Microphone Preamps - Product Overview
- Schoeps VSR 5 Studio Rackmount 2-channel Preamp
- Schoeps VMS 5 Portable, battery-powered 2-channel Preamp
VSR 5
The VSR 5 is a premium two-channel studio, analog microphone preamplifier. It excels with its wide dynamic range, extremely low distortion, and comprehensive protection from radio frequency interference. The VSR 5 is SCHOEPS' first 19" rack-mount unit, conceived specifically for use in the studio that's incased in a beautiful housing that is uniquely Schoeps. For a number of years its circuit has been the Schoeps inhouse, benchmark reference for testing microphones, so it seemed only logical to make it available to Schoeps' customers as well.
The VSR 5 can be used with anyone's favorite professional microphone, not just Schoeps.
In an age where it is commonplace to stuff as much as possible into a unit, e.g. All-In-one Micpre/ digital interfaces etc.; the VSR 5 is designed to perform a single task at the highest level without compromise.
Some notable features of the VSR 5:
- Two highly precise, repeatable rotary gain controls ranging from 0 to 60 dB in 3 dB steps
- A wide-range, fast-responding array of LED level indicators covering -48 dBr through +9 dBr, with a "Clip" LED at +20 dBr
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Switchable phantom powering. The VSR 5 recognizes automatically when a condenser microphone has been connected; the LED of the "P48" switch glows yellow when powering is enabled and green when a condenser microphone is connected. - A polarity reversal switch for each channel
- A "Mute" switch for each channel. Muting occurs automatically during turn-on and turn-off of the preamp, and also of the phantom powering circuit.
- A switchable second-order low-cut filter for suppressing pops and wind noise or infrasonic disturbances. The cutoff frequency can be set to 40, 80 or 120 Hz so as to remove as little as possible from the desired signal.
- Two separate, independent low-impedance, active balanced (symmetrical) floating outputs per channel.
| The VSR 5 won a 2010 Resolution Magazine Reader's Award and named 2009 Editor's Choice by Europe's Professional Audio Musik. |  |
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The specifications of the VSR 5 are extremely impressive. Its RF rejection filter range is from 3 MHz to 1 GHz without compromise to the bandwidth, its common-mode rejection or its freedom from distortion. You can view the specs as well as detailed graphs for frequency response, CMR and distortion on the Schoeps website by clicking the link below or downloading the VSR 5 brochure PDF
- Complete details and specs for VSR 5 at schoeps.de
- Download VSR 5 Product Brochure (5.5MB)
- Download VSR 5 User Guide
VMS 5
The VMS 5 is a portable, stereo microphone preamplifier with phantom powering and integrated M/S Matrix. It can be powered from six internal batteries (AA primary or rechargeable) or from external DC. The VMS 5 provides all the high-end performance and features one would expect from a Schoeps product in a small, compact format. The VMS 5 is encased in an all-metal housing, which is unbreakable and protects against radiated electromagnetic interference.
The audio quality of the VMS 5 is top-notch and can stand up against the various, famous "boutique" mic-pre's.
The Inputs:
Two, balanced XLR-3 microphone inputs, switchable 48V phantom power with a rotarydgain control ranging from 0 to 40 dB in 10 dB steps. The VMS 5 also has the unique ability to accept a Schoeps Active Y-Cable (KCY) of the Colette modular system. This allows a small, stealthy no-compromise setup without the need for CMC amplifiers.
The Outputs:
Two, balanced XLR-3 outputs are impedancebalanced and transformerless - switchable between the amplified microphone signals and the decoded M/S stereo signals
Notable features of the VMS 5:
- Switchable phantom powering and M/S matrix
- Frequency response: 20 Hz - 80 kHz (-3 dB)
- Two low-cut filters: 20 Hz (permanent) and 150 Hz (switchable)
- Headphone monitor output, allows M/S to be monitored while sending discrete signals out
- Includes a BALANCE potentiometer that permits compensation for differences in microphone sensitivity up to 20 dB.
- Gold-plated sockets and switch contacts for long service life
- Glitch-free, automatic switchover to internal batteries in the event of AC power loss
- Runs on six internal AA batteries or external DC supply
- Automatic shutoff if voltage gets too low to protect unit
Battery life with alkaline cells is approximately 8.5 hours with phantom powering on. The run time with MiMH rechargeable batteries is generally much lower and is dependent on their mAh rating.