Mystery Magicians M808A

The M808A is a sophisticated dual channel strip tube microphone/instrument/line level preamplifier designed to faithfully amplify and reproduce your microphone and Instrument’s signal, with rich and clean sonic output for professional recording systems. When pushed to its limits M808A produces excellent harmonic characteristics with rich overtones that resemble a warm and familiar vintage sound.

With switchable Pentode/Triode mode operation, a variety of gain and unique harmonic colorations can be obtained. The state-of-the-art Saturation (THD) detecting circuit built in the M808A probes the total harmonic distortion of the mic input tube and allows the engineer to quickly verify on the fly the clean headroom before tube saturation occurs with a pilot light on the front panel.

Although M808A has been designed from the ground up and has not been based on any traditional designs, the sonic characteristics of the preamp have been compared to tube British consoles of the 1960s. Part of the secret behind the big sound of the M808A is the Class A single-ended operation and its hand-wound audio transformers.

Further sonic possibilities are available through the lossless active tube filters that consist of 4 useful HPF & LPF Frequencies with −6 dB per octave (−20 dB per decade) attenuation, making quick-cut decisions on program material a breeze.

Any high-quality condenser, dynamic, or ribbon microphones with output impedances ranging from 33Ω to 600Ω can be utilized successfully with excellent results. Numerous devices, including microphones, bass and electric guitars, instrument pickups, keyboards, organs, drum machines, line-level mixes, and much more can be routed to the M808A.

With the DIRECT/INSTRUMENT IN (DI) inputs, such instruments can be “directly” injected into the preamp, and a transformer-balanced signal will derive on the LINE OUT. Since the M808A is fully transformer-balanced from input to output, many balanced and unbalanced effect units can also be used through the insert points. Devices such as vintage tape echos, reverbs, equalizers, compressors, and even effect pedals can be used with excellent results.

Whether the device connected to the INSERTS is balanced or unbalanced, these signals will be transformer balanced at the LINE OUT jacks. The Line-in feature of the M808A is ideal for mix bus insertion to add sonic coloration to stereo mixes and make-up gain, but can also be used as a clean gain stage anywhere makeup gain is needed.

From the drawing board, the M808A has been designed with innovative features to produce the best sound quality and reliability possible. With a power supply with an auto-detectable line voltage feature operating from 86VAC to 265VAC, it will operate globally. The M808A features a fully regulated smps power supply for all its internal voltage nodes, contributing to extreme reliability, high power supply ripple rejection, low noise floor, and short circuit protection.

Our factory takes pride in producing high-quality audio transformers with low leakage inductance. Every microphone and output transformer in the M808A is designed and finished in-house, with each one individually wound, tested, and potted. All four audio transformers in the M808A have been potted in MuMetal shielding for the quietest operation.

Some of The Features Of The M808A At A Glance!

Custom Manufactured Bakelite VU Meters With Traditional Ballistics

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Custom Made VU Meter

New Matched Valves For Each Unit Manufactured

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamp NOS Russian Tubes

Custom Hand Wound Input and Output Audio Transformers

Mystery Magicians Company Custom Made Audio Mic Input and Output Transformers

Custom Manufactured GR Style Bakelite Knobs

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamp Bakelite Knobs

Channel Strips With MIC IN, LINE IN/OUT, DI, and Inserts

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamp Rear Panel Input and Outpus I/O

Active True Bypass FILTER Section Featuring Useful Filter Freq.

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamp Active Filter EQ Section

Modular Design Throughout The Unit

Mystery Magicians M808A Microphone Preamplifier Inside shot

Switchcraft & Neutrik Audio Connectors

Metal Film Resistors + Foil & Film Audio Grade Capacitors Throughout

Hermetically Sealed Input & Output Transformers in MuMetal Shielding Cans

Mystery Magicians Company Custom Made Audio Mic Input and Output Transformers In MuMetal

Internal Switch To Toggle Between ECC82 or Premium Grade 6350 ★★★★★ Output Tube

M808A Tube Toggle Selector

High Gain & Exceptional Flat Frequency Response 10Hz-25kHz

Mystery Magicians M808A Microphone Preamplifier Frequency Response

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Back Panel

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Side Panel

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Inside gut shot

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Inside gut shot Audio Card PCBS

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Inside gut shot Audio Card PCB Tube Selector Switch

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifer Power Supply PCB

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Function Switches

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamplifier Calibration Points

