The Best ADAT Preamps for your Home Studio
Expanding your studio's front-end.
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Whether you’re doing multitrack recording, mixing, or incorporating hardware into your DAW workflow, preamp expanders can make your life easier in many ways. We’ve selected some of the best ADAT preamps for these purposes, and we’ll look at why.
Key Facts About ADAT Preamps:
- With the help of ADAT preamps, you can expand your audio interface I/O with additional microphone inputs. These preamps are usually 19-inch rackmount units with around eight channels that connect via ADAT optical.
- A single digital optical port can carry up to eight channels at 44.1 / 48 kHz, while higher sample rates like 96 kHz usually only allow a maximum of four channels via S/MUX.
- ADAT preamps allow you to take on more demanding sessions like recording a drum kit, or even a full band without needing to replace your current audio interface.
- The preamps in different price ranges offer different features like transformer circuitry, high-quality A/D conversion, and word clock I/O, offering various levels of stability and sonic characteristics, depending on the model and manufacturer.
In this Article:
We’ve discussed the origins of the ADAT format previously. So with a basic understanding of how optical lightpipe devices work, let’s take a look at how digital mic preamp expanders can be used in your home recording setup.
It’s important to note that these devices incorporate an analogue-to-digital conversion stage. This means that regardless of how clean and pristine the signal may be from the preamp inputs, the quality of the converters plays a crucial role.
Clocking and Jitter
When syncing multiple digital devices to the same sample rate, Word clock ensures that they are linked per sample. A sample rate of 48 kHz means that 48000 samples are linked per second, and this is where jitter comes into play.
Jitter is the result of any deviation between the linked converters. The higher the sample rate, the more room there is for error. So keep in mind the sample rate you plan on working with when selecting any digital device you’d like to add to your setup.
For this reason, you can’t expect to run multichannel high-res (192 kHz and above) conversion on budget gear. Steady clocking and jitter accuracy are why the more high-end converters cost as much as they do.
Choosing the Best ADAT Preamps
Although they all perform a similar function, ADAT preamps range in price. While some offer high-quality preamps and conversion stages, others are equipped with additional digital connectivity formats like MADI.
To expand the tracking and mixing capabilities of your setup, we’re looking at rack-mountable preamp expander modules with a minimum of 8 analogue inputs or more.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Behringer ADA8200
As in most areas of audio, the most affordable, relatively decent option is a Behringer one. In this case, the ADA8200 is the latest generation of the ADA8000, which was one of the manufacturer’s best-selling products. This is a no-nonsense, functional piece of kit that is easy to set up and configure without requiring software installs of any kind.
The ADA8200 expands your current interface with eight MIDAS preamps or line inputs over ADAT at 44.1 / 48 kHz and syncs via ADAT or word clock as either the master or slave device. With its eight line outputs, the ADA8200 can also function as an analog preamp expander, in case your interface or mixer has line inputs but lacks mic preamps.
In addition, these same line outputs can also be used to send signals from your DAW to outboard gear by routing the ADAT out of your audio interface to the ADAT input of the ADA8200. Overall, the ADA8200 provides incredible utility for under $200; the only thing it doesn’t have is Hi-Z inputs for guitars.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Audient EVO SP8
The SP8 offers the EVO series Smartgain system in a preamp expansion model. The multichannel Smartgain feature works seamlessly over up to 24 channels, provided you have the EVO 16 interface, with two SP8 preamp modules.
Even if you don’t have an EVO interface, this is still an excellent ADAT preamp with great preamps and conversion that offers up to 24-bit 96 kHz recording. Moreover, the EVO series has got to be some of the easiest recording gear to use, with its simple interface and clearly laid out front panel.
This makes the SP8 a great choice for home recording, with LCD metering and a pair of conveniently placed JFET instrument inputs.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Focusrite Clarett+ OctoPre
As a recording frontend, the Clarett+ OctoPre gives you plenty of value for the price. Its converters are excellent, and the preamps are modeled on the renowned ISA 110. Also, there are 2 instrument inputs and 8 insert points, which provide a great deal of flexibility.
It can record up to 4 channels at 192 kHz or 8 channels at 48 or 96 kHz, so you get a decent expansion on your current interface. In addition, the Sub-D25 output is useful for integrating with your patchbay or mixer.
Overall, the Clarett+ OctoPre provides a good balance of utility and sound quality. It also comes with a collection of software from XLN Audio, Softube, Antares, and Brainworx.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Audient ASP 880
The ASP 880 is nothing new, but it is still one of the best choices of ADAT preamps available. There are two instrument inputs, and each of the 8 preamps has its own individual switches for phantom power, HPF, polarity, and converter bypass.
