A review by Craig Lister
Continued from Page 1
The musical and waveform examples given here come from a famous passage found in the first movement of Bach’s Italian Concerto for double-manual harpsichord. In this section, the right hand plays two long trills (on the lower, louder keyboard) while the left hand plays a running passage (on the softer, upper keyboard). It is a troublesome passage both to perform and to record — the trill tends to outweigh the texture and obscure the motivic information found in the more nasal, upper keyboard.
We use it for comparison purposes because it is a perfect test of transparency in the audio chain. Can the preamp faithfully sift through the composite levels presented by the source and allow the listener to hear (or even center in on) the quieter, running passage? Only the best preamps seem to do this with authority.
The DMP2 was a good performer in this test, and excellent considering its price. Both DMP2 and Mackie XDR takes were judged comparable. And, although they are considered adequate for recording purposes, they are, nonetheless, somewhat short of ideal. This is the one listening category where the much more expensive high-end preamps continue to hold an advantage.
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Transparency conclusion: DMP2 and Mackie equal in sound quality, both acceptable but not ideal.
Realism
This category refers to how accurately the recorded sound matches the acoustical generator. Conductors and performers have an edge in making such assessments for they develop the ability to remember timbre accurately and can recall particular colors while listening to playback.
I judge the DMP2 to be very good to excellent in this category. It strikes me as being slightly more accurate than the Mackie pres, and very close (but not identical) to the source.
Those listening to the accompanying *.wav files should pay particular attention to shifts between manuals. The contrasting timbres are easily apparent in live performance but difficult to match in recording. The DMP2 does an very good job here — preserving the sounds of the more euphonious lower keyboard and more pungent upper one.
Realism conclusion: DMP2 very good and slightly superior to the Mackie.
Listenability
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Although this can
be the most subjective of the categories, it can, also, be the most important.
An extremely accurate device that strikes the listener as jarring will
never produce a successful product.
This is the category in which M Audio excels.
Their Delta 1010 converter has been successful in the market for its “listenable”
conversions and the DMP2 follows in that tradition. The musicians associated
with these tests all commented on the pleasant sound of the DMP2. It is
both euphonious and accurate — producing a signal that speaks well on
studio monitors, headsets, and home speakers.
This is also the category in which the DMP2 markedly outperforms the Mackie.
Examine the waveform comparison shown nearby. The passage is from the
included sound files and represents the sudden shift to the softer, upper
keyboard.
The DMP2 handles this shift fluently and with grace — note the controlled
shape of the overall design. By contrast, the Mackie has problems here.
It produced a more raspy quality that did not hold up to repeated listenings
— nor to transference to casual listening equipment.
Listenability conclusion: a clear strength of the DMP2 and M Audio
and a winner over the Mackie.
Conclusions
and Recommendations
The DMP2 holds its own well with
comparable and [some] more expensive preamps (as of this writing, it had
a retail price of $249.00). Within its “straight wire with gain” philosophy
it produces a pleasantly listenable result, offers good realism, and an
acceptable (but not ideal) level of transparency. Given the Logical interface
it makes with its sister product, the Delta 1010, there is every reason
to believe that M Audio will sell a large number of these boxes.
Not content to leave well enough alone, this reviewer has some suggestions
to M Audio for making the product even more effective.
First, and this is critical, add detents to the gain controls. Any serious
sound engineer will demand this for reasons of replicating settings. Project
studio aficionados similarly demand this feature. Both groups would pay
whatever additional charge is required for the upgrade.
Second, get rid of the wall wart. These always cause trouble in rack mount
situations. The solution used for the Delta 1010 is far more successful.
Put the transformer aside and run cables to the outlet and to the unit.
Finally, and this would be a killer in the current market, produce an
8-channel version that occupies two rack spaces. Copy the Delta 1010 brushed
aluminum look. Make sure the gain controls have detents! No additions
need be made to the simple elegance of the current control functions (although
for this product M Audio could lose the direct box function). Price it
somewhere below $1000.00 and presto…
…you’ve got a serious contender.
Craig Lister, 9
June 2000
Craig Lister is a musicologist, professor, and performer, and is the owner
of
GlenAnchor
— the recording studio of the Saint Louis Early Music Ensemble.
The ensemble is delighted to share its information with other artists
and studio gurus; feel free to contact them through Digital Pro Sound
at feedback@digitalprosound.com