Cloud Microphones is launching the True Blue 520, the company’s first 500 Series preamp. The unit was designed and built in collaboration with Tim Spencer, founder and designer of True Systems, and is intended for both recording and live sound applications.
The True Blue 520 features the patent-pending Cloud Touch interface, a capacitive, touch-sensitive illuminated front-panel surface used for functions including gain, high-pass filter activation and phantom power. It provides a 76 dB gain range and uses two seconds of Blink-Delay circuitry so selected features engage only after a mandatory two-second hold. For ribbon microphone protection when using +48V phantom power or high-gain Lifter mode, automatic phantom power switching disengages +48V components and removes all capacitors at the input in ribbon/dynamic mode.
A rail-to-rail protocol in the architecture is specified for 28 dBu internal headroom and maximum input/output levels. Instrument DI In and Thru jacks work as a split, routing DI In to the preamp core while Thru can feed an external amplifier or an additional DI signal path. The continuously variable HPF adjusts low-frequency content from 25 Hz to 420 Hz, and the True Blue 520 carries an MSRP of $899.