Hi everyone,

This is my first post & I was wondering what any of you Mojo Pie forum members/readers thought about the new UA M610 single-channel mic pre? FYI I own a new FMR RNP/RNC combination & this pair sounds quite good to my ears! Comments on the M610 's sound in use (or a comparison with the RNP/RNC perhaps)? Thanks a lot in advance !

I've not used the reissue Universal mic pre.

I formerly did own an FMR RNP/RNC combo. As far as tube preamps that came through here I thought the A Designs MP-1 and MP-2 gave a good hi-fi lift to recorded sounds making them seem a little more dimensional and musical. If you want something with more color than the RNP then you might consider the Great River ME-1NV or the Phoenix DRS-1. They are not tube but tube isn't everything.

The other option is to go with something like a Hamptone HJFP2 or a John Hardy mic preamp.

On a budget, the Grace 101 is decent juxtaposition to the RNP. It's not as musical as my other suggestions but it puts a much larger image in the monitors than the RNP.

I hate doing the hearsay report, as I have no experience with the UA pre, but I see no other takers. There's a current thread on the 2-610 at the Tape Op forum, conforming to the general trend that some love them, others hate them, with little middleground. It did, however, sound like the versions of the pre that followed the original 2-610 redesign, including the M610, might have gotten some more useful headroom before mushing out. The most common complaint of the 2-610 is that it is a really mushy, distorted sound. Distortion is fun and all, but not all the time - I get the impression that other color preamps are less overbearing.

Bear