Custom Designed And Manufactured Bakelite VU Meters With Traditional Ballistics
Custom Designed Hand Wound Input & Output Transformers Hermetically Potted in MuMetal Casing
Class A Operation Throughout The Signal Chain
Up to 80dB Of Gain
Channel Strip Design With MIC IN, LINE IN/OUT, DI, And Effect Inserts
Low Noise Design Topology
Custom Manufactured GR Style Bakelite Knobs From Original Moulds
New Old Stock Matched Valves For Each Unit Manufactured
Switchcraft® & Neutrik® Audio Connectors
Active True Bypassable FILTER Section Featuring 4 Useful HPF & LPF Filter Frequencies of 50Hz, 150Hz, 5kHz, 2kHz @ −6 dB per octave (−20 dB per decade) Butterworth 1st order.
Internal Switch To Toggle Between ECC82 Or Premium Grade 6350 ★★★★★ Output Tube *See Options Below
Metal Film Resistors, Foil & Film Capacitors, Rubycon® & NIPPON Chemi-Con® Elcos Throughout The Unit
All Through-hole Components And No SMDs
Japanese Made TOCOS® Sealed Potentiometers
Carling Toggle Switches
Modular Design Throughout The Unit
4mm Thick Carbon Steel Face Plates
Fully Regulated Solid-State Power Supply With Soft Start & Short Circuit Protection On All Nodes
High-Quality Sealed Japanese Relays With Gold Contacts For All Localized Signal Switching
Individual Anti Pop Soft Start & Stop Phantom Power Switching & Indicator Lamp Per Channel
Buffered & Isolated VU Meter Driver Circuit With Selectable +4dB Or +8dB Range
Saturation THD Indicator Of The Input Valve
86V to 260VAC Global Line Operation.

KEY FEATURES:

MIC IN Input Impedance: (2KΩ) Accepts Microphones ranging from 33Ω – 600Ω
MIC IN (Pentode Mode) Maximum Gain: Approximately 80dB
MIC IN (Pentode Mode) Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 25 kHz ± 1dB @ 100Ω Source Impedance
MIC IN (Triode Mode) Maximum Gain: Approximately 65dB
MIC IN (Triode Mode) Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 25 kHz ± 1dB @ 100Ω Source Impedance
LINE OUT Impedance: 600Ω or 150Ω @ +4dB Output
INSERTS (SEND) Output Impedance: 250Ω
INSERTS (Receive) Input Impedance: 100KΩ
DI/INSTRUMENT Input Impedance: 1MΩ
Signal to Noise Ratio: >95 dB, A-weighted
Maximum Output Level for 1% THD: +10dB
THD + Noise at +4 dB: .02% 2nd Harmonic Dominant
Crosstalk: -100dB Between Channels
Power Requirements: 86V to 260VAC 50-60Hz For Global Line Operation.

SPECIFICATIONS:

DOCUMENTATION:

Operation & Maintenance

Download M808A Operation/Maintenance Manual

There are two types of premium grade output tube options from our factory that your unit can be customized and fitted with, Information about each premium type output tube and its characteristics can be found below.

OUTPUT TUBE OPTIONS & CHARACTERISTICS:

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamp NOS Tubes

Premium Grade 6350 ★★★★★ Output Tube

6350 Specifications:

Amplification Factor Mu μ: 18
Plate Impedance: 3900Ω
Transconductance: 4600 μMhos
Lower output Impedance than ECC82 & 6414
Higher headroom than ECC82 tube
Lower output gain than 6414 tube

THD Characteristics ( Fundamental @ 0 dBu):

2k Harmonic: -61.3dB
2.5k Harmonic: -99dB
3k Harmonic: -75.3dB
4k Harmonic: -102dB
5k Harmonic: -94dB
6k Harmonic: -98dB

Mystery Magicians Company M808A Tube Microphone Preamp NOS Tubes

Premium Grade 6414 ★★★★★ Output Tube

THD Characteristics (Fundamental @ 0 dBu):

2k Harmonic: -51dB
2.5k Harmonic: -97dB
3k Harmonic: -75dB
4k Harmonic: -108dB
5k Harmonic: -92dB
6k Harmonic: -99dB

6414 Specifications:

Amplification Factor Mu μ: 42.5
Plate Impedance: 7650Ω
Transconductance: 5550 μMhos
Higher Output Gain than 6350 & ECC82

Description

KEY FEATURES:

SPECIFICATIONS:

DOCUMENTATION:

OUTPUT TUBE OPTIONS & CHARACTERISTICS:

Additional information