New Music Gear Monday: Neumann V 402 Dual Channel Microphone Preamp

Neumann V 402 dual channel microphone preamp image

There are plenty of really great microphone preamps on the market today. So many that it’s difficult to make a wrong choice if you’re willing to spend enough money. That said, it isn’t every day that Neumann introduces a microphone preamp. In fact, the new V 402 is the first stand-alone preamp that the company has ever released.

Neumann has made mic preamps before but they’ve always been part of a console. In fact, the company’s highly regarded V 476B preamp from the 80s is still widely sought today by engineers in the know. The V 402 doesn’t claim to be another version of the 476B, but it is hand-built in Germany to Neumann’s same super-high standards, and looks to be the perfect match for the company’s excellent microphones.

The V 402 is a dual channel microphone preamp that has a pretty standard configuration of parameters. Each independent channel has a Gain control that can be set between +20 and +60dB, a phantom power switch, a 20dB pad, a phase switch, and a 60Hz high-pass filter switch.

Besides the XLR inputs and outputs on the rear, there are also ΒΌ” instrument input jacks on the front panel, and these can be accessed via the Hi-Z switch on each channel. The channels also feature a horizontal LED bridge meter that measures from -24dB to overload.

The one thing that is unique about the unit is that it has an onboard headphone amplifier with individual level controls for each channel and an overall level master. The headphone jack is also on the front panel. I’m not too sure of the need for headphone monitoring at this point of the signal chain, but it’s there if you need it.

The Neumann V 402 dual channel mic preamp retails for $2,900 and is now available. You can find out more on the Neumann site here, or watch the video below.


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