SPL Audio P8 8-Channel Microphone Preamplifier

The SPL Audio P8 is equipped with eight identically designed microphone preamplifiers. All eight preamps have a discrete design – without ICs, made of individual transistors. This is typical for absolute high-end preamplifiers and is one of the main reasons for the outstanding sound. Besides an analog gain control for adjusting the preamplification, each of the eight preamps features an individually switchable phantom power supply (48 V), a PAD switch, a phase inversion function and a switchable analog high-pass filter.

DISCRETE PREAMPS

P8 is equipped with eight preamplifiers. These have a discrete design and they are tuned for a sound- neutral, open and transparent characteristic. The gain control can be used to adjust the preamplification. The control range ranges between +8 dB and +62 dB – so even really demanding microphones can unfold their full potential!

Each of the eight preamplifiers has a 48V switch. This switch activates the required phantom power of 48 volts for the use of condenser microphones. The PAD switch in the respective preamplifier section attenuates the signal of the microphone input by 20 dB, so that even very high levels can be processed with the P8. This is the case, for example, with loud percussion or brass recordings. The phase reverse function of every preamplifier reverses the polarity of the signal. After pressing the switch, the phase is reversed by 180°. A high-pass filter with 6 dB per octave is also available in each of the eight preamp sections and, when activated, reduces subsonic noise below 80 Hz.

ANALOG I/O

The eight microphone inputs of the P8 are equipped with Neutrik XLR sockets and gold-plated contacts. The signal transmission is electronically balanced, at a nominal level of 0 dBu. In this version without the optional AD converter, the P8 has two DB25 sockets at the output stage. Both of these provide the analog line level output signal from microphone preamps 1 to 8. The analog output signal can be connected to a multi-channel AD converter, for example, with the DB25 input common to this type of device, and in parallel to a second recording device. An additional external signal splitter for back-up systems during a recording session is therefore no longer necessary.