Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I originally bought this for a friend that was trying to setup a small home studio. It was easily the biggest audio-purchasing mistake I have ever made. We plugged the ART TPS up and it sounded horrible so, I said "screw it I will switch out the tube with a mesa-boogie". Well I opened up the ART TPS switched out the tube and it made absolutely no difference! I thought I may have done something wrong took a closer look and was surprised by what I found. The ART TPS is simply a solid state preamp (a poor one at that) which runs the signal through the tube in an attempt to add some warmth. This is just an absolute waste of money.
Alternatives:
I am not a fan of bringing up a problem then not providing an alternative so here are a few good choices for preamps.
1. The Mackie Blackjack. It uses the same excellent onyx preamps you will find in their higher end models. They have an amazing amount of gain (enough to drive a dynamic mic without noise) and a hint of warmth. Also you get a very good computer interface. Best part is that it is the same price as the TPS 2.
2. The ART MPA. I know it seems odd that I slam one ART product only to recommend another but, the MPA unlike the TPS 2 is a true tube preamp. Stock it sounds pretty good but if you switch out the tubes it can sound great. Although it is about twice the price as the TPS 2.
3. The Presonus Bluetube. I have not personally used this preamp but have some friends that really like it. The Bluetube costs slightly more than the TPS 2.
Click Here to see more reviews about: ART TPS II 2-Channel Variable Impedance Tube Preamp
The TPS II (Tube Preamp System 2) is a two channel high performance preamplifier coupled with ART?s proprietary V3? (Variable Valve Voicing) functionality. With variable valve voicing, the TPS II is completely versatile and maintains a high quality of performance you would expect from an ART tube preamp. The TPS II also features variable input impedance which allows users to dial in and match any microphone type from large condensers to ribbon mics. The newly improved V3 feature provides optimized reference points to begin the recording process for guitars, bass guitars, synths, acoustic instruments, percussion, vocals and more. Unique to its? class, the TPS II provides level monitoring with two analog meters as well as two newly added input monitoring LED meters. High-Z instruments or balanced microphone signals are input through front and rear panel jacks. This newly enhanced TPS II can accept +20 dB peaks while maintaining over 120 dB dynamic range, quiet performance and incredibly low distortion. ART?s legendary tube stage maintains a classic ?warm sound? and adds additional tube voicing specifically tailored to vocal, guitar, bass, and acoustic instruments making the TPS II an incredible DI box. ART's OPL? (Output Protection Limiting) feature is also included to control overshoots and normalize levels before clipping occurs. Variable Input Impedance Newly Enhanced V3? Variable Valve Voicing LED Input Meter Analog Output Meter Enhanced ART Tube ...
Click here for more information about ART TPS II 2-Channel Variable Impedance Tube Preamp
