For the desktop form factor, I've found the Avalon V5 as premium as a mic pre gets, at any price.

Had it for a few months now and needed a standalone pre that sits on my computer desk. I didn't want a bulky rack sized unit with rack ears sticking out, and definitely didn't want to mess with additional rack furniture.

My use is recording spoken word (sometimes guitar). Tested with some nice condenser mics, Neumann KM184, KMR81i, Senn MKH-50, Austrian Audio OC818. Also directly compared it to other mic pres, the Grace m101, Great River ME-1NV, and built ins on the RME Babyface Pro. These all fed into a Lynx Hilo AD-DA.

As for the sound, it's clean, neutral, full. Definitely not going to get significant "color" or "warmth" (Great River) by driving the gain hard… I tried. I was impressed that the signal did stay acceptably clean even at the highest gain setting. Comparing against other "clean" preamps (Grace, RME), the tonal balance was practically identical, but transients were a touch softer, more laid back (most likely from the transformer). I found this pleasing for my voice. It rounded some edge off of undesired sibilance, and made me a touch breathier, less in your face. The "Tone" choices seem high quality. I mostly used it for low cut, which is nice if your mic doesn't have this. I did play with reamping some old tracks, and when engaged, I didn't notice any noise or degradation of the signal. You do have to increase gain on some of the more aggressive settings. I guess this is the trade off.

As for construction, full marks. Thick faceplate with great finish and everything pleasing to touch. Big knobs with chunky feeling detents, and reference lines that match up to the print. Screwed in rubber feet. Internal power supply (no wall wart). The unit feels heavy and sturdy. Also, the VU meter is just cool. Same with the lit buttons. Bonus points to Avalon for a block diagram in the manual. Few companies do this. Power switch… check. Sounds silly, but some "desktop" mic pres don't even have one. Is it perfect? No. Power switch could be on front (but is debatable). Phantom could have a dedicated button. Boost gain markings only show the mic reference levels. But I'm reaching here.

In the end, I could describe this as a "classy" product, and very hard to fault. What it promises to do, it does, and with a kind of nostalgic flavor (especially the silver version). It reminds me of an old Marantz tube amp I grew up with. I pair it with a OC818 and it's the best combo for my voice I've found so far.

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I just purchased an Avalon vocal preamp,a Neumann M-149 microphone and could not be more happy with my purchase. My salesman Mr.Rog Was very helpful
me making all the correct decisions. I highly recommend Sweet water these guys know what they're doing extremely helpful..

I used this preamp on some great live streams and social media content. I have also begin using it in my recording studio on some gospel music and pop music projects. It is warm, clear, and adds an amazing amount of mic presence. Beforehand, I was using a Presonus Tubepre. This is an amazing step in the right direction of professionalism. Don't hesitate to get one!

I bought it for vocal recording. I knew I needed something to bring out the vocals and lower the workflow after recording. The vocals are so full and creamy it's amazing. You literally don't have to do much to mix it. Coupled with my WA-87 and Focusrite 18i20 it's legendary compared to what I was working with before the upgrade. Couldn't find anything online on this. Which is crazy!!

Es definitivamente una pieza clave para tu trabajo de VoiceOver!!

The V5 is just straight up great. When I was researching it there were not a lot of reviews out there on it and my concern initially was that it was a DI/Reamping device first and the Mic pre part of it was secondary. That is not the case. The V5 is a great Mic pre. When I plugged it in for the first time and recorded some vocals I was just blown away by the clarity, headroom and presence. I have used it with my Slate Digital ML-1 & ML-2 Mics for vocals and micing my Guitar amp so far, and the results were amazing. The V5 will not disappoint.

From Vocals, to acoustics. Even on the low end this V5 is exactly what I was looking for in regards to taking that next step, in quality in all my recordings.