are mic pre's supposed to smell too?

[wilkinsi]

I know tube amps/pre's smell, but solid state mic pre's too? My Audient ASP008 does not have any tubes (none that I can see). Its an 8 channel mic pre in a 1u rack with a fan next to the power supply. The unit gets hotter than my other rack gear. The smell is a lot more in your face than my RT50C amp. I've had the ASP008 for months now, and always thought it was the fact it spent most of that time in a box with a silica gel sache in there. At no stage has the unit malfunctioned, lost power or popped its fuse. It just smells like a hard driven amp and immediately obvious from the moment it is powered.

[Cygnus X1]

I wouldn't think so.

[Twitch]

I wouldnt think so either but I wouldnt say thats entirely odd. It is an amplifier and who knows how hard its designed to run. Id just be on the look out for that burnt PCB smell. If you dont smell that I wouldnt be too entirely worried.

[metalhobo]

There's no reason a solid-state PREAMP should get even slightly hot.

[Twitch]

There's no reason a solid-state PREAMP should get even slightly hot.

Not true. Its probably not the actual preamp IC getting hot anyhow. It will undoubtedly have a final of some kind that depending on design may get hot. If there is a fan than the manufacturer knew the unit may over heat. Is that a shortcut to a problem, sure but I wouldnt worry too much about it.

[wilkinsi]

I believe it could be the power supply. There's a tiny fan right next to it. Audient make two mic pre's and neither have power switches. Naturally, the smell dies whenever I unplug it. There are vents running front to back, top and sides of the unit. I didn't think power supplies could make that kinda preamp tube smell :dunno:

[Twitch]

It's not the tube you're smelling. It's the pcb and whatever else is around the heat source.

[wilkinsi]

Should I report this to Audient or not bother?

[Rsmacker]

Less than a year old? Definitely. Even if they just tell you that you are a silly billy, it'd be worth it.