FMR Audio RNP 8380 Really Nice Dual Mic Preamp

The RNP 8380 Really Nice Dual Mic Preamp from FMR Audio is a mere 1/3 of one rack unit space in size but is loaded with features and offers lots of headroom, hi-fidelity, and compatibility with the FMR RNC and RNLA. One of the very few bargains you'll ever find in pro audio, FMR Audio gear is used by Grammy-winning engineers Larry Seyer (Asleep At The Wheel, Manhattan Transfer) and Bob Power (Eryka Badhu); platinum producer-engineer Ed Seay (Martina McBride, Melissa Manchester, Ricky Skaggs); and legendary producer-engineer Michael Wagener (Ozzy Osbourne, M¶tley Crœe, Skid Row, Janet Jackson, Megadeth, Alice Cooper). Lots o' headroom. These days, the trend is for microphones to increase their output signal levels while reducing their output noise levels. This means either employing a front-end pad and/or increasing the headroom of a mic preamp. RNP decided to do the latter: at unity gain, the RNP 8380 has a clip point of +27.5dBu (almost 25Volts peak-to-peak)! Even with a hefty microphone output, the FMR Audio RNP 8380 should take what your mics have to give. Fidelity. When designing a preamp, there are many ways to balance the sometimes conflicting operating constraints. Unfortunately, with the proliferation of integrated-circuit (IC) based mic preamps in recent years, one of the typical casualties has been fidelity. Fidelity was not sacrificed in the RNP8380. Even though there are many mic pres that are quieter, there are very few that have the spurious-free (i.e., distortion-free) spectrum of the RNP8380 amplifier. Now, more than ever, what you put into a mic preamp is what you'll get out. Really Nice Compressor (RNC) inserts. Each channel on the RNP8380 has an unbalanced send/receive jack that allow you to connect an RNC 1773 (#580454) using a single Tip-Ring-Sleeve (TRS) cable (per channel). With proper cabling, you could also use this feature to balance any other unbalanced piece of gear. In addition, with the right external configuration, the RNP can provide a separate +22dBu unbalanced output and a +28dBu balanced output simultaneously to allow nifty things like separate M/S decoding while tracking the M/S signal without decoding. Balanced/unbalanced operation. Both the mic inputs and mic pre outputs are electronically balanced, differential signals. Want to run to/from unbalanced sources? No problem, the RNP automatically adjusts . . . no special cabling required. Balancing an RNC. Using the above features, you can allow/provide a balanced signal to/from an RNC/RNP set. Hi-Z DI inputs. These inputs are designed to take a source, such as a passive bass, and not "suck the tone" away from the instrument. This input features a high-impedance unbalanced 1/4" jack. Slowly-ramping 48V supply. To reduce the chance of destroying mics connected to the RNP that can't tolerate +48V applied to them, RNP ramped up the +48Volts slowly just in case you accidently turn on the phantom supply with a phantom-intolerant microphone attached to the RNP. In addition, this ramp helps reduce "settling time" of the RNP's servos (see Geek Stuff below) and reduces the size of the output pops/clicks. EMI-resistant. The pre-amp's front end includes a third-order EMI filter. It is specifically designed to attenuate RF while giving a smooth audio performance up to 200kHz. This reduces the chances that you'll have trouble with RF interfering with the RNP's operation even at high-gain levels. When used with a nominal 150 Ohm balanced source, this filter yields exceptional audio performance. Output mutes. During phantom engagement/disengagement and DI/mic switching, the momentarily mute the output signals to reduce output pops & clicks that may otherwise annoy you and others. This mute actually occurs before the

The RNP 8380 Really Nice Dual Mic-Pre is a mere 1/3 of one rack unit space in size but is loaded with features and offers lots of headroom, hi-fidelity, and compatibility with FMR's RNC and RNLA