Empirical Labs Mike-e Model EL-9

When the engineering team at Empirical Labs sets out to build a microphone preamp, you can be sure it’ll deliver spectacular sound, be effortless to work, and will provide features unlike any other device in its class. To that end, we proudly present Mike-E, a high performance transformer-coupled mic preamp with a noise floor far below any microphone’s self noise, combined with a one-of-a-kind compressor/saturator circuit that delivers classic knee compression as well as versatile tonal ‘coloring’ that can replicate many of the best characteristics of vintage analog recording equipment.

Mike-e’s seven circuits

• Microphone preamp modern digitally controlled

• Mic Preamplifier with super low noise and stepped gain switching

• Built in ‘Direct Box’, called the ‘Inst In’, offers unparalleled distortion, noise, and frequency response when pre-amping instruments

• Colored’ 80Hz High pass filter emulates the warm low frequency cut of our favorite vintage equalizers

• Phase Switch to invert the audio signal 180 degrees

• CompSat offers both a musical Compressor/Limiter and a unique tape-like saturation circuit

• Emphasis high-frequency emphasis system softens high frequency ‘pile-ups’ and further the creamy color of the Mike-E

• Mix Control allows the blending of the Compressed/Saturated signal with the clean unprocessed “Dry” signal

Features

• Freq. Response is 3 Hz to 200 kHz on (No CompSat). CompSat is 3Hz – 150Khz. Optional Transformer output is 6Hz–80kHz

• Signal to Noise – 130 dB signal to Noise.at 40dB gain. Maximum output is 28dBu

• Distortion Ranges between .0006% and 15% depending on mode and settings

• Transformer coupled Input, Active and Transformer Outputs available. High quality audio caps used internally

• Input Impedance is above 600 Ohms at all frequencies, transformer coupled; output impedance is less than 38 ohms, instrument In Impedance is 332K Ohms

• Attack/Decay Ranges – .9 – 70mS attack. .15 – 1 Sec

• Power Consumption – 15 Watts Max