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ART DPS-II

Item ID: DPSII

2-ch Digital Preamp System

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From Our Research Team:

ART's Digital Tube Preamp!

The DPS II updates the latest ART advances in Tube Microphone Preamps. The DPS II adds continously variable input impedance, LED input meters, auto mic/instrument switching, OPL (Output Protection Limiting) flexibility and more tube warmth to the DPS II.

Twin high performance discrete preamplifiers with local feedback are coupled with ART's flexible V3 (Variable Valve Voicing) 12AX7A gain stage (which delivers both flexibility and consistency in settings) and choice of analog and digital outputs. The new enhanced mic preamp can accept +20dB peaks while maintaining over 120dB dynamic range and incredibly low distortion. A LED input meter, monitors the signal level of the input amplifier.

The auto-switching input allows the DPS II rear inputs to stay patched in while you use the front panel instrument inputs. Enhancements to ART's legendary tube stage maintain their classic "warm sound" and add additional tube voicings specifically tailored to vocal, guitar, bass, and acoustic instruments making this an incredible DI box. The enhanced OPL is available to control overshoots and normalize levels before digital clipping occurs .

A versatile insert loop on each channel provides access for additional signal processing or direct access to our high quality A/D converter. Separate gain controls on analog and digital outputs allow you to optimize the unit for simultaneous applications.

Digital outputs include S/PDIF, TOSlink or ADAT (front panel selectable). The A/D is front panel adjustable from 44.1 to 96K or syncs to ADAT or external word clock (32KHZ to 100KHz). You can patch into any ADAT stream and select which pair (or all) of channels the DPS II transmits.

The DPS II also features ART A-to-D digital conversion and ART Tube Technology similar to that of the ART DI/O Preamp System. This ensures that when you are going from the analog preamplification to digital, your signal will be as warm and musical as you decide it to be!

Features:
  • Variable Input Impedance
  • 24-bit/96KHz A-to-D Conversion
  • Improved V3 Variable Valve Voicing Presets
  • LED Input Meter
  • Analog Output Meter
  • Enhanced ART Tube Technology Warms the Conversion
  • Automaticly switches between instrument and mic preamp
  • Wide Frequency Response (5hz/50kHz)
  • Enhanced OPL Output Protection Limiter

Specification Detail
Preamp Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Frequency Response 5Hz-50kHz
Phantom Power Yes
EQ No
Compression No
Analog Inputs 2 x Combo (XLR/TRS, Mic/Hi-Z)
Analog Outputs 2 x XLR, 2 x 1/4"
Digital Inputs 2 x XLR, 2 x 1/4"
Digital Outputs 1 x S/PDIF (Optical
Other I/O 1 x S/PDIF (Coax), 1 x S/PDIF (Optical)
Computer Connectivity No Computer Connectivity
Rackmount Spaces 1U
Height 1.75
Depth 6.5"
Width 19"
Weight 5.5 lbs.
Manufacturer Part Number DPS II

DPS-II Image Gallery

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Reviews

based on 5 reviews

Nice and cheap preamp!

by Airton Silva from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
December 29, 2011
Music Background: FOH, Pro Musician
I never used any dedicated preamp before, but when I compared this ART with the ones inside my LS9 the ART is a lot better. I will use it to vocals on a live and recording setup. The S/PDIF out is gre... read more [+]at, this way I don't have to use the LS9 inputs and its preamps, cause the console has only XLR inputs. I did a quick test through the presets and there are a lot of options, but I found the ones I wanted quickly, which are not the presets indicated as vocals, funny. close [-]

Excellent for the price

by Rob from West Chester, PA
November 16, 2012
Music Background: Pro musician, Recording Engineer, Hobbyist
The Preamp out of the box sounded pretty good but I changed the tube out with a Groove Tubes 12AX7 russian made and it sounds great. I have recorded main vocals and acoustic guitars. I have also used ... read more [+]it for a direct input on bass and it sounds great. you really need to mess with the presets it has on the fronit to get the sound you want. There are many options and they all sound different depending on what you are recording.

