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Avalon U5!!!!!!

#22
I have a U5 and absolutely love it. i use it with upright and electric, and to my surprise, i rarely touch tmhe eq with either. i've ade a bunch of postings about the U5. It's pretty remarkable., You get very rich, deep, warm lows,but the rest of theraneg is really present, without any obvious deficiencies. on most amps, i was always cutting the treble or boosting some frequency range, and i still heard soem unpleasant artifacts in the tone, The U5 just flat sounds good--more musical, more usable.

ProkenKlang, who loves the most expensive gear possible, says the millenia unit "smokes" the U5. Maybe a little clarity? "Smokes" doesn't tell me much about sound, neither does "kills" or "blows the doors off" or any of those phrases. Maybe, prock, you could explain what "smokes" means?

The attraction of the U5, for me, is partly that it's relatively cheap--it has a great tone--better, to my ears than boutique preamps like the Aguil;ar or the demeter--but i got mine for $418 on ebay. Expensive for a DI, but what you're paying for is simplictiy and a focus on sound rather than features.

The Millenia TD_1 is I think like $1800 bucks, no? I would love to try one, it looks really great, but i wonder if it's really nearly four times as good as the Avalon? maybe--if I had a lot of dough, I'd jump on the Millenia to find out. Manwhule, the avalon is bette than anything I've ever played through except maybe a neve studio strip.

I drag the avalon to bar and club gigs, no problem.
 
#26
PB+J said:
I have a U5 and absolutely love it. i use it with upright and electric, and to my surprise, i rarely touch tmhe eq with either. i've ade a bunch of postings about the U5. It's pretty remarkable., You get very rich, deep, warm lows,but the rest of theraneg is really present, without any obvious deficiencies. on most amps, i was always cutting the treble or boosting some frequency range, and i still heard soem unpleasant artifacts in the tone, The U5 just flat sounds good--more musical, more usable.

ProkenKlang, who loves the most expensive gear possible, says the millenia unit "smokes" the U5. Maybe a little clarity? "Smokes" doesn't tell me much about sound, neither does "kills" or "blows the doors off" or any of those phrases. Maybe, prock, you could explain what "smokes" means?

The attraction of the U5, for me, is partly that it's relatively cheap--it has a great tone--better, to my ears than boutique preamps like the Aguil;ar or the demeter--but i got mine for $418 on ebay. Expensive for a DI, but what you're paying for is simplictiy and a focus on sound rather than features.

The Millenia TD_1 is I think like $1800 bucks, no? I would love to try one, it looks really great, but i wonder if it's really nearly four times as good as the Avalon? maybe--if I had a lot of dough, I'd jump on the Millenia to find out. Manwhule, the avalon is bette than anything I've ever played through except maybe a neve studio strip.

I drag the avalon to bar and club gigs, no problem.
Click to expand...

Smoke means that the TD-1 has a fully parametric EQ,the U-5 just has a few pre-sets! The TD-1 also has variable input impedance and nine outputs! The TD-1 also sounds better,but don't take my word for it,go check one out for yourself.If you can,A/B it with the U-5 and you will see what I am talking about! By-the-way,it retails for $1495.00,and is well worth the extra dough.

John
 
#27
jokerjkny said:
:eek: :confused:

:scowl: :spit:

:bawl: :crying:

:help:

but seriously,

how does the TD-1 sound compared to the STT-1? inquiring minds with a terrible studio recording fix wanna know!
Click to expand...

They both sound great,but the STT-1 has a alot more features such as a compressor that can be tube or solid state,and an eq section that is even more flexable than the TD-1! There are quite a few differences(too many to list here)! Check-out the specs on both at mil-media.com

John
 
#29
PB+J said:
So besides that it has more features, how does it soound better?

The thing I like about the U5 is the simplicity--I don't WANT to twiddle knobs
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong,the U-5 is a good unit and I used to own one. That being said,the sound of the TD-1 has a lot more depth and sparkle, and with the extra features like the parametric eq and the different input impedences,you can taylor it to sound like whatever you want,instead of just having a few presets that you can't even change! I used my U-5 when I went to demo Meyer speakers,and I have to tell you,after I bought my Meyer cabinets,they sounded way better with the TD-1! Also,believe it or not,I am not some rich guy with unlimited funds,I am just a tone freak and when I hear something I like,I figure out a way to get it!!!

