m101
One. Perfect. Channel.
Maintaining Grace Design pedigree throughout, the m101 employs our balanced, transformerless, transimpedance circuit topology. With incredible bandwidth and headroom, the m101 is natural, musical and detailed, allowing engineers and musicians to consistently record vibrant, amazing tracks.
The m101 is equipped with our new universal switching power supply, which is dead quiet and accepts input voltages from 100 to 240VAC. The front panel is a tough black anodized / laser etched black, which ensures legibility and usability in varying light conditions. And all preamp functions have a dedicated indicator LED, including the 48V phantom power and HPF switch.
Built in as standard is our unique Ribbon Mic Mode, which bypasses the input decoupling capacitorss, raises the input impedance from 8.1kΩ to 20kΩ, and defeats the 48V phantom power, preventing damage to delicate ribbon mic elements. Ribbon mics, you’re welcome.
“After reading pages of reviews and searching the web for comments for a couple months before buying the Grace 101, I can honestly testify that everything I ever read about the dead on sonic qualities of this pre amp is absolutely true. I’m in for another for my live vocal rig!”
The gain range is 10-75dB, including the additional +10dB of gain available with the output trim control. This provides ample gain for use of any type of microphone in any recording situation. The gain control is a precision gold plated 12 position switch and the circuit path is built with 0.5% metal film resistors.
Included is a HI-Z input on the front panel. Rear panel I/O options include both balanced TRS and unbalanced TS 1/4” outputs, along with the standard XLR balanced out and XLR microphone in.
Equally at home amplifying a vintage condenser mic or a plugged-in acoustic guitar, the m101 delivers the kind of high fidelity performance previously available only to big budget recording studios and Grammy winning musicians. Add it all up while considering that the price is unmatched and the picture becomes pretty clear – the m101 is one little hot rod piece of pro audio gear for the masses.
The Grace Design EON and STANDARD Warranties
We back up everything we make with either our unrivaled 20 year EON limited warranty, or the 5 year standard limited warranty. These represent the best coverage in the business and prove our commitment to the quality, serviceability and long term value of Grace Design products.
- Fast and musical transimpedance architecture
- Updated audio path with 0.5% precision metal film resistors
- New 12 position gold plated rotary gain switch
- High performance output line driver amplifier and HPF amplifier
- New Ribbon mic mode (also great for dynamic mics)- Relay bypass of phantom power decoupling capacitors, increased
- input impedance, and 48V lockout
- Wider 10-75dB gain range
- Enhanced RFI interference suppression
- Three output connectors: XLR balanced, TRS balanced and ¼” unbalanced
- Bombproof laser-etched black anodized frontpanel
- Sealed gold contact relay for Hi-Z input switching
- Built in power supply / no wall-wart!
- Led indicators for +48V, Ribbon mode, and HPF
- Five year warranty on parts and labor
- Made in the USA
| Gain Range (5dB steps) | |
|---|---|
| Mic input | 10-65dB |
| Hi-Z input | -10-45dB |
| Output trim control | 0 to +10dB |
| THD+N | |
|---|---|
| @ 20dB Gain +20dBu out | <0.00085% |
| @ 40dB Gain +20dBu out | <0.0010% |
| @ 60dB Gain +20dBu out | <0.0050% |
| Intermodulation Distortion | |
|---|---|
| @ 40dB Gain +20dBu out | |
| SMPTE/DIN 4:1 7kHz/50Hz | <0.0020 |
| Noise – Referred to Input | |
|---|---|
| 50Ω source | <-130dB |
| 150Ω source | <-128dB |
| 600Ω source | <-124dB |
| CMRR | |
|---|---|
| 100Hz | >68dB |
| 1kHz | <75dB |
| 10kHz | <65dB |
| Phase Deviation (HPF off) | |
|---|---|
| 50Hz-25kHz | <6 degrees |
| Frequency Response | |
|---|---|
| Mic input @ 40dB Gain -3dB | 4.5Hz-390kHz |
| Mic input @ 40dB Gain -0.5dB | 10.5Hz-140kHz |
| Hi-Z input @ 20dB Gain -3dB | 2.5Hz-195kHz |
| Hi-Z input @ 20dB Gain -0.5dB | 6Hz-74kHz |
| Impedances | |
|---|---|
| Mic input | 8.1kΩ |
| Mic input, Ribbon mode | 20kΩ |
| Hi-Z input (unbalanced) | 1MΩ |
| Hi-Z input (balanced) | 2MΩ |
| Balanced Outputs | 300Ω |
| Unbalanced Outputs | 150Ω |
| Peak LED Meter | |
|---|---|
| Green Threshold | -14dBu |
| Red Threshold | +16dBu |
| Maximum Output Level | |
|---|---|
| 100k Ohm load, 0.1% THD | +25dBu |
| Weight and Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| 2.4 lbs | H1.7” x W8.5” x D9.0” |
| 1.09 kg | H4.3cm x W21.6cm x D22.8cm |
| Power Cosumption | |
|---|---|
| 100-240VAC | 5 Watts Max |
All specifications subject to change without notice.
