TL Audio Offers Mic/Preamp Combo

(Click for a close-up)

The latest addition to TL Audio's Ivory 2 series is the 5000 Valve Condenser Microphone & Preamp, which starts shipping from the UK this September.

The microphone - which comes complete with its own matched power supply & preamp unit -- boasts a 1" dual gold diaphragm and offers 9 variable patterns including omni, cardioid and figure of 8, along with six intermediate stages. Both low cut filter and 10dB pad switches are also provided on the microphone, and an elastic suspension mount and foam windshield are supplied as standard.

The 5000 microphone is partnered by TL Audio's matching power supply and discrete mic preamp. The power supply's output includes the heater and 200V DC supply for the microphone's internal 12AT7 triode valve, while the preamp stage offers control of input and output gain, phase reverse and output level metering. The preamp provides a balanced line level output on XLR, although this output can also be switched to bypass the preamp stage: thus presenting a microphone level signal that can be fed to an external mic preamp if desired.

A separate monitor output is provided on 1/4" jack, and the optional DO-2 digital output card provides a 24-bit S/PDIF output switchable between 44.1 and 48kHz, along with an external wordclock input. 'Link In' and 'Link Out' sockets on the preamp allow a stereo pair of mics to be set up and output digitally on a single DO-2 card: this is achieved by fitting the DO-2 to the second preamp, and connecting the Link Out socket of the first preamp to the Link In socket of the second preamp.