AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new

AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new
AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new

AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new

This is an absolute rarity. It was built by Wes Dooley and AEA in the USA as the ultimate stereo microphone preamp with a beautiful external power supply, Jensen input and output transformers, and 84 db of gain! This one I bought from Sound Satisfaction in Los Angeles several years ago where they used it for foley, ADR, and mixing.

So there are only a handful of these pres in existence at all, and this is a professional tool for tracking or mixing. It sounds big, full, and super hi-fi. Those Jensen transformers, the transistors running in Class A, and standalone power supply really make a difference here sonically. These have a ton of headroom as well, and some features not often found in preamps (like a headroom monitor LED or T power for less common condenser mics in addition to the typical 48 volts). We picked this up because we wanted a great pre for ribbons, and this was several notches above TRP. It was designed and built to be a definitive solid state mic preamp steps in the API / Neve realm. The M/S is just an amazing bonus, as the sum/difference encoder is just the definitive way to do drums and foley alike.

Here is the original data sheet from AEA. Supports all dual microphone perspectives such as: left-right, M/S stereo, spaced or coincident pair. Multi-Format (M/S or L/R) Dual Mode Matrix M/S decoder. Single-knob width control of M/S or Stereo material.

Independent main and mic preamp outputs permit simultaneous X-Y & M/S recording and/or monitoring. M/S decoder may be used for monitoring or final mix.

All microphone types supported including phantom and "T" power. Independent input gain trims and 20 dB pads. LEDs indicate 10dB below clipping for optimizing levels. Main outputs deliver +7dBm into 150 ohms and are isolated with Jensen Transformers. 115/230 volt AC to DC external power supply for negligible hum and field induction or transmission to unit. 1.7" x 8.2" x 9.5, 3.85 Ibs. (4.3 cm x 20.8 cm x 24.1 cm, 1.75 Kg). Condition-wise, I would call it in fair shape. My guess on the age of the unit is that it is from the 1990s (serial 80 17 if anyone reads AEA serials, my guess is that it's the seventeenth unit made of the 380s, which puts it somewhere in the mid 90s). It has some miles on it, but it hasn't been abused. Keep in mind, it's 25-ish years old at this point, so there's scuffs and scrapes and such. That being said, it functions as it should, a nice strong preamp for hard to drive ribbons and condensers (remember, AEA engineered stuff to drive brutal loads, like the RCA 44). Again, we only used it as a dual mono preamp, so if you have questions about the intricacies of Matrix inputs and outputs, I'm not sure how much I can help. It's so rare, that AEA doesn't even have a manual on file (although I have included the only print out I could find on it). Visually, it has its share of scuffs and scrapes for sure and even some oxidation on the metal jacks.

The story I got was that it was moved around during foley sessions, which makes sense. There is still the Sound Satisfaction sticker on it, a couple of the side screws are missing, and the bottom plate has some pretty good scrapes on it. Some scuffs / paint missing on the standalone power supply as well (note: it connects with an attached 4 pin cable). The price has been adjusted to reflect this mileage and condition. Overall, this is an incredible rarity.

If you are looking for a new color of preamp with its own sound and unique circuit and the ability to quickly process M/S micing, this is a really neat piece of gear. The item "AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new" is in sale since Monday, April 19, 2021. This item is in the category "Musical Instruments & Gear\Pro Audio Equipment\Preamps & Channel Strips". The seller is "kwalus_5309" and is located in Charleston, Illinois.

This item can be shipped to United States.


AEA MS380 TX Ribbon stereo microphone preamp, Jensens, 1/50 made! $2800 new