The m101 chassis has a #10-32 threaded insert mounting hole on the bottom towards the back. Two m101s can be mounted side by side in a standard 1U rack tray. Use a #10-32 x 1/2” or a #10-32 x 3/8” machine screw. Do not use a screw longer than 1/2”.
Grace Design does not supply rack trays, but they are pretty easy to find –
“LOVE my Grace 101 which I’ve had for 2 years. I also have a new ribbon microphone, when I saw the new m101 advertised, I jumped for joy. I bought it and was not disappointed!”
“After reading pages of reviews and searching the web for comments for a couple months before buying the Grace 101, I can honestly testify that everything I ever read about the dead on sonic qualities of this pre amp is absolutely true. I’m in for another for my live vocal rig!”
“Beautiful design, intuitive to use, killer sound!”
“I am a bass player and I am using the 101 for live and recording. I would say I love it ITS GREAT…..GREAT TONE THANKS SO MUCH”
“The 101 made me very angry – it kept showing all the flaws in my mics and my room! But I figured I could trust someone who doesn’t lie to me rather than someone who tells me what I want to hear.”
“Great Pre! I opened the box and immediately put it into action on a session. I was speechless! THANK YOU.”
“I researched preamps for a very long time prior to making the choice of the Grace Design Model 101. Once I plugged in my KM184 and strummed my acoustic, I fell in love. I didn’t know a mic’d instrument could actually sound as good as a purely acoustic experience.”
“This Mic Pre brings together GREAT sound and easy of use. In my book, that’s a killer combination! In my work, it is imperative that I be able to move fast and rely on my gear. Thanks!!”
“Grace Design products are transparent. I can completely trust that my Grace handles audio signals with least impact on the sound I put in. That transparency actually puts me in better control of the ultimate sound I am trying to achieve. Thank you!”
“What a fabulous product! The build quality and performance are top notch. I would recommend it for anyone as the first line preamp for clean, honest gain.”
“The 101 is by far the cleanest channel you can buy for under $1000. You won’t find a more musical, more sonically pristine preamp anywhere else for this price.”
“After using onboard pre’s on a behringer board for years and accepting the sound for”what it was”, recording with the 101 is sonically like putting on a pair of prescription glasses for the first time.”
“You make an excellent product at a reasonable price. Its electronic performance, build quality and semi-industrial look appeal to me. Your customer service is responsive and effective, qualities that go a long way in customer satisfaction.”
m101 in Recording Magazine by Nick Casares
model 101 podcast by Mark Jensen / studio 1A / the PodSqod
model 101 in Electronic Musician by Myles Boisen
model 101 in Pro Audio Review by Loren Alldrin
model 101 in TapeOp Magazine by Martin Chittum www.tapeop.com
model 101 in Recording Magazine by Bob Ross
model 101 in Sound on Sound magazine by Paul White
