The Trident S20 is a great pre and adds a lot of good color to any kind of mic, including the TLM49.

I hear good things about the Mindprint unit and I would never be shy in sticking a mic into anything made by Aphex.

What is your budget in dollars? Theses are all units that dont have a lot of owners....just a guess...but most guys dont buy channel strips.

I'm with Dave - the Aphex stuff is nice. I personally have a few 107s. Stock, they're nice - a few minor mods and their VERY nice.

I've never used their channel strips, but I have used their compression and limiting before with very good results.

J.

what were the minor mods on the 107s ?

TI OpAmps (don't recall the #)
NOS GE Tube
rotary switches in place of pots.

sorry for the shorthand...typing while driving...gotta love technology.

The VXP is no longer made, and in my personal experiences with it, was no better than the 286a ( of which I have 2). The EQ was fancier, but the damned downward expander (which I like on the dbx) was "choppier". I would suggest 2 other strips ( I LIKE strips, personally): the Drawmer Front End One (MX60), and the rare and very nice Valley Audio mic processor they made under 2 names: the 401, and the Air Force One.
I have the Drawmer and the Air Force One version. Love the AFO for my voiceovers with either an RE-20 or an AT4047. The dynamics are set-and-forget, the EQ is limited but great on voice, and their resell is very good, as is the build quality.I looked at the Aphex 230 for a while, but there was so much bad talk about the 207 (not the 107), that Caesar dropped the pricing on it by $150.00...I just felt a bit skiddish about it.

moonbaby wrote: ... but there was so much bad talk about the 207 (not the 107)...

Yeah...definitely two completely different beasts. I don't know the new Aphex line well enough to tell you which mic pre is in the channel strip and right now, I'm too lazy to look that up. Feel free however and report back to us with your findings... 8)

Cucco wrote: sorry for the shorthand...typing while driving...gotta love technology.

cool
I figgured it would be something like that

the rotary switches ... how many positions did you get ?
12 ... 24
Elma perhaps

24 - Goldpoint - prewired (I don't have that kind of patience)

Hey...I'm curious Kev -

when you do replacements of OpAmps, etc. Where do you find your source of information for what would be a good choice? Personally, I've been stealing others' hardwork and trusting their previous efforts. (At $3-$5 for an opamp though, if I'm not happy, I just get a different one.)

For example, other than the size difference and slight pin change, could a Millennia 990 be wired into a TI or AD's place?

I can't find the 107 anywhere on the Aphex site. In fact there are several other models from their past not listed, though many are.
It looks to me like the 230 uses the same mic pre they use in the 207/207D models; same specs, at least.

pre the forums

I guess it sprang from looking inside equipment (broadcast) ... while doing maintenance

or

from the info sheets sent out by the manufacturers
Analog Devices and Texas and BurBrown
these days Maxim do a lot of info sheets and send them directly to techs thst work for the majors

but
most of this stuff is SM and mobile phone and computer card based ... and ROHS

also some time a manufacturer will do an upgrade and send out an ifo sheet on the chip choices and the component replacements if needed

you can then recycle this in other gear

my oldest retro ... was for the Auditronics upgrade from LM301(I think) to NE5534an ...
Son of Grand desk ... 501

other simple replacements like DBX or THAT 2150 to 2180 and 2181 ... etc
the manufacturers have lots of notes and app sheets

the 990 is a much larger unit and the power requirement might be un-friendly

so I'll say no ... to start with
but
yes it has been done before

replacing a 990 with another is an easier thing
but why .. well that's a different question

generalisations here can be very misleading and a specific situation can make for a much better discussion point