Like I said before,go try one out,I think you will love it as much as I do!

John
 
#30
jokerjkny said:
oh my freakin',

a little OT, but on Invalid Link Removed, those [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] are simply mind boggling... :eek: :help:

can only imagine what the TD-1 sounds like...
Click to expand...


Man you aren't kidding! That thing makes the avalon and alembics sound harsh, blurry, and fuzzy! Too bad its a $3000 preamp :crying:
 
#31
That Millenniuim sounds smoking!!!!! Although for my purposes I think the U5 is going to work beautifully. Lucky for me I get to try it on a couple of gigs before commiting to buy it. On another note, I had a gig last night and for fun a friend of mine loaned me an old Alembic F2-B, and that thing sound SOOOOOO warm and punchy, I really love that pre. I had it set to it's "flat setting," 2-10-2, bass-mid-treble. The only drag is that the F2-B doesn't have balanced out but nevertheless it sounded great.
 
#32
caesarbass said:
That Millenniuim sounds smoking!!!!! Although for my purposes I think the U5 is going to work beautifully. Lucky for me I get to try it on a couple of gigs before commiting to buy it. On another note, I had a gig last night and for fun a friend of mine loaned me an old Alembic F2-B, and that thing sound SOOOOOO warm and punchy, I really love that pre. I had it set to it's "flat setting," 2-10-2, bass-mid-treble. The only drag is that the F2-B doesn't have balanced out but nevertheless it sounded great.
Click to expand...

If you liked the F2-B,try an Alembic F1-X. It is a one channel pre-amp with a balanced out!

John
 
#34
Yeah, maybe this thread belongs in effects, and maybe it should be merged with an existing U5 thread. In fact, i'll probably do just that after a few, but for now i figured i'd just post it. :p

For a good while i've wanted to try out a U5. The local Sam Ash in new haven has one so i figured i'd bring in my poweramp and demeter preamp so i could compare it to something i knew. unfortunately the basses and cabs they had there left me underwhelmed and i didnt feel like i was giving the U5 a fair shake.

so today i bring over my bass (an old tobias 4-string) my stewart poweramp, a bag end 12 and 15 (my usual rig) as the comparison "platform" and bring along my demeter 1.5 space 201 and swr electric blue as the contenders. i also brought a pair of akg k240 headphones.

a side note - today was sunday, i get there at 1 PM, the store is slightly busy. i bring them a typed list of everything i'm bringing into the store including cables. at the door every employee in the store asked what the heck i was doing, even the manager had to come down. i explained fifty times i was bringing in my rig so i could make an intelligent comparison of the U5 to my preamps. they looked at me like i had 3 heads! kept asking...

"but why did you bring your stuff here? do you want to sell it?"

"no, i want to compare your preamp to mine using my stuff because that's what i'm familiar with and that way i can give it a fair shake and compare them intelligently"

- "OK, but why are you bringing your stuff in here?"

eventually they aquiesced and let me bring it in, but you could tell they weren't happy. they also stopped me so they could write down every serial # despite the fact that they sell none of the gear i brought in save for a pedal. on the way out? they didnt bother to check it...... :rolleyes: I've brought tons of stuff into my two local smaller stores on several occasions w/o incident. after that reception i don't think i would have bought the U5 there no matter what. :eyebrow:

anyhow, the U5 was cool, but not so over the top that i had to own it or die. Compared to the demeter it wasn't as "warm" or "thick", and compared to the SWR it wasn't quite as "hi-fi". If anything it sounded "raw" and a little "harsh" no matter where i set the gain control. Not that it sounded bad by any means, but i liked what i use better. The eq presets are all very cool, #2 and #5 being my favorites. I'll probably get one someday as it's definitely a cool unit, it just wasnt a "jaw dropping" experience.
 
#36
Dirk Diggler said:
Thanks for the review Ivanmike. :)
I've always been tempted by those, but never tried one.
Now I'm not in a hurry.
Dirk
Click to expand...
lol- actually they're not bad, just not the huge tonal jump i was expecting. not like an ALEMBIC, or anything. know where i can get one? :p
 
#39
all good ivan,

the avalon seems best suited for certain rigs and maybe not for others. i.e. with my more neutral Acmes, it helps give a little cut and presence.

and hilarious story. ironic isnt it? despite being surrounded by gear, most gents who work there just arent as serious or as concerned about tone as we are.
 

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