While I'm sure we ran into each other before... but the first time I recall meeting Karl Diehl he was putting the final touches on a studio called "Stonehenge" [part of the Zumpano Audio Community... a.k.a. ZAC] in Atlanta. Karl had been a tech of nearly legendary proportions in and around the Atlanta area for quite a while [no need to call him old... let's just say he's quite experienced!!] so it wasn't surprising in the slightest to see him working on one of Atlanta's premiere SSL rooms.
During the summer of '05 Karl called me up and told me he was going to be putting out a mic pre. My initial thought was "great... just what the world needs... another mic pre". Then I used the thing. My jaw dropped. It was big sounding, it was clear sounding, it was dead quiet [like way quieter than my recording space!!] A while after that experience, Karl mentioned that there were a couple of other possible options for the pre... so I sent mine down, he installed them, I tried them... once again, it required a front end loader to get my jaw off the floor.
The most recent version [which is now the production version] is an intersection between the cleanest quietest pre-amp I have ever encountered... with way more than enough gain for even the quietest of sound sources... that has a soul, personality, a "mojo" if you will. It's not a character unit like a Chandler, but in it's own way it is as large sounding as the Martech MSS-10 [one of the finest pre-amps I have ever encountered], as opulent and open as the D.W. Fearn VT-1 [though it doesn't have tubes, the NPNG does have the size and grace of a unit like the VT-1 that has an incredibly clear sound despite the false impression that tube units sound mushy].
Fletcher
From NPNG - "NPNG's mission is to create new and exciting devices for use in the recording studio. Our criteria for design is based only on usability, sound and reliability. We believe your ears are the most sensitive “test” gear on the planet. The actual "bench specifications" for the unit are comparable to any of the best pre-amps built by any manufacturer at any time in history, the difference being that we spent more time listening to music than chasing the best specifications on the planet.
NPNG started building Mic Pre-Amps in 1995. Virtually all of the original units are still in use today. The occasional service requests we get are all related to mechanical damage. The circuits are robust and reliable. Built with the finest components available, the QMP4 [and soon to be arriving DMP2 two channel pre-amp] will yield many years of trouble free use. Let's face it, if a pre-amp isn't able to work 24/7/365 then it is of little use to anyone so ours are made to be bulletproof."
- 2 Discrete 13 Transistor Class A Op Amp Stages Per Chan.
- Discrete* 7 Transistor Front End
- Min. Gain 30dB, Max Gain 74dB
- Input Attenuation Variable -4 to -40dB Range(to produce “0” VU)
- Transformerless Balanced Inputs
- Transformer Balanced Outputs
- PPM Meter Ballistics
- Phase Reverse on Front End
- EIN Better Than -127dB 20Hz-20kHz @ 40db Gain Unwieghted
- Odd Order Harmonic Distortion @ +40dB Gain / 400Hz: +4dBu to + 23.8 dBu Below .001%
- Residual Noise below -89dB 20Hz to 20kHz @ 30dB Gain
- Onset of clipping +24.4dBu
- Input Impedance 5K Balanced
- Output Impedance 600 Ohm Balanced
- Interchannel Crosstalk below 90 dB 20-20kHz.
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