Dizengoff Audio D4 Rackmount Mic Preamp

The Dizengoff D4 is a rackmount preamp with a circuit based on a classic 60s british console preamp used at Abbey Road.

This legendary preamp circuit captured acts like the Beatles, Pink floyd and the Zombies between 1964 and 1968. The D4 captures the same detail and thick, round tube tone and colouration but with a modern Chicago twist! Dizengoff utilise modern materials based on the original design all housed in a standalone 2U rackmount aluminium Chassis.

Simply about the Tone

The D4 isn't overdesigned with needles switches and knobs. All you need are the essentials to get a great tone in seconds.

Other than the essential gain and trim settings, the D4 offers a 20db pad, polarity switch and phantom power, thats it! The great thing about this is that you can quickly set up the perfect settings for your source, and focus on getting the best performance out of your performer.

In terms of tonal characteristics, the D4 offers a lively but controlled top end and amazing warmth and clarity in the bass. With a tube circuit and fairly low headroom, it saturates beautifully, offering a unique voice to your studio compared to the wide range of high fidelity transparent preamp circuits currently on the market. If you're looking to add some natural warmth to your vocals, acoustic keys or guitars, the D4 is a fantastic option.

The rich and clear low end and tube saturation means that the D4 particuarly shines on bass instruments. Running through that circuit gives your bass tracks a warm, fat tone without getting wolly or losing any presence.

If you're looking to add some new tonal flavour to your studio, the D4 will be right at home in your rack!

Here's what Dizengoff say about the D4

The Dizengoff D4 is a tribute to a rare and much loved British tube console from the 1960’s.  It is currently sold out.  The original circuit was designed by the Recording Engineering DevelopmentDepartment as a replacement for the Siemens V72S amp cards used in an earlier British console.  It featured three gain settings (+36, +40, and +46), and a ‘fine trim’ knob that allowed the user to trim gain by a few dB.  The D4 has expanded that range from +20 up to +60 using a 12 step rotary attenuator.  Like the original design, the D4 ‘trim’ control allows the user to fine tune the gain by 2-4dB depending upon the gain switch setting.

The sound is huge and open–heard on albums recorded by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Zombies between 1964 and 1968.  It has incredible detail, and the kind of wonderful coloration that only an EF86 pentode can deliver.  It’s often considered to be the sound of John Lennon’s “Revolution,” which used two console channels in series to achieve an overdriven sound.

Signal path transformers are custom wound right here in Chicago.  They’re based on the transformers used in the original, but they take advantage of modern materials.  The input transformer is a hi-nickel (80% nickel content) and the output transformer is a lo-nickel (50% nickel) for excellent fidelity.

The power supply is internal.  It’s built around a Japanese Nippo Steel R-core power transformer.  It has extremely high efficiency and low noise compared with traditional E-I core transformers and plays a significant part in achieving the D4’s low noise performance.

For a more detailed assessment of the D4’s design, including Bode plot measurements, you can click here to visit the D4 technical details page. You can also visit this page for audio samples of the Dizengoff D4 preamp in action.

Features:

• 2U aluminum chassis
• IEC power inlet
• XLR input and output
• DI input
• 12 position stepped gain control, 20-60dB
• Trim control, for fine adjustment of gain
• 20dB pad
• +48v phantom power
• phase reverse

Specs:

Frequency response 20Hz-60kHz
THD+N at 1Khz: 1%,+4dBU, 10-24kHz bandwidth
S/N -90dBA at maximum (+60dB) gain, 10-24kHz bandwidth