Blue Microphones Robbie Microphone Preamplifier

Listen to it with a good microphone (Earthworks QTC), a good headphone amplifier (Violectric V200 HPA), a good headphone (Beyerdynamic DT880 / DT770) and some decent cables.This analog sound is very clean, crystal clear and with a subtle and refined tube touch that smoothes the corners and gives a wider and more dimensional image. Vinyl and the analog world come to mind.If you add an A/D and D/A converter to the chain just mentioned the sound degrades. It becomes more grainy, harder, less fluid. Even with a good interface like Apogee Element at 24bit 192kHz you will feel a qualitative difference from the pure analog sound!If you really want to appreciate this preamplifier then you have to rethink your audio chain and if you can't work in the analog domain then the converter is the most critical element that slows down your sound.Without using esoteric and expensive electronics I think we should consider DSD (DSD128 or DSD256) with products like Tascam DA-3000 or RME ADI-2 PRO FS or PCM with high performance (for example 768kHz / 32bit with ADC AKM AK557x converters).Changing the standard tube (Electro Harmonix 6922 EH) with an ECC88-PHILIPS can improve the sound but only if the converter is up to the task of preserving the analog sound in the digital domain!Note that the gain knob works in a "strange" way (as Blue support confirmed): the manual reports 8 ... 68db in reality you will go up to about 56db with an immediate jump to 68db at the end.In conclusion, highly recommended for professional use (and for audiophiles) but also very demanding to be fully exploited.

Phenomenal piece of equipment, I have only owned it for a few weeks and it is making a difference in my voice record sessions. Have not tried on guitar recording, soon will be back for a re-edit. Five stars for simplicity and efficiency. Three stars for size.

If you want a real tube amp that anyone can run, get the Robbie. Turn up the volume until it sounds good and you are done. No muss no fuss.

I love this Robbi. I use it with a Shure KSM32 and with a Neumann TLM 103 and the pair sounds great together.

I have 2 of these for home karaoke helping the Shure KSM9HS mic and I can't be happier!

I ordered this after reading several reviews, but no one mentioned the size of this thing! You will need two hands to tote it so don't expect to take this into the field with you. That said, it is a very worthwhile addition to a broadcast level recording setup. If you are not using top quality mics, you are are not going to get full value from this piece of hardware, and it is not cheap. Add half a star to my rating as feel I have to dock it half a point for being so pricey. Performance is full five star, so have no fear on that score.Read other reviews. This is not going to mellow your input through the magic of a tube modeled preamp. Not at all. What it will do, and do flawlessly, is boost the record levels very nicely without adding any additional noise to the signal. Yes, it will smooth out the sound, but not dramatically.I do voice only, so I am not going to comment on using this as DI device. For voice, with a top line dynamic mic, I've found that the voice comes across very pure, with no additional color added and just a hint of smoothing on the rasps. With a condenser, there is no detectable noise added when the phantom power is used, a problem I had when using the phantom power from my mixer.Before buying this unit, I'd tried mic preamps from Behringer (tube) and Audio Buddy (non-tube). The Berhinger was the closest to what I was looking for, but it did not sound as clean as Robbie does. Yes, the price does make a difference.Is it worth the price difference? Only your ears can answer that. For me, the answer is YES!

使うのが楽しみ！