Anyone willing to part with a sytek pre? The new price point is pretty
good and If I have to I'll probably buy a new one, but if I can get a
used one at a discount, well, I'd prefer that of course! email me at
.

Nate

Nate Najar wrote On 10/21/05 06:55,:
Anyone willing to part with a sytek pre? The new price point is pretty
good and If I have to I'll probably buy a new one, but if I can get a
used one at a discount, well, I'd prefer that of course! email me at
.

Nate


Yeah, I'd be interested to know, also, how good these are. I've looked at them, but not been able to
test drive any as of yet.

--fletch

Fletch wrote:

Nate Najar wrote:
Anyone willing to part with a sytek pre? The new price point is pretty
good and If I have to I'll probably buy a new one, but if I can get a
used one at a discount, well, I'd prefer that of course! email me at
.

Yeah, I'd be interested to know, also, how good these are. I've looked at
them, but not been able to test drive any as of yet.

There have been reports that the noise goes up with the channels closer
to the power supply in the chassis and that the nearest channel(s) might
not be suitable for preamping the likes of a Beyer M160 due to the noise
at the necessarily high gain settings.

--
ha

In article ,
(hank alrich) wrote:

There have been reports that the noise goes up with the channels closer
to the power supply in the chassis and that the nearest channel(s) might
not be suitable for preamping the likes of a Beyer M160 due to the noise
at the necessarily high gain settings.

--
ha

Hank, this is definitely true. I don't use channel four on my Sytek
MPX-4Aii unless I've run out of other channels, and then only with
high-output mics and reasonably loud sources. Channel three exhibits the
same problem, though to a lesser degree. I noticed this soon after
buying the Sytek, but got no useful help from my dealer. I've compared
my unit to two other units owned by Jim Nunally, and all exhibited the
noise problem to some degree, so I assume it's a design problem in
insufficiently shielding the toroidal power supply transformer. I wonder
if the noise might be attenuated by installation of, say, a mu-metal
shield in the proper place. I don't really know how to go about this,
except that mu-metal is reportedly a difficult material to work with,
but if someone knowledgeable was willing to make this mod for a
reasonable fee, I might well be interested in it.

Other than that noise problem, I've been quite happy with my Sytek pre,
having used it exclusively with acoustic instruments (e.g. guitar,
banjo, mandolin, fiddle) and vocals. It seems to be very clean and quite
neutral in coloration, though imparting no particular "magic" to the
sound. If Sytek would address the power-supply noise problem, I would
recommend the unit whole-heartedly. As it is, I get plenty of good use
out of my Sytek and have no plans to get rid of it any time soon.

--
Brendan Doyle

Interesting. I've got one of the old MP4A models here (no BB's) I'm not
experiencing any elevated noise levels on 3 & 4.

"Brendan Doyle" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(hank alrich) wrote:

There have been reports that the noise goes up with the channels closer
to the power supply in the chassis and that the nearest channel(s) might
not be suitable for preamping the likes of a Beyer M160 due to the noise
at the necessarily high gain settings.

--
ha

Hank, this is definitely true. I don't use channel four on my Sytek
MPX-4Aii unless I've run out of other channels, and then only with
high-output mics and reasonably loud sources. Channel three exhibits the
same problem, though to a lesser degree. I noticed this soon after
buying the Sytek, but got no useful help from my dealer. I've compared
my unit to two other units owned by Jim Nunally, and all exhibited the
noise problem to some degree, so I assume it's a design problem in
insufficiently shielding the toroidal power supply transformer. I wonder
if the noise might be attenuated by installation of, say, a mu-metal
shield in the proper place. I don't really know how to go about this,
except that mu-metal is reportedly a difficult material to work with,
but if someone knowledgeable was willing to make this mod for a
reasonable fee, I might well be interested in it.

Other than that noise problem, I've been quite happy with my Sytek pre,
having used it exclusively with acoustic instruments (e.g. guitar,
banjo, mandolin, fiddle) and vocals. It seems to be very clean and quite
neutral in coloration, though imparting no particular "magic" to the
sound. If Sytek would address the power-supply noise problem, I would
recommend the unit whole-heartedly. As it is, I get plenty of good use
out of my Sytek and have no plans to get rid of it any time soon.