In addition, there is a Sub-D25 connector for both send and return, giving you flexible routing options for your insert path. What makes this a slightly more precise preamp is the variable controls for HPF and three impedance settings.
This is why the ASP 880 continues to be used in such a wide variety of audio setups, including recording and broadcast studios.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Black Lion Audio Auteur 8DAT
Easily one of the best options in its price range, the Auteur 8DAT from Black Lion Audio combines a forward-thinking modern feature set with old-school transformer-based circuitry. The level of analog connectivity on the Auteur 8DAT is impressive, with line/Hi-Z inputs on the front panel and XLR direct channel outputs on the rear panel.
In addition, there is a pair of DB-25 connectors for insert send and return paths across all of the channels. This allows you to easily track through your favorite outboard gear, or you can use these as splits for parallel and mid-side processing. Meanwhile, the conversion stage allows 24-bit 192 kHz operation with eight channels at 48kHz, four at 96kHz, or two at 192kHz.
Besides its impressive I/O and clocking features, the Auteur 8DAT is just a solid analog preamp with per-channel custom CineMag transformers that can deliver that Neve-like harmonic grit when driven. This makes the Auteur 8DAT ideal for tracking instruments like drums, with its fast, detailed transient response.
The Best ADAT Preamps: SSL Pure Drive
The SSL Pure Drive microphone preamp range offers two flexible solutions with four and eight preamps. Apart from the 192 kHz 32-bit AD conversion, the Pure Drive preamps also function as USB audio interfaces.
As you can expect from SSL, the routing and connectivity options are unmatched. From insert sends and returns to AES/EBU outputs and word clock, the Pure Drive has it all.
In addition, the preamps themselves offer a range of features, with precise gain and trim controls, metering, variable high-pass filters, and three drive modes including Classic-Drive, Asymmetric-Drive, and Clean.
The Best ADAT Preamps: RME 12Mic
If you’ve got the budget for high-end conversion, the RME 12Mic offers 12 incredibly transparent and low-noise preamps (4 x combo, 8 x XLR inputs) with RME’s unique SteadyClock FS technology.
The 12Mic also supports a wide range of digital formats, including ADAT, MADI, and AVB. RME is also known for stable drivers, and the software routing matrix makes it easy to adjust your setup to take on different tasks.
The price may be steep, and there’s certainly no bundled software, but if you’ve used RME’s pres or converters before, you’ll know it’s more than justified.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Focusrite ISA
Today, Focusrite is renowned for its popular and affordable Scarlett audio interfaces, but the company has a rich heritage in high-end recording and was founded in the mid-1980s by none other than Rupert Neve. The ISA series preamps were originally designed for the famous ISA console, of which only 10 were ever built.
Within the ISA family, the ISA One, the ISA 428, and 828 preamps can be upgraded with analogue-to-digital conversion modules for ADAT, Dante, and AES connectivity. Although this optional add-on does not come cheap, it adds a whole new dimension to the ISA preamps, making them the ideal analogue front end for the RedNet series interfaces.
To get the optimum performance from any microphone type, be it dynamic, ribbon, or condenser, the ISA range has variable impedance settings. Overall, the ISA series is still one of the best preamps available for recording or live sound applications, with that classic transformer sound and precise gain control.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Universal Audio 4-710d Twin-Finity
The 4-710d Twin-Finity is a tried-and-tested eight-channel ADAT expander with four tube mic preamp channels that are loaded with features, four balanced TRS inputs, and AES/EBU outputs on the converter via D-Sub. On each mic pre, you can dial in transformer or tube character from the circuitry, and there’s a simple 1176-style compressor to shape signals on the way in.
What’s also useful is that there are four Hi-Z inputs for guitars, and each of the four preamps has an insert path (hello outboard gear!). In this way, the 4-710d becomes a comprehensive front end for your DAW workflow, with precise gain control, colourful saturation, dynamics, and inserts for additional hardware processors on four channels.
In addition, there is a soft limiter stage that you can add to all eight channels, and the analogue-to-digital conversion stage supports 24-bit 192 kHz. Overall, the 4-710d gives you options for recording a wide range of instruments in your home studio, so if you’re used to running signals directly into your audio interface, you’re in for a real treat.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Cranborne Audio 500ADAT
While it’s not a preamp, the Cranborne Audio 500ADAT provides flexible ADAT expansion with housing for up to eight 500-series modules. Also, there are insert points on each channel and summing functionality with two aux inputs and four aux outputs. The analogue-to-digital converter provides eight channels at 96 kHz or four channels at 192 kHz over ADAT.
