Recording - December 2016 - 42

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Hi and Tone. Hi is a highcut (lowpass) filter for getting rid
of high sizzle, equipment hiss, and upper-register guitar
noise. It is set at -3dB at 4kHz. The other button engages
the abovementioned Tone filters. It's worth noting that the
pad switch and all filtering in the V5 are passive designs.
Last on the right is the input selector switch. This offers a
choice of Line, Instrument HI-Z, Mic HI-Z, Mic LO-Z and Mic
LO-Z with +48V Phantom Power. There is also a power LED.
Connections and specs
The rear panel of the V5 features a healthy selection of inputs
and outputs. There are separate balanced XLR inputs for both
mic and line as well as a balanced XLR line out. On the 1/4"

Avalon Design V5 Pure Class A DI-RE-Preamplifier
This impeccably designed box does triple duty in the studio
From microphone preamps to mastering grade compressors
and equalizers, California-based Avalon Designs has been
known since 1985 for high-voltage, high-fidelity audio gear
found in studios worldwide. I remember drooling over Avalon
gear on early trips to the NAMM show 20 years ago.
Currently Avalon offers two product families, the Vacuum Tube
VT-700 series and the Pure Class A AD2000 Series. Avalon
Design's newest product, the V5, falls into the Class A/solid-state
side and is one of the company's 2U tall/half-rack boxes. Avalon
is justifiably famous for the first two members of this little family:
the U5 Mono Instrument & DI Preamplifier and the M5
Microphone Preamplifier.
The V5 is equal parts of both and more, and is billed as a DIRE-Preamplifier. Its compact chassis packs in a versatile microphone preamp, a DI section, and a reamplification output.
Touring the V5
As mentioned above, the V5 is 2U high. It comes with large
rubber feet for desktop use and portability, but it can be rackmounted singly or in pairs with the U5 or M5 via one of the company's optional rackmount kits.
The unit is available in both brushed silver and matte black finishes. All of the stepped switches, buttons, and meters are top
notch, solid, and exude class. Avalon Design, along with companies like Millennia Media and Manley Labs, truly represents the
look, feel and sound of high-end boutique gear, with thick faceplates featuring impeccably styled metalwork. It's a look that
would make folks in the audiophile market proud, and a sound
that's best-in-class for professionals.
The most noticeable feature on the V5's front panel is its
centrally-located backlit VU meter. On its left is a stepped switch
labeled Boost. This is the input gain control, in 2 dB steps from
+26 to +66 dB. Below it are backlit buttons for Phase and Pad
(-13dB Line, -10 dB Inst, -15 dB Mic). There is also a
signal/peak LED and a 1/4" instrument input.
The right side has a matching stepped switch labeled Tone,
which selects between one of ten EQ curves and highpass filter
options. Note that six of these are taken from the U5 DI (more on
that below). The matching backlit buttons on this side are labeled
42

RECORDING DECEMBER 2016

side there is a TRS line input, a DI Thru, a +30 dB balanced
TRS out, a stereo headphone out, and a -18 dB buffered 1/4"
reamplification output. This is finished off with an Earth Lift
switch, a power switch, and a 3-Prong IEC power jack.
Internally the V5 uses 100% discrete, high-voltage, Class A
circuit topology with a transformered input and a DC coupled
Pure Class A output. It has a noise spec of -100 dB with less
than 0.5% of THD and IMD and +30 dB of headroom.
Mic it
Despite using Avalon equalizers and compressors in
friends' mastering studios over the years, this is the first time
I've had a piece of Avalon gear in my studio. I was very
glad to connect with the Avalon team at last June's
Sweetwater GearFest... and even more glad once I got to
put the V5 to work.
The microphone preamp on the V5 is impressive. The first
words that come to mind with the V5's mic pre are "clean"
and "powerful". This is definitely in the "straight wire with
gain" camp-the V5's high voltage rails give it an extremely clear and open sound with headroom for days. Its transformerless output keeps the lows full and deep.
I love that it has impedance options for high- and lowimpedance mics. What really impressed me was how the
V5 handled old standbys like the Shure SM-7B, a favorite
of mine but a relatively low-gain dynamic mic. The V5 gave
me some of the cleanest and punchiest sounds I have ever
heard from the SM-7B on voiceover work (without using a
Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter or similar impedance adjustment device). It's equally clean and nice-sounding with even
the finickiest passive ribbon mics in my closet.
Direct it
Similarly, direct signals captured by the V5 are solid and
clean; the V5 like its cousin the U5, is an absolute wonder
on DI bass and electric guitars. Its instrument input offers
+36 dB of headroom before overloading, and its exceptional sound is due in part to the fact that it uses very high input
impedance (a whopping 10 MΩ), which places effectively

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2016