Recording - August 2020 - 10

REVIEW

Peluso P-280

Vacuum Tube Microphone
Tube warmth and FET clarity combine in this
new modern mic design
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.

ince the early 2000s, Peluso Microphone Lab has been at the forefront
of the tribute mic trend. Using overseas manufacturing and US designs,
assembly and QC, John Peluso and his team place the sounds and styles
of the classics into the hands of recording engineers, at a fraction of the price
of the rare and coveted originals. In a lineup rich with vintage inspiration, this
month we look at the all-original Peluso P-280.

A break with tradition...

The Peluso P-280 is a large diaphragm, multi-pattern tube microphone
that made its first appearance at the
2020 NAMM show. Peluso booth was
the very first stop on the very first day
of the show, and the P-280 was the
first product we saw. This is John Peluso's very first in-house LDC design that
doesn't invoke the sounds, stylings or
circuits of any obvious classic...

...or does it?

The P-280 has some aspects of a lineage behind it. This past May, we took
a look at the Peluso P-28, a tube-based
small diaphragm pencil condenser another in-house design that combines the
best qualities of the 1950s era Neumann
KM 54 and AKG C28 pencil condensers into something new. This sonic ethos
is alive and well in the P-280 design
as well.

A tale of two topologies

Like the P-28, the P-280 is not just a
tube microphone; its design commingles
both FET and tube circuits. The fun starts
with a 34mm, center-terminated K67style capsule; it feeds a Peluso-designed
FET amplifier, followed by a 5654W
(EF95) tube, and then finally a custom-wound output transformer. The FET
10 RECORDING August 2020

amplifier and transformer are essentially
the same in both models, but where the
P-28 uses a miniature 5744WB tube, the
P-280 uses a 5654W, also known as an
EF95 or 6AK5. This tube has a reputation for exceptional high frequency performance. Note that the tube in the mic
is a US-made NOS 'green script' GE unit
manufactured in the 1980s.

A whole new look

While most Peluso microphones come
in brushed nickel-toned bodies with a
firm nod to their classic counterparts, the
sleek, cylindrical P-280 features an 8" x
2" machined brass body and head basket
finished in a classy satin black. While having a multilayer mesh design, the P-280
head grille is still more open than many
vintage models and is prone to plosives,
so I recommend a good pop screen. The
mic is bundled with a multi-pattern power
supply and cables, shock mount and hard
mount, wooden presentation box, and felt

mic bag. The multi-pin cable features eight
thick pins with screw-on locking connectors (also found on the P-28).

The P-280 sound

In my review of the P-28, I described
it as being "...clear and neutral... a gentle hint of low-end richness... captures a
source with great detail.... zero top-end
hype or bite." It's a bit anti-climactic
here to just say "ditto," but it's true.
Side-by-side, the sonic similarities of
the P-280 and P-28 are hard to deny.

Frequency Range:...........................................................................20Hz-20kHz
Polar Pattern:............................... nine, switchable from omni to bi-directional
Sensitivity:........................................................................................... 27 mv/pa
Impedance:..........................................................................................200 ohms
SPL:..........................................................................................................149 dB
Equivalent Noise:.................................................................................. 6 dB (A)
Tube Type:....................................................................................5654W (EF95)

Recording - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2020