With the aux buses and headphone preamps, you can create high-quality artist mixes for your recordings that you can also blend with the playback signal from the DAW and send without latency. With the right configuration of 500-series processors, the 500ADAT can become a powerful summing mixer for shaping the tone or dynamics of your DAW channel groups.
In addition, the C.A.S.T. connectivity allows you to link the 500ADAT with the 500R8 or route channels via CAT-5. Overall, the 500ADAT provides a great deal of flexibility, and the fact that you can add modules from any manufacturer opens up the possibilities considerably.
*Note that Sweetwater is offering a FREE Camden 500 preamp module (worth $349) with the 500ADAT until 31 October.
The Best ADAT Preamps: SPL P8
A downscaled version of the flagship Crescendo, the P8 uses modern 18V architecture with discrete transistor circuitry that still provides a gain range of 54 dB per channel. The ADAT-equipped version of the P8 uses an AKM AK5538 ADC chip that allows up to eight channels to be sent across the two ADAT outputs at 96 kHz or four at 192 kHz.
For monitoring purposes, the P8 has a DB-25 port on the rear panel with all eight of the outputs. This allows you to connect it directly to your patchbay for flexible routing, so the P8 can also become the first stage in your analog tracking chain. With its open, transparent sound, the P8 is ideal for modern DAW-based workflows.
Overall, the P8 lets you expand your input stage with eight ultra-clean preamp channels in a compact 1U form factor at a price that is far more affordable than ultra-high-end options like the Crescendo. It’s still a hand-built boutique design, and with the reputation SPL has throughout the industry, you can expect the very best in terms of construction and sonic quality.
The Best ADAT Preamps: Neve 1073OPX
When you need the best and money is no object, the 1073OPX gives you the world’s most famous preamps combined with an array of modern connectivity options for pro studios, FOH, and broadcast applications. The 1073OPX provides eight preamp channels with connectivity for mic, line, and DI input signals, with precise gain control and adjustable impedance.
In addition, the 1073OPX functions as a USB audio interface and offers either ADAT or Dante expansion depending on which option you choose. For precise control and recall, the 1073OPX is also controllable via software, which allows you to control all parameters remotely. This makes it ideal for seamless switching between workflows.
What’s more, there is flexible D-Sub routing for the channel outputs, as well as the mic and line inputs, and a separate stereo monitoring path and headphone preamp, each with its own level controls. Overall, the 1073OPX provides a great balance of pristine analogue signal quality and digital versatility.
FAQ
- What is an ADAT preamp?
An ADAT preamp is a microphone preamp with multiple channels and a digital ADAT optical output, which allows you to expand your current ADAT-equipped audio interface with more mic inputs.
- How many channels does an ADAT preamp provide?
Most of the ADAT preamps you’ll find have eight channels and can send the digital signals for all eight channels via a single ADAT optical port at 44.1 / 48 kHz sample rates.
- Can ADAT preamps improve the sound of an audio interface?
Yes, depending on the internal circuitry of the ADAT preamp compared to the preamps in your current audio interface. However, the primary purpose of an external ADAT preamp is to expand the number of mic inputs.
- How do ADAT preamps connect to your audio interface?
An ADAT preamp connects to your audio interface via TOSLINK fiber-optic cable and must be configured to match your host sample rate and clock source in order to be used in your DAW.
- Are ADAT preamps useful for recording drums?
Yes. With eight additional mic preamps, drum recording is more plausible because you have sufficient inputs for the kick, snare, toms, overheads, and even a room mic.
More about the Best ADAT preamps:
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If you have the budget, the Cranborne Audio 500ADAT is awesome. You can load it up with any variety of 500 series modules (pres, dynamics, effects, etc) and pipe them in via ADAT. Great sounding piece of gear, built like tank and extremely versatile!
PreSonus Digimax FS 8. It might be old but it’s an honest piece of kit. Plenty of headroom, INs and OUTs that beat all of these other options dollar for dollar. Get one if you can find it!
I’ve had the Digimax FS 8 for years.
it’s a modest budget piece of kit. The pre-amps are not the top Presonus ones available in their mixers etc.
It’s passable for people on a budget, but you’re probably better off with the Focusrite listed above (I also have the old Octopre LE, which is clean but very limited; no doubt the newer one is better).
For serious engineers, the SSL, RME or Cranborne Audio are your best bets.
ASP 800 owner here. It worked great for about 2 years, then cooked itself. Contacted the company and eventually the importer promised to cover the repair, but then charged me for it. It still doesn’t work correctly – overheats and drops signal. It now sits in a closet – worst $1400 + $700 I’ve ever spent (on hardware). And yes, I had vent spaces above and below… Audient is probably a fine company – but this product? No bueno!
What about affordable options like Behringer ADA-8200?