Are there any mods for the M-Audio Audio Buddy?

[Snarl 12/8]

It seems like a good platform for some mods, but I can't find any info about it online anywhere. I need a new wall wart for mine, but I don't want to get a new one if I can't make it sound any better.

[rodabod]

It seems like a good platform for some mods, but I can't find any info about it online anywhere. I need a new wall wart for mine, but I don't want to get a new one if I can't make it sound any better.

Opamps are SIL from what I remember. It's just a bunch of opamps. Not a great design, plus the phantom power isn't great under load.

You'd require socket adapters, some nice opamps (like say OPA604s) and even then, it might not sound great. You'd also need to consider compensation to avoid oscillation.

I'd just get a better preamp, or gut it and fit a PSU board and a THAT chip or INA217.

[amorris]

what part of it seems to be a good platform? just asking.

a $79 mic pre doesnt seem like a good paltform for much. and if buying a wall wart is too risky then any mods would be much more than $79.

jensen mic transformers would be a good start. then redsign the amplifier to load the transformer correctly. then a nice api style output transformer and 3055 drive. then what would be the point of the audio buddy?

Id get the wall wart, at least you can use it and Im sure its decent as it is. getting out of that league will cost a lot more than the wall wart.

[hrschlosser]

This preamp is certainly not bad for what it is. Noise is pretty low and the general sound quality is OK for that design. I wouldn't modify anything here, because it is not worth the effort.

There is one thing, which makes this preamp a pain in the @$$, though.

Phantom powering is not 48V, but much less (arround 30V). This can lead to problems with some mics, especially if the capsule voltage is derrived directly from 48V. In that case the capsule doesn't get the right bias, so the mic won't work properly.

It might be worth it to redesign the powering section of Audio Buddy. For instance one could raise the supplied power (now it is 9V AC) and built an internal regulator (for the preamp) as well as a voltage multiplier for phantom powering. I'd think, with 12 or even 18V AC it would be more easy to get a high quality phantom powering.

[Snarl 12/8]

I guess by platform I just meant it's a little case with the knobs and meters right there so maybe something worthwhile could be done with it. It was reading a page about the Alesis 3630 that got me thinking about me Audio Buddy. They were saying to get a new, bigger wall wart for that thing. And I was wondering, before I got a new Wall Wart for the Audio Buddy, if I could mod it and maybe then I'd need a bigger/different one. I truly thought the thing sounded like fizzy ass when I used it before. I'm not saying that it's too "risky" to buy a wall wart for it. I just will probably just stuff the thing in a closet somewhere if I can't have it sounding better than it did the next time I power it up with something. Oh, and my plan was to use it for my tapeop omnis, which need to get no phantom, so I wasn't worried about what I assumed was subpar 48volts.

[bibleboy3]

I have 2 audio buddies and neither one will power my CAD E200


Bill

[Jeff White]

Sell the Audio Buddy and get a Symetrix SX202. It's a wonderful preamp for the price of $120 or so used. It can be modded, but if you aren't good at anything but drop in chips you'll most likely need to have it modded professionally.

Another preamp that has come way down in price is the Presonus MP20 (mine is sitting 3 ft from me!). I've seen Burr-Brown modified ones (as easy as changing a tube in an amp!) going for $200 on ebay AND NOT SELLING! Nice stock, great modified, even better (I hear) with Jensens.

I know that the Audio Buddy is like $80. It just seems to me that if you want to mod it that you've out grown it. I would look for something that is a significant step up in quality but not in price, and use the Audio Buddy's sale to put towards it.

Jeff