ART TubeMPSTV3 Variable Valve Voicing Tube Mic Preamp With Limiter

One of the main reasons I choose this later model over the ART Tube MP Studio Original, was for the Output Protection Limiting (or OPL) to protect the hardware I was then connecting this device to, which is an ASUS XONAR Essence STX PCIe card, using it's 1/4" phone Line or Mic Inputs.Using a ten year old standard Radio Shack PA microphone connected via XLR, I can get a crisp microphone sound instead of only getting mostly bass from the cheaper five volt computer electret microphones.RS PA microphone connected via XLR to the ART preamp, and 1/4" balanced phone to the ASUS Xonar STX PCIe card 1/4" Line/Mic combo input. Using no microphone boost, with the microphone input selected within software.For Voice Chat:ART preamp settings: 100% Input Volume, Using +20dB in voice chat, Phase Reverse active, 50% Output Volume with Voice Neutral.Linux or Windows Software settings: Microphone Volume at 100%, with no microphone boost.For Recording:ART preamp settings: 100% Input Volume, +20dB Deactivated, Phase Reverse active, 75% or 100% Output Volume with Voice Neutral.Linux or Windows Software settings: Microphone Volume at 100%, with no microphone boost.NOTE: Above I mentioned I was using the Microphone Input, by selecting the Microphone Input either within the operating system mixer settings or within Audacity. I have since switched from using the Microphone Input, and have now selected the Line Input as the selected recording source, within both the operating system mixer and Audacity. The ASUS Xonar STX PCIe card has combo Line/Microphone inputs, and when the Microphone line is selected, a relay switches/routes the input source through a cheaper electret 5v phantom powered (CMI9780) chip. When switching to Line input, the input source is routed directly through to the Analog to Digital Conversion (or ADC) chip, per RMAA quality reports for SNR benchmarks. Granted, I need to boost both Input and Output volume levels to 100%, including using the +20dB boost for the Line level to be heard. (Perhaps a better mic, which uses phantom +48v might aide here? Shrugs. What does one expect for a Radio Shack generic PA mic? At least it works.)I also purchased an Image Broadcasting Studio Microphone Arm Stand with Shock Mount, alongside my currently owned microphone and desk.Knowing how sensitive computer stuff tends to be, OPL (Output Protection Limiting) is probably worth the extra $40 over the original ART Tube MP Studio Original Mic Preamp. However if you're only performing vocals and no instruments, the Voicing knob will likely always be set at one setting.Pros:1) Well constructed, with metal casing and rounded edges.2) My unit included rubber foot pads, for which earlier buyers likely were not given?3) Reliable analog meter, with a nice vanilla incandescent back light.4) Good quiet switches and knobs5) Well labelled, including atop of the unit. No need to lift the device to distinguish rear ports!6) Conservative blue color. Everything just looks nice.7) Very quiet. (SNR)8) Along side my ASUS Xonar Essence STX computer sound card, I can record at a variety of high quality bit rates and sample rates, in comparison of being only limited to the 24-bit/96000Hz of a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. (I've also seen RMAA benchmarks of the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 having less quality than the Xonar STX PCIe card, but still might consider the external solution later for recording analog stereo LP's.)9) Output Protection Limiting, or OPL.10) Temperature of the unit while powered on for several days is about 94F, while the immediate area of the bulb may register 104F. (Why people exclaim this unit runs hot, can only mean they use the unit somewhere where ambient room temperatures are in excess of 70F.)Cons:1) No power switch!And the BEST TIP of all, use Audacity and not the Microsoft Windows Sound Recorder! The Microsoft Windows Sound interface tends to mix all incoming and outgoing sound, and the software Sound Recorder tends to make the recordings much more quieter then they really should be. Audacity picks-up where the Microsoft Windows Sound Recorder left-off, and performs a far better job of line/microphone recording! It took me such a long time to figure out why Microsoft's Sound Recorder was performing so poorly, and should only be used for testing or low-quality work.2013.03.22 - After using this preamp and leaving it on 24/7 for the past week, having some static or line noise issues. Using a XLR plugs from the microphone to the preamp, and XLR to balanced phone to the sound card. I had the preamp near or just underneath a LED display monitor. When I moved the preamp two to three feet away from the computer and about six inches to the right of the LED display monitor, static would significantly decrease. A light static would then increase if I then stood the preamp within a vertical position near the LED display monitor. Chances are, it is very likely I'm seeing RF interference with the LED display from my knowledge of radio frequency interference. I also tried several different cables, disconnecting the microphone, and grounding each piece of equipment with no success. So I'm going on the theory of RF interference and moved the preamp out of the way of the LED display monitor, approximately a foot to the right, and foot and a half down onto a shelf below the desk. Static has further decreased but a slight static does seem to persist, and I'm now also making sure all XLR and phono cabling is running perpendicular across all other computer signal and power cabling. (My gut says it's definitely LED/LCD display RF interference, as this type of interference tends to fade in and fade out, sort of like building-up static. The only sure way of further verifying, moving the microphone and preamp further away from the computer and LED display.) I also just realized I installed a LED light bar a while ago just above my keyboard. Switching this LED light off, the static seems to have ceased, but the static isn't further reproducible after switching this LED light bar back on.

My best addition to my home studioGreat clarity and amazing gain. Many switches and options to change the color of the vocals.Great compression and smooth clear vocalsAbsolutely recommended for home studios ❤️

So Amazon sent me a recommendation based on my purchasing history for the ART TubeMPSTV3 Variable Valve Voicing Tube Mic Preamp With Limiter. I read it, thought about it, and I bit. I have a MXL Revelation tube mike that I use for vocals primarily, and it does a great job. It has a tube and puts out that tube sound that some of us like on vocals. I also have box full of Shure Beta 58A mikes, some of which I have been using for 40 plus years. You can drive nails with them and they will still perform. I am used to the vocal quality I get from the Shure mikes. So I thought, hmmm ... I wonder what the Shure would sound like if it was a "tube" mike. Well now I know. The ART arrived with a defective UV meter (which apparently is a recurring problem because I read about them arriving with defective meters in other reviews), but I wanted to test it, so I hooked it up to a Shure mike on a desktop stand right by the mixer. And I have to tell you, that the Shure sounded like a tube mike. I ran at least a dozen tests, five of which were made with the MXL. The Art did not change the sound of the MXL much, but it did the Shure, and I really liked what came through. In fact, I may have liked the Shure through the ART more than the MXL. I will probably order it again and hope that I get one with a functioning VU meter. I did hear some faint buzzing. It does have a reverse-polarity button which helped. But it was sitting on the MXL's control box and I'm confident that some of that came from where the Art was located. It requires a power transformer which is included. Another wire. Another plug. But all in all I think I kind of liked it. I can relegate the MXL to a mike stand. Get it away from my desk. (It has a lot of hardware that goes with it) and use it for vocals with multiple singers. MXL has Omni, Bi, and Cardioid polar patterns and is good for a floor mike. The Shure with the ART will make a great desk mike.