We have used ART preamps for my band many times and for the money you cant beat this. I would buy a rack of these and just swap out the stock tubes and be completely happy. close [-]

Versatile piece of gear...

by Russell from Marlow, OK
April 27, 2012
Music Background: Singer, songwriter, recording, production
This is a decently versatile piece of gear which can serve the function of several needs. I was kind of skeptical at its merit for usefulness when deciding to buy one, but even at a minimum, you get 2... read more [+] very decent pre-amps for a great price. Add to this the digital out features, it easily can make use of the S/PDIF inputs on your AD/DA which usually lay dormant in most cases, thus another 2 mic inputs without sacrifice.

The tube effect can be viewed as either wonderful for some coloration or not. I was not overly impressed with the musical breakup of the saturation, but there again I haven't changed the tube to see if it improved it. Even if it did I would suspect a premium tube would still not give the full benefit of a high voltage setup, but there again it doesn't have the price tag of a high voltage setup.

The preset selections from the VR3 knob can give some quick results to getting some coloration, and some signal overload protection as well, I think it is more justified in the case of the latter. I think I would have preferred a variable dial in on this, but hey... sometimes fewer choices are better, and keep us from wasting time on the decision process.

The 2 most important features of this unit in order of importance to me are... Variable impedance, and selectable digital pass-through.
With the ability to select the ADAT channel on which each unit operates, you can basically stack four of these units and daisy-chain them into one 8 channel ADAT input on your AD/DA. This makes it very modular, so if you want to buy 1 unit now, 1 later etc. you can do this and still only tie up one ADAT input on your AD/DA.

But you ask... why not just buy an 8 channel mic pre for 1/2 the cost of two of these? Well, this brings me to the most effective feature of these units (at least to me)... Variable impedance. It makes any mic cheap or expensive take on a whole new life, and sound radically different. Dial them in just right, and you can hit the sweet spot that cuts through the mix, or sits where you need it in the background.

I tested some cheap dynamic mics on it as well, and was amazed at how they came to life and sounded even better than some well known studio condenser workhorses. Imagine how it will make a very good mic sound!

I am convinced, impedance plays a much bigger role than we realize, and so far I haven't seen an 8 channel mic pre setup that gives you this feature.

This piece of gear holds a decent plot of real estate in the good effect for great price world. close [-]

Versatile pre-amp

by Stache from northern NJ
April 2, 2012
Music Background: Musician
Once unit is connected correctly, all works as indicated. Nice to have multiple input capability and a S/PDIF stream to take advantage of the digital input on the Delta 1010lt. 10 channels now covers ... read more [+]the entire band. close [-]

Lowest priced dual channel digital preamp

by art thou from northwest seattle
August 8, 2008
Music Background: professional amateur
At the recommendation of Craig Anderton (from Sound on Sound) I was looking for a mic preamp to feed directly to my computer interface via SPDIF, and I decided to buy this one, which happens to be the... read more [+] lowest priced one of its kind on the market.

I tested this against the pres on an M-Audio Omni/Delta 66 and a MOTU 828mk3, and it sounds alot better than either one. It's pretty smooth and quiet from the digital out--though the sound quality via analogue is a little inferior. In any case, the "valve" and impedance controls allow you to color the sound in different ways. close [-]

I was very pleased with the shipping speed and the way the stand was packed. I was especially surprised to see candy thrown in the box as well, thank you. It was very relevant to your name "sweet" water. Your "Thank You" inserts provided an insight into your service to your customers - and it really shows how you really appreciate your customers. Your customer service is excellent and I would not hesitate to buy from you again ... in fact, you will be the first company that will come to mind for my next purchase because I know what I will expect. Excellent Customer Service!


Cheryll, Lott, TX

Also popular

See Also: 2 Channel Preamps , ART , ART Dual-Channel Preamps

ART DPS-II

Today's Payment: $98.33
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