Best preamp for Aqua

[greenbug]

Hi,
I’ve just jumped in AA. I come from UAD, I have sold the Apollo 8P but still I have the plugins. I’ve read the GS thread and seems AA has nailed channel strips emulation.
I have just a question regarding the right pre to couple with AA emulations. Any suggestions? Also, will AA ever make its own audio interface? Is variable impedance pre amplifier just marketing bs?
Thanks
Ale

[mathias]

i'd say the best pre would be a neutral one. no coloration, just flat response. as less harmonic distortion as possible.
Motu has some good choices in that regard or RME for example. there are other brands too, these are just two examples ...

i am not into variable impedance on pres. there are other ways to influence your signal. just get correct impedance matching and you are good to go.

[Tim Petherick]

Hi,
I’ve just jumped in AA. I come from UAD, I have sold the Apollo 8P but still I have the plugins. I’ve read the GS thread and seems AA has nailed channel strips emulation.
I have just a question regarding the right pre to couple with AA emulations. Any suggestions? Also, will AA ever make its own audio interface? Is variable impedance pre amplifier just marketing bs?
Thanks
Ale

Variable impedance is a really great idea but more so for ribbon and dynamic mics imo. For example if your preamp impedance is to low for a ribbon mic you'll get low volume equaling more noise and less highs/transient detail from dampening. If you go to high it will start to sound to alter the sound because you're going changing the ideal dampening of what that ribbon was intended for, this is more than just tone. This is where I think variable impedance is handy because you can change this depending on what effect you want or you need to match to recommend spec. Cloud lifter makes a variable impedance box (Cloud Cloudlifter Z Variable) which looks cool, I have never used them though.