57
October 2011 resolution
RESOLUTION AWARDS
M
ichael Grace has a well-deserved
reputation as a designer of some quite
exquisite microphone preamplifiers, and
since 1994 the company he established
with his brother Eben has been developing and
expanding its product line. The M103 is the company’s
first foray into other areas of signal processing with a
single channel of mic preamplification coupled with a
three-band equaliser and an optical compressor.
The M103 is a tidy looking box finished with
polished chrome knobs and a smattering of stubby
toggle switches. The rear panel gives mic level and
line level inputs on XLR, together with a line level
preamp only output on XLR, and a main (post the EQ
and compressor) balanced output on XLR and TRS
jack. Unbalanced outputs for the main and preamp
only out are also available on ¼-inch jacks. A TRS
jack on the rear is accompanied by a small switch and
allows access to the compressor’s sidechain or for two
M103s to be stereo linked.
The mic preamp is the same signature
transimpedance affair used in other Grace Design
products. The gain control is a 12-position stepped
switch, which gives a gain range of +10dB to
+65dB in 5dB steps. A front panel high-impedance
instrument input is also available for DI purposes with
a gain range of -10dB to +45dB. There’s a phantom
power switch, HPF (75Hz, 12dB/octave) and a
‘ribbon mode’ switch that disables phantom power
and raises the input impedance of the preamplifier
from 8.1kohms to 20kohms.
In use, the preamp stage is extremely quiet even at
the extremes of its gain range, and delivers an open,
fuss-free sound that delivers tremendous levels of
detail without ever sounding overly clinical.
The EQ is three-band with high and low shelving
filters that can be switched to peaking if required, and
a fully parametric mid band. It’s one of those EQs that
is really hard to misuse — keep the cut or boost below
6dB or so and its hard to get results that don’t sound
musical and polished — at times it can be almost too
flattering.
The compressor section uses an optical gain element
and, like the EQ, falls firmly into the ‘nice’ category
in terms of its sound. With a maximum compression
ratio of 12:1, even at this ratio it remains gentle in
its approach. In general the sound is transparent
rather than aggressive or overtly ‘shaping’. Gain
make-up is available courtesy of a +/-10dB master
output trim control.
Signal metering can be seen easily at all stages
in the signal path, with a three-colour LED showing
coarse signal level at the mic pre stage, another
LED that shows when signals in the EQ stage are
within 6dB of clipping, and a 10-segment LED meter
showing final output level post the final output trim
control. The EQ and compression stages can be
independently switched in and out of circuit and a
further switch allows the process order of EQ and
Compression to be swapped around. An external
sidechain signal can be selected for the compressor,
and when selected this looks to the TRS jack on the
rear for its source.
The sum of all these parts and little touches is a
unit that feels reassuring, safe and hard to go wrong
with. It’s not a unit that is going to add a distinctive
sonic signature to your recordings, but that’s not to
say that it has no character.
‘Polished, solid and hifi-like are all adjectives
that spring to mind. But more importantly, it has
everything you need, nothing that you don’t and is
executed to near perfection.’ Resolution V9.7. n
Grace Design M103
Contact
GRACE DESIGN, US
Website: www.gracedesign.com
AWARDS 2011
QUALITY & INNOVATION
Winner
Preamp
ALSO NOMINATED: Focusrite ISA 428 MkII; Inward
Connections Magnum; RND Portico II Channel.
(10 páginas)
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