What is DiscretePRO® ?
It's a tough job amplifying a microphone's tiny signal to a working line level without introducing noise or distortion. We accepted the challenge. We succeeded.
There are several ways to design a preamp to get from mic level to the line level used in the rest of the recording process. Many manufacturers use the various integrated amplifiers that are available, each with their own characteristics and limitations. However, creating a truly exceptional preamp requires doing the heavy lifting yourself and designing your own circuits using discrete components. That's more our style.
So, along with a team of analog audio experts and sound engineers, we used cutting-edge technology to improve on coveted design ideas from the golden age of analog consoles. The result is an exceptionally pristine analog microphone preamplifier circuit that captures the nuances of your mics—and performances—as accurately as possible. It's called DiscretePRO®, and it's the preamp technology at the heart of every AudioFuse.
While manufacturers routinely set up tests to their advantage, our outstanding specs have all been verified with a state-of-the-art Audio Precision APX555 testing instrument.
Audio Purity
Low Noise
Even the best preamp designs introduce a small amount of noise while boosting the weak signal from a mic—a singer's voice, for example—to the line level of other gear. The signal-to-noise ratio, expressed as Equivalent Input Noise (EIN), reflects how loud your content is compared to unwanted circuit noise. The better the signal-to-noise spec (lower EIN numbers), the cleaner your sound. The EIN measurement on our DiscretePRO® technology is better than that of everything else in its class. Simply put, DiscretePRO® lets you hear your recording, not your equipment.
Dynamics
Sonic quality it of the utmost importance to any recording musician mixing, or mastering engineer. By expertly designing the mic preamp, and perfecting the signal flow from input to output stage, every step and component has been carefully engineered, meaning AudioFuse provides an exceptional level of dynamic range. Looking to record soft, intimate piano parts, or loud electric guitar amplifiers, AudioFuse can handle it, and play it back with feeling.
<-131.5dB
119.3dB
Audio Purity: Distortion
Any circuit introduces some degree of distortion, measured as total harmonic distortion (THD). The lower the THD of a preamp, the less it colors your sound with extra, unwanted harmonics. Part of our design goal with DiscretePRO® was achieving the least possible THD to give your sound the best possible linearity or 'transparency'. Our solution included minimizing the use of capacitors in the signal path, as they tend to negatively impact distortion levels. The result is the purest, most faithful sound possible.
Even when using very high gain settings, there is near zero audio distortion. This means you can use the full gain stage and crank your mic pre all the way up to record even the quietest, most intimate details.
-107,9dB
Audio Purity: Flat Frequency Response
Flat frequency response means more than just capturing recordings faithful to the original sound. It also means you don't have to mess around with EQ to get a natural sound like you do with most affordable mic preamps. While the benefits of flat response apply to any voice or instrument, it's even more crucial when recording a full-range source like a piano.
A little known fact: While the average person can only hear from 20Hz to 20kHz, a flat response far above that range is required in order for a preamp to deliver flat response inside the audio range. One look at the frequency chart for the DiscretePRO® preamps built into every AudioFuse proves that we're talking about one of the most consistent frequency responses available anywhere even up to 250kHz.
+/-0.02dB
Audio Purity: Clean Gain
Sometimes you need to record sound sources that are really soft or have a lot of subtlety. For that, you need a preamp with a lot of gain. Unfortunately, designing for a wide gain range can lead to poorer performances at average gain levels. Many manufacturers accommodate this by just throwing in an attenuator on a signal path that does double duty for mic and line signals. Sadly, that compromises audio quality.
Instead, DiscretePRO® lets you switch between two separate gain structures—one designed specifically for standard line levels and one optimized for microphones. Plus, there's a 20dB pad to attenuate strong signals. Your music shines with pristine pro audio quality across one of the most extended gain ranges of any professional microphone preamplifier on the market.