M-Audio has been in the audio business since the early days of the home studio. I remember getting my first recording sound card, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496. That was a great card and I dare say it still holds up strongly now. The M-Audio DMP3 is a 2-channel microphone pre-amplifier targeted at home studios. According to net reports, the DMP3 is one of the better preamps "for the price". The problem is, audio interfaces are coming out with better and better preamps every quarter. The question is : Does the M-Audio DMP3 still hold its weight as being "great for the money"? We compare it to the Zoom H4n's onboard preamps.
The set up is as follows : a pair of Beyerdynamics in X-Y fashion into the inputs of the DMP3 channels and into the Zoom H4n with the internal preamps turned off. In the case of the Zoom H4n recording, it is the the Beyerdynamics straight into the Zoom H4n with the internal preamps turned on.
Sound
Sound is all there is to the comparison. Sound is subjective, so we posted the clips here for you to judge. To us, the DMP3 clip sounds a bit more hi-fi (or thin, depending on how you look at it), but the difference between the two is really not that great to these ears. Both the DMP3 and the Zoom H4n displayed low noise when the gain was turned up. Both had ample gain for quiet acoustic recordings, as you can hear in these clips.
Some melodic followed by percussive playing.
DMP-3
H4n
Melodic arrangment of chinese folk song.
DMP-3
H4n
Conclusion
With audio interfaces improving every year, and preamps on them getting better, the DMP3 preamps may no longer be as value for money as it once was.The DMP3 was slightly more "hi-fi sounding" than the preamps on the H4n. A case for getting the DMP3 would be if you are on a budget and need two more preamps on top of the two your recording interface already has. One other reason would be that your audio interface has no preamps (as per some sound cards).
On the whole, if you're looking for a big sonic "upgrade" from your audio interface preamps, you might need to spend quite a bit more. However, the DMP-3 works as advertised - transparent, clean gain is available for the quietest source you have.
On a scale of 1 to 10 Singapore flags, we give the DMP3 a competent 7.5 Singapore flags.
M-Audio has been in the audio business since the early days of the home studio. I remember getting my first recording sound card, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496. That was a great card and I dare say it still holds up strongly now. The M-Audio DMP3 is a 2-channel microphone pre-amplifier targeted at home studios. According to net reports, the DMP3 is one of the better preamps "for the price". The problem is, audio interfaces are coming out with better and better preamps every quarter. The question is : Does the M-Audio DMP3 still hold its weight as being "great for the money"? We compare it to the Zoom H4n's onboard preamps.