--
Brendan Doyle

hank alrich wrote:

There have been reports that the noise goes up with the channels closer
to the power supply

Hank is right, here. Just yesterday I had my Sytek at the test lab, and
could measure the high noise of this channel. On a lesser extent, it is
also easily detectable on the third channel. Nothing that makes these
channels unusable, but it is good to know before buying.

On the other side, frequency response and harmonic distortion scored
very, very well.

Best regards,
Paolo

since they're at the same price point per channel- how does the sytek
compare to the rnp in terms of noise and character of sound?

nate

"Nate Najar" wrote in message
oups.com...
since they're at the same price point per channel- how does the sytek
compare to the rnp in terms of noise and character of sound?

I use both a lot, mostly on drums. The Sytek clean channels are
extraordinarily clear and detailed, enough so that I can easily pick out by
ear which tracks I recorded through it. Always my first choice for drum
overheads, and it made a AT4033 sound like a whole new mic (compared to a
Mackie VLZ preamp).

For dynamic mics I slightly prefer the RNP, I can't describe what it is that
I like but it just seems to be a little punchier to me. I really have no
experience with any top-end gear, so I can't qualify my opinions in a larger
context, but if I had to choose between the two of them I'd get a Sytek with
all clean channels (never heard anything special out of the BB channels with
the mics I have available).

That's my story and I'm sticking to it :-)
Sean

"Fletch" wrote in message
...

Yeah, I'd be interested to know, also, how good these are. I've looked at
them, but not been able to
test drive any as of yet.

I have; I liked them very much. Straightforward, very clean. The only down
side was that the gain controls don't go down all the way, and I found
condenser drum overheads were overloading the +4dBu inputs of the DAW. So if
you buy a Sytek, buy a few inline attenuators as well. The only flaw I found
in an otherwise excellent product.

Peace,
Paul

Nate Najar wrote:
The new price point is pretty
good and If I have to I'll probably buy a new one....

What is the new price point?

"Nate Najar" wrote in message
ups.com...
Anyone willing to part with a sytek pre? The new price point is pretty
good and If I have to I'll probably buy a new one, but if I can get a
used one at a discount, well, I'd prefer that of course! email me at
.

Nate

I used to have one and liked it, but then I went on to other pres (API,
Vintech, Demeter, Peavey VMP2, RNP), and heard the limitations of the Sytek,
and sold mine. Do you need a 4 channel unit? If 2 will do, get an RNP. If
you do go with the sytek, you may want to do the burr-brown mod on 2 of the
channels.

Mikey
Nova Music Productions

I do have an rnp and it's my favorite and most used preamp. I was
hoping for something in the same price range that is still pro gear and
has a different sound than the rnp. The rnp is very clear and sounds
great, but it is a little bright, so to find something with a slightly
different character might complement it. getting 4 channels for that
price is a bonus! I've thought about getting like a focusrite
trakmaster or a summit tube pre or something like that and trying it
out, but from what I've read here on r.a.p. about those things i'd be
better off using the pres in my mackie (actually they're quite good
pres). I record acoustic instruments- nylon string guitars, double
bass, etc....

nate

Nate Najar wrote:

I do have an rnp and it's my favorite and most used preamp. I was
hoping for something in the same price range that is still pro gear and
has a different sound than the rnp. The rnp is very clear and sounds
great, but it is a little bright, so to find something with a slightly
different character might complement it. getting 4 channels for that
price is a bonus! I've thought about getting like a focusrite
trakmaster or a summit tube pre or something like that and trying it
out, but from what I've read here on r.a.p. about those things i'd be
better off using the pres in my mackie (actually they're quite good
pres). I record acoustic instruments- nylon string guitars, double
bass, etc....

Sounds to me as if a Peavey VMP2 might suit your quest for an
alternative to the RNP.

Either that or don't spend until you can afford a Great River NV series
preamp. Thenceforth ye shall remain satisfied. Until you need a Gordon,
too.

--
ha