Phoenix DRS8

Building on the successes of their single- and dual-channel preamps, Phoenix Audio have gone the whole hog and released an eight-channel preamp. Likely to be priced at the higher end of the scale, the 2U rackmount DRS8 houses eight solid-state, class-A discrete preamps, which use circuit topology based on the company’s DRS1 and DRS2 models. The DRS2 received a positive review in SOS February 2003, and has been complimented on the saturation provided by its transformer-fueled DSOP2 output stage. The front panel features retro-styled buttons and knobs, as well as handy five-stage LED metering for each preamp. Each channel in the DRS8 can provide phantom power, and has individual phase, -30dB pad, high-pass and mute buttons, which should add up to more than enough controls for most recording situations. The unit also provides a monitoring output facility, wherein signals from each of the eight channels can be sent directly to a monitor controller or patchbay, as well as being routed via the individual outputs.
www.phoenixaudio.net