eight channel 24-bit / 96 kHz digital output
-The first two inputs can be used as Hi-Z instrument inputs
-5 LED input metering on every channel
-10dB Pads on every channel
-8 analog outputs, one for each input
-48V Phantom power available on every channel
-BNC World Clock Input
I needed to record a live session with drums, bass and two guitars and I have an Apollo Twin audio interface which only has two pre-amplified analog inputs. So what I needed to do is to get advantage of the 8 bulit-in digital inputs of the Apollo via ADAT. And with this unit the process was quick and simple, and I'm very satisfied for the results. The live session sounded great and with surprisingly good audio quality. It's not rackable, but for me this is irrelevant.
UTILIZATION
When it comes down to operation the Focusrite Octo Pre is pretty easy to use and I found instructions straightforward. The manual is clear and sufficient but unfortunately I didn't find the only thing that I was searching for in the manual, which was the impedance value of the Hi-Z inputs. I wanted to know this info to be able to compare these inputs to other manufacturers' direct boxes. But anyway, the general configuration is simple and I had no problems with it.
SOUND QUALITY
You get a great sound but obviously you won't get the sound of the most expensive preamps and converters. For example the preamps of the Apollo are better my opinion, but the difference is really minimal. If you are willing to invest more you could get better quality, but as I stated before, what stands out in this case is the low price of this unit. Normally you would lower quality for this price but the OctoPre sounds great! It really keeps up with professional studio standards.
OVERALL OPINION
For this unit you basically get what's advertised, you get a good sound for the price and the ease of use that we all love, thanks to features that fulfill this purpose such as the 5 LED input meters, the 10 db pads, the BNC Word Clock input, and the ADAT outs through the Toslink cable. The only not-so-perfect thing (that you have to keep in mind if you plan to use a ribbon microphone with one of this preamps) is that you have to use phantom power in groups of four, but hey!, I think that 500 bucks is a really fair price for what you get. I recommend this product and would definitely buy again if I needed too. I'm really happy with it and I can't really find significant disadvantages to even make a cons list. Pros: Clear sound, great quality for the price, easy to use.