The New Pre on the Block

While SPL is best known for designing the original Transient Designer, mastering-grade consoles, EQs and compressors, as well as a host of monitor-switching devices and headphone amps, the past few years have seen a focus on high-grade microphone preamps and channel strips. These include the SPL Crescendo Duo, reviewed in January 2021, and the SPL Channel One MK3 and Track One Mk3, reviewed in May 2024.

That tradition continues with the new P8, which harnesses the company’s decades of expertise in preamps and converters, concentrating it into a compact eight-channel preamp that fits comfortably within a single 1U 19″ enclosure.

In many ways, the P8 is easy to consider the simplified and streamlined smaller sibling of the SPL Crescendo 8—they even contain the control set. However, the Crescendo 8 was a 3U 19″ beast that ran on the company’s famed 120V technology. Despite the smaller footprint and more common +/- 17 V architecture, the P8 preamp is still a fully discrete, all-analog IC-free design.

Eight channels of analog-to-digital conversion over ADAT optical connectivity are also included, allowing you to seamlessly add eight additional preamp channels to any ADAT-equipped audio interface.

A Tour of the P8

The all-black P8 enclosure is made from powder-coated, well-vented steel and the 4mm thick faceplate is crafted from black anodized aluminum. The knobs on the unit are also milled from solid aluminum.

As you might guess, fitting the controls for eight individual preamps across the front of a single-space 19″ device requires some compact real estate compromises. However, I am quite impressed by the job SPL did to make it happen. While each channel lives in close proximity to its neighbor, nothing feels cramped or compromised.

Each matching channel features a smooth rotary pot that provides +8 to +62dB of preamp gain. Next, there are four jewel-toned, backlit push buttons for 48V Phantom Power, a -20db Pad, a Phase/Polarity flip, and an 80 Hz high-pass filter with a 6dB per octave slope.

Each channel also has its own three-stage (green, yellow, red) LED signal/clip meter.

Digital

After the preamps on the right, you will find a push button to select the digital converter’s clock speed, offering options from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz. Each sample rate can be set to either 44.1 or 48, with 2x and 4x multipliers available for the higher speeds, each accompanied by a corresponding green LED. Additionally, you can select an external word clock indicated by a yellow LED.

Connections

Around the back, you find eight balanced XLR inputs. Note that there are no ¹/₄” TRS inputs, so line and instrument signals are not an option with the P8 without employing an external direct box.

Outputs are located solely on a DB-25 connector.

Moving to the digital side, you have a pair of ADAT optical outputs, essential for operation at 96 kHz speeds and above, along with BNC Word Clock I/O featuring a 75Ω termination button.

You will also notice a USB socket, but this is strictly for service updates. Finally, there is a rear power switch and a 3-prong IEC socket.

Specs

I have noted the preamp’s input gain of +8dB to +62dB/13.5dBu (33.5dBu with PAD). The P8 also features a 10kΩ input impedance, a 75Ω output impedance, a frequency range of 15 Hz–200 kHz, and a common mode rejection (1 kHz) of < 78dB. Additionally, it has an equivalent input noise of -124dBu and overall A-weighted noise levels of -94dBu at 30dB of gain and -66 dBu at 62db of gain, with THD+N of 0.003% and 0.022%, respectively.

Distilling all of that down, the SPL P8 is pretty darn clean and quiet. It has plenty of gain to handle most microphones, from condensers to low-powered passive ribbons and dynamic designs.

Sound

The SPL P8 is voiced to be clean and clear, and it is 100%—we will return to the clean part momentarily. However, sonically, it falls more into what I would call uncolored, almost classic console territory, more so than into the surgical, crystalline or glassy preamp camp. Overall, the P8 is simply a solid, clean, get-the-job-done, stay-out-of-the-way workhorse mic pre, no more, no less.

Where it pushes ahead of many other similarly clean preamps, especially those of the built-in interface variety, is in how gosh-darn clean and low noise it is, even when pushed to full bore on a classic low-output Shure SM7B. The noise floor of the preamp itself is indeed very impressive. The only thing I noticed is that the throw of the preamp gain knobs is not linear, and there is a significant jump from 4 o’clock to full.

Use

As mentioned, the SPL P8 is indeed a workhorse preamp that allows your microphones and the source to shine through without breaking a sweat. If that were all the P8 offered, it would still be a worthwhile addition to any recording setup. However, where the P8 truly excels, in my opinion, is in its ADAT-based conversion. Like the preamps, the conversion is incredibly clean, making it a fantastic eight-preamp expansion option for any ADAT-equipped audio interface, especially those that provide higher sample rates through dual ADAT sockets.

Wrap Up

Don’t let words like “get the job done” and “standard workhorse pre” throw you, as that, along with the eight channels of ADAT conversion, is precisely what makes the PSP P8 such a stunning piece. Its $2,299 price tag is not cheap necessarily, but at less than $300 per channel of super clean preamps and digital conversion with a rock-solid build, it is a formidable preamp option for any studio.

Price: $2,299

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