Solid State Logic Pure Drive Octo 8-Channel Microphone Preamplifier

SSL PURE DRIVE OCTO – 8-Channel PureDrive™ Mic Preamp & Audio Interface

Mic Pre’s with Prestige

The PURE DRIVE OCTO harnesses SSL’s renowned PureDrive™ mic-preamp technology — originally featured in the legendary ORIGIN console. Now in an 8-channel, 2U rackmount format, PURE DRIVE OCTO brings that heritage into a compact, powerful, modern unit. With a new DRIVE mode, expanded connectivity and advanced digital conversion, it delivers both pristine clarity and a warm, rich, harmonically driven tone — offering producers and engineers unprecedented flexibility and sonic quality.

ORIGIN and its PureDrive™ preamps have earned their place in the world’s top studios. Whether you’re capturing a delicate piano performance in CLEAN mode or pumping out gritty drums in DRIVE mode, PureDrive™ has become a go-to tool for premium recordings. PURE DRIVE OCTO continues that legacy into rack format — delivering eight studio-grade mic preamps with PURE and DRIVE modes, plus a new Asymmetric DRIVE mode, robust digital I/O, and an integrated USB interface.

Modes & Tonal Flavours

Clean Mode

• Ultra-low noise floor, highly linear SSL preamp character — captures true, detailed source audio with complete transparency.

Classic Drive Mode

• Symmetrical analog drive that produces rich odd-harmonic distortion — the same celebrated tone as ORIGIN’s original preamps.

Asymmetric Drive Mode

• Emphasizes even harmonics for a thicker, warmer tone with softened transients — ideal for vocals, guitars, drums, or any source needing character and presence.

Each channel can be switched independently, giving you full flexibility over your mixes.

Professional Design & Precision Engineering

• No potentiometers, mechanical switches, or relays in the signal path — PURE DRIVE OCTO uses digitally controlled analogue circuitry.

• Stepped pots and precise electronic switching ensure consistent channel matching, easy recall, and long-term stability.

• Offers one of the most capable, feature-rich outboard mic-preamp units available for serious production work.

Versatile Connectivity & I/O Options

PURE DRIVE OCTO is built for both studio and project-workflow flexibility:

• 8 rear-mounted combo XLR mic inputs

• 4 front-panel Hi-Z/DI instrument inputs with auto-detect

• Three D-Sub connectors for line-level inputs, insert sends, and returns

• Insert returns / ADC inputs accept full +24 dBu line level — perfect for interfacing with external processors

• Digital connectivity including integrated USB soundcard (8-in / 24-out at 44.1/48 kHz), AES, and ADAT outputs

• AES and ADAT outputs can optionally route DAW outputs from USB — ideal for hybrid workflows

• Auto-ranging word-clock In/Out for robust synchronization and clocking

Key Features

• 8 high-performance PureDrive™ mic preamps

• +48 V phantom power, polarity invert, 3rd-order 75 Hz hi-pass filter

• Stepped Gain control up to +65 dB

• 31-step Trim control (1 dB increments) for precise level adjustment

• Three selectable preamp modes: Clean, Classic Drive, Asymmetric Drive

• Mic/Line switching — XLR, TRS, D-Sub options

• 4 front-panel Hi-Z/DI inputs for instruments

• Four selectable mic-preamp input impedance options — for tonal tailoring, especially with dynamic and ribbon mics

• Balanced analogue outputs / insert sends + professional-level insert returns / ADC inputs (+24 dBu)

• Full digital I/O: USB, AES, ADAT — up to 32-bit / 192 kHz conversion with +24 dBu line level = 0 dBFS

• Stepped pots + digitally controlled analogue circuit — for precision, recallability, and matched channels

• Auto-Sleep mode, auto-ranging word-clock I/O