TL Audio 5060 - Preset Tube Compressor with Switchable Manual Mode

The 5060 from TL Audio is a dual channel preset compressor with a single balanced microphone input, stereo line inputs/outputs on the rear panel and stereo instrument inputs on the front panel. The compressor section features fifteen presets and a manual mode, plus a "Fat EQ" switch that, when active, applies an EQ contour to both channels.

The compressor section offers fifteen prepared presets designed to work with a variety of suggested signal sources. The compressor also has a manual mode, in which the dedicated compressor controls become active and features fully variable control of threshold, ratio and gain make-up with switchable fast/slow attack and release settings and hard/soft knee options.

The preamp stage features 48V phantom power and a high pass 90Hz filter. A Drive LED gives a visual indication of the signal level through valve stages, while a Peak LED warns that clipping is about to occur. A solid state, electronically balanced input amplifier is used to achieve very low noise, low distortion and wide bandwidth performance. An ECC83/12AX7A triode valve stage, run from a stabilized 100V DC supply, is used as a second stage voltage amplifier to obtain the classic valve sound and gradual overdrive characteristics.

The two channels of the 5060 work in "linked stereo" mode, but a mono signal can be applied to channel one only, making the unit equally powerful for both mono/stereo tracking and final stereo mix processing. A single illuminated VU meter monitors the output level or the compressor gain reduction for both the channels.