10 l September 2012
www.prosoundnewseurope.com
technologyreview Focusrite ISA Two dual mono mic preamp
The ISA brand has been around for 25 years, and it’s still going strong. Phil Harding investigates the latest in a long line, the dual mono transformer-based ISA Two
I’VE BEEN using the Focusrite Platinum Series OctoPre LE in my mobile recording system for some time now and have been very happy with the results. They certainly come into their own when the OctoPre is hooked up to my Digi 002 I/O unit (via the optical digital output).
I’m also familiar with the
Focusrite ISA range from when it first appeared in top-end studios some 25 years ago; the ISA 110 circuit was designed by Rupert Neve, no less. And of course, Focusrite outboard units are always considered by most recording professionals to be a reliable and respected brand. Enter The ISA Two, then.
It’s been designed with home and project DAW studios in mind and will not break the bank: for £699 including VAT, you’re getting a pair of high- quality mic pres featuring that ISA 110 preamp design. There are three other impedance options to match your chosen microphones but I found little difference between them on condenser microphones in my various tests, generally preferring the ISA 110 (1,400 ohms) setting for most applications. I’m sure the three other impedance settings of 600, 2,400 and 6,800 ohms will be useful though when choosing a ribbon or dynamic mic. The ISA Two’s tech specs are
impressive. Like all others in the ISA range, the Two employs a Lundahl LL1538 input transformer on each channel. Further design highlights include the variable mic impedance options, and the wonderful gain range options, including an instant +30 to 60dB switch, should the 10dB stepped input level and the continuously variable +20dB trim not be enough for you. Careful when you hit that +30 to 60dB button though – instant feedback awaits if you haven’t killed your monitors or headphones first!
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY f £699.99 inc VAT (€867)
Distributed by Focusrite Phone +44 (0)1494 462246
www.focusrite.com
TECH SPECS fDual mono transformer- based mic preamp
Design highlights include the variable mic impedance options and the gain range controls
fMic input frequency response at 0dB gain: -0.5dB at 10Hz, -1dB at 135kHz, relative to 1kHz
fMic input frequency response at maximum gain (+60dB): -6dB at 10Hz, -1dB at 115kHz, relative to 1kHz
fGain range (mic); 0dB to +60dB in 10dB steps, plus 0dB to +20dB continuously variable trim
The excellent HPF is the other main front panel feature; this gives you an 18dB per octave filter that is continuously variable from 16Hz to 420Hz (-3dB), very useful for instantly killing any low-end rumble. And there’s a set of send/return jacks on the back panel, for inserting other processors into the signal path. Handy. There’s no digital output –
but that’s not surprising at this price point. Now, I’m a big fan of working digitally, but Focusrite’s research into that very subject suggests otherwise: “We have found that the vast majority of our customers use their own converters, rather than pay the extra price for our converter cards. For this reason we took the opportunity to reduce the cost of ISA Two by not offering the optional conversion,” Focusrite’s Nick Benz told us. Working with my regular
vocalist, Liz Richardson, we both agreed that the ISA Two sounded bigger and warmer than our usual mic amp. Definitely the sound was wider, fatter and very pleasing to the ear. So, first impressions were good until I noticed we were getting a normal level in Pro Tools but very little energy on the ISA Two’s LED meter. On the back of the unit is a peak meter calibration control that allows you to go from the default setting 0dBfs (equivalent to +22dBu) to +16dBu (fully anticlockwise) or +24dBu (fully clockwise).
I found that setting this calibration fully clockwise the most useful. But still wasn’t entirely convinced by what I was seeing. My next practical tests were on a friend’s Logic system and we were going to record a male vocal, some saxophone and another female vocalist. This time we were pitching the ISA Two against a £2,000 mono mic-pre. The male vocalist loved the sound of the ISA Two on his voice in preference to the £2k mic pre and he went ahead over the next 24 hours and replaced his vocals on five album tracks with the ISA Two. Clearly a big hit here! The saxophone sounded good, as did the other female vocalist, though there were varying opinions among the group about their choice. The ISA Two performed admirably in my opinion and confirmed everything I have felt about Focusrite products over the years – solid and reliable. But part of my reasoning behind trying the Logic DAW was to let someone else set the ISA Two levels into their system, to see if they experienced the same LED meter discrepancy I had. They tried it – and the same thing happened. We consulted Focusrite on this discrepancy issue. The company looked into it and responded with an effective method of correctly calibrating the unit to your choice of DAW
(which I won’t go into here). Focusrite also assures us these calibration recommendations will appear on the
focusrite.com website as an appendix for the ISA Two. Good stuff! Finally, we tested the instrument inputs with a bass guitar overdub I required. I’ve never been a fan of gear directly into boxes like this, I’ve always had better results by using a D.I. box and then into the mic amp. Nevertheless I gave it a go and found the ISA Two instrument inputs to be an easy set up with their excellent gain trim (+10dB to +40dB) – the main stepped gain control is not active in instrument mode. The bass sound was very clean for an instrument I know very well and stood up admirably when compared to my usual set-up. Ultimately all pro engineers
and producers will make their own choices of microphone preamps and their decisions are likely to be based on equipment that has worked well for them in the past. I’ve made my preferences for working ‘digitally’ quite clear in this review, and, while I’m completely sold on the ISA 110 mic preamp sound, I will probably seek out a good deal on a Focusrite ISA One when I come to upgrade my set-up. Don’t get me wrong though: the ISA Two would be an excellent addition to a studio where the first choice of signal input is high-quality analogue. n
www.focusrite.com
fGain range (line); -20dB to +10dB in 10dB steps, plus 0dB to +20dB continuously variable trim
fGain range (instrument); +10dB to +40dB continuously variable trim
fHigh pass filter; 18dB per octave (3 pole filter) roll-off, continuously variable from 16Hz to 420Hz (-3dB)
fSize: 280mm deep x 480mm wide x 44mm high
fWeight: 3.7kg
PROS fGreat warm sounding preamps fFront panel instrument inputs fAffordable price range fRack-mountable
fTRS jack insertion points on both channels
CONS fVery competitive market
fLack of digital output options fLED meters need calibrating
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