Avalon Design M5 Microphone Preamp

Comments about Avalon Design M5 Microphone Preamp:

Chances are that if you are looking to buy a high-end pre-amp, you are tired of having the harmonic content of your sound source "mysteriously disappear" from your tracks. If you don't know why, keep on reading . . .The sound quality of the Avalon M5 is nothing short of outstanding! And there are reasons why . . .Its design respects one of the most basic rules of audio: the shortest the signal path, the better the sound. With that said, Avalon designed this unit featuring an unbalanced output, for one thing.One would say: Unbalanced?? No!!!In fact the answer should be a big yes! Balanced connections are only beneficial when you use extremely long cables or in environments that are "populated" with strong RF. Since the professional studio should be free of such RF interference and the distance between the unit and you board would be short, it just makes sense to eliminate yet one more circuit - again, shortening the signal path, using less electronics.In other words: the Avalon M5 has all it needs AND ONLY WHAT IT NEEDS to do the job it is supposed to. No added frills, no myriad of buttons. That is why it is one of the very best pre-amps in the market.That allows for the crisp, transparent sound that comes out of the unit. Again, the simplicity of the circuitry prevents the all-so-common loss of harmonics throughout the range of the recorded material.The sound is rich and full.To give you a practical example of this, recording a female or male vocal without the Avalon, you will very commonly end up boosting hi-ends on the EQ to make the voice "cut through the mix", even if you do the right thing and build your mix around the lead voice.With the Avalon, since these harmonics are all present in the track, you will see the vocal cutting through without the need to "adulterate" the original tone of the vocalist.This is just one example of it. The same is true for other materials such as saxophones, flutes, brass in general, etc.Try recording an upright bass with the Avalon . . . it is almost like you can "transform" a mid-range instrument into a top-notch, old dry wood classic instrument . . . again, because of the harmonic content that is captured and not suppressed.Another great thing about the M5 is the headroom . . . recording a powerful singer is just a breeze . . . The M5 can take high SPL's before clipping.One very annoying thing though is the position of the phantom power switch . . . with the growing popularity of ribbon mics, it is imperative to have a good "handle" on that switch. Unfortunately this switch is located on the back panel! If you plan to rack mount the M5, you will also have to plan and allow for a quick, convenient access to the back panel.Other than that, solid state pre-amps don't get much better than the M5: Simple, to the point, outstanding!

Comments about Avalon Design M5 Microphone Preamp:

This is a great pre. Sound is so warm and smooth. The only issue is that there is no real off switch. There is no way to conveniently turn it off. It is a tube, so you must turn it off (unplug it) to save the life of the tube.

Comments about Avalon Design M5 Microphone Preamp:

I use the preamp in my home recording studio

The M5 is a beautiful and amazing pre. It allows my microphone to perform at its full potential. The gain and high pass filter are easy to adjust to suit the source audio, allowing recordings to always come through very full, warm, and clean. That means plug-ins will always sound great on the recordings when mixing. The M5 is very quiet, which reduces unwanted noises from being picked up while recording. Worlds away from the cheaper gear I've used in the past.

There is no power switch on the M5. If you don't want it to continuously draw electricity from the wall you have to unplug it every time you finish using it. It will need up to 30 minutes to warm up each time you plug it in. Allowing the preamp to warm up increases its performance.

Comments about Avalon Design M5 Microphone Preamp:

I have owned the AVALON U5 for about a year, and I was to the point where I needed a good mic-pre for recording vocals, I was not happy with what I was getting from my system. I am glad I went with the M5, as it is a perfect match in my studio. This is my first High Quality Preamp, and believe that I made the right choice. I tracked a song that I have been working on, using a AKG C 414 B-XL II, and I am exited to say that it is done. It's like the hardest piece of a puzzle, the one that took the longest to find, and finally you found it and can say ahh!