Boutique 2-channel Pre with Jensen Transformer-balanced I/O
The Daking Mic Pre IIT 2-channel mic/line/DI preamp lets you add boutique-quality sound to your recording setup at a very impressive price. The Class A Mic Pre IIT has the same discrete transistor circuitry featured in Daking’s Mic Pre IV, adding a variable highpass filter for versatile tonal options. You get per-channel polarity reverse, 20dB pads, phantom power, and a selectable 1/4-inch line/hi-Z instrument input on the front panel. Two aluminum knobs give you control over the variable highpass filter and gain. With its rugged 1RU stainless steel chassis and high-quality parts, the Mic Pre IIT is built to perform for the long haul. The “T” suffix in the product name signifies that this is a special version of the Mic Pre II with Jensen input and output transformers, which add subtle analog color to your signals.
Jensen transformers for that “big iron” sound
Back in the Golden Age of Analog, talented electronics engineers such as Rupert Neve and Deane Jensen designed custom transformers to balance circuits. These transformers became associated with the so-called “big iron” sound: typically bold, punchy, and colorful. In the late 1960s, as Neve started building his acclaimed consoles around transformer-balanced circuits in England, Jensen was in California working his way up in the pro audio world, eventually becoming VP of engineering for console manufacturer Quad-Eight. Identifying transformers as a primary culprit in poor-sounding audio systems, Jensen set about improving on existing designs. Recognizing that his work with transformers wound require powerful tools to accelerate circuit analysis and optimization, he became a pioneer in computer-assisted design, writing his own circuit-analysis software that allowed him to accurately model and fine-tune his transformer designs and optimize them for use with real-world electronic circuits.
Demand for Jensen’s transformers continued to grow and by the late ’80s, tens of thousands of Jensen transformers were in service around the world — and not just in pro audio. Their excellent performance also led to use in applications as diverse as seismic sensing, lab instrumentation and test equipment, and even the Space Shuttle! Today, Jensen Transformers is owned by Radial Engineering and Deane Jensen’s legacy lives on in countless products such as the Radial JDI (considered by many to be one of the finest direct boxes ever made) and the Daking Mic Pre IIT, which will impart that coveted, characterful “big iron” transformer sound to every signal you pass through it.
Simple layout, complete control
Engineers at Sweetwater love how easy the Daking Mic Pre IIT is to use. Each channel is fitted with two large knurled aluminum knobs that control the variable highpass filter (10Hz–200Hz) and continuously variable input gain, which is complemented by a full-width, 20-segment bi-color LED meter. The rear of the unit offers a transformer-isolated mic input and transformer-balanced XLR output — both spec’d with premium Jensen transformers — plus a 1/4-inch line output. A fourth connector introduces DC power to the unit from the included external power supply.
Daking: affordable boutique quality
Having broken into the music industry as the drummer for ’60s psychedelic band the Blues Magoos, Geoff Daking went on to truly make his mark designing and building boutique-quality studio gear. His company’s latest offerings not only look classic, sound great, and perform solidly — you’ll be knocked out by their decidedly non-boutique prices. Daking puts a premium on putting quality components at the heart of his gear, from circuits to transformers to amplifiers, while implementing modern techniques to ensure reliable, consistent performance.
Daking Mic Pre IIT 2-channel Mic/Line/DI Preamp Features:
- Transformer balanced input, electronically balanced output
- All discrete transistor Class A circuitry
- Jensen input and output transformers
- Continuously variable gain controls
- Continuously variable highpass filter controls, 10–200Hz @12dB/octave
- Front panel instrument inputs
- 20-segment VU meters
- Switchable +48V phantom power
- 20dB pads
- All relay switching with gold bifurcated contacts
- Stainless steel construction for noise immunity
- Aluminum knobs
- Power supply included
