Recording - May 2021 - 12

Focusrite ISA 828 MkII
Class ic ISA Preamp
Digital expansion

Adding one of the two available digital expansion cards opens up additional
connective features. Card options include the two-channel ISA ADN2 and
the eight-channel ISA ADN8. Both offer
BNC Word Clock I/O and a set of RJ45
Dante output ports. The ISA ADN2 has
a choice of stereo digital out over ADAT,
S/PDIF, or XLR-based AES3.
The ISA ADN8 is an eight-channel card
with dual ADAT ports for high-sample rates
and eight channels of AES3 over DB-25.
Both cards are analog to digital only,
making the ISA 828 MkII more of an expansion box or a Dante input device than
a proper audio interface. The unit offers
no digital to analog conversion or monitoring facilities. Sample rates up to 192
kHz are supported, as are external Word
Clock and Dante clocking choices.

And now, the inserts!

Next, we come to the insert capabilities of the ISA 828 MkII. This feature is
dormant when used solely as an analog
preamp. However, when connecting the
unit digitally to another interface or Dante
network, the analog outputs can be re-purposed as the channel insert sends, and the
A-D External Inputs handle the returns. This
allows for easy inline connection of a favorite EQ or dynamics processor.

The 828 MkII in action

My assessment of the ISA sound remains similar to when I reviewed the
ISA One twelve years ago. It's a perfect
example of a classic console sound that
is neither heavily colored nor ultra-transparent. I would place the ISA sound
between the Neve and API camps, gently leaning toward the smooth low-mid
saturation of Neve while offering more
upper-end focus. Thanks to the obscene

12 RECORDING May 2021

amount of possible gain and available
headroom, there's no microphone-
loud, quiet, high or low output-that the
ISA 828 MkII cannot handle.
This also means that there's no instrument, vocal range or musical style that
this preamp cannot easily navigate.

Choose your impedance

I'm a big fan of impedance switching
preamps, as they offer a great way to
milk subtle tonal nuances out of mics by
altering their reactive relationships with
the preamps. These changes are more
noticeable in passive microphones, but a
mic pre's input impedance affects all mics.
I used a microphone splitter to send a single microphone to four preamp channels,
each set to a different impedance load. Then
I layered a quick test song of acoustic guitar,
vocals, cajón kick, snare, and some shakers
and tambourine. I also tracked some direct
bass with the high and low settings.
The low setting was the most weighted
and offered the most low-end extension
of the bunch, especially with an AEA
R44CE ribbon microphone; the ISA 110
setting is the sound of this classic preamp, and the most balanced across the
board. Medium offered a nice upper-mid
punch and forward detail well suited to
my Shure SM7B. Finally, the High setting reigned in the low-end of a vintage
tube mic and more so the AEA ribbon,
while gently accentuating the top-end
clarity. That said, these tonal changes in
each instance are subtle-in the 10-15%
range, especially on modern condenser
mics. Moving to direct instruments, on
my Rickenbacker 4003 bass I found the
Low setting gave the bass a more diffuse,
laid-back sound, while High (the usual
instrument impedance on most preamps)

offered the upper mid punch and aggression I know and love with this bass.

Diggin' in the digital

My other favorite feature of the ISA 828
MkII is the ISA ADN8 expansion card's
added flexibility. If your audio interface
offers multichannel ADAT optical input,
the ISA 828 MkII instantly grants you an
additional eight analog input channels. In
my studio, it easily connected to my Universal Audio Apollo x8p, and it also made
a great companion to the similarly ADATequipped Focusrite Red 8Line interface
(review coming soon). My MacBook Pro is
equipped with the Audinate Dante Virtual
soundcard, so it was also easy to add the
ISA 828 MkII to my Dante network for the
remote recording and live streaming that I
do weekly for my church. Note, you can
also use Focusrite RedNet Control. I also
often like to track drums and piano in the
sanctuary, and using Dante makes light
work of the task and offers a significant
preamp upgrade over the Dante-equipped
digital consoles in the building.
As an added bonus, when you purchase an ISA 828 MKII you also get a
free copy of the Brainworx BX_Console
Focusrite plugin (review coming soon).

Wrap-up

The ISA 110 preamp is already a
classic, and having eight of them at
your disposal is an excellent option for
any source and style of music. Adding
the ISA ADN8 with its new Dante connectivity makes the ISA 828 MkII more
versatile, full-featured and future proof,
for both studio and stage.
Price: $2699; ISA ADN8, $699
More from: pro.focusrite.com
http://pro.focusrite.com
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