Buzz Audio 500 series ELIXIR mic preamp

ELIXIR

mic preamp for 500 series

Standing out from the crowd, the Elixir Class A microphone preamp offers exciting and vibrant tones in the 500 Series format.

audio path quality

All discrete signal path using Buzz Audio's True Class A BE40 amplifiers at the input and BE50 high current line drivers to excite the Lundahl LL1517 output transformer. The topology is quite different to most other mic preamps in that it is balanced from input to output. The instrument input features our BE43 "bootstrapped FET" high impedance interface that really pumps as a bass DI.

mojo not mud

The Elixir is an ideal compliment to other 500 series preamps that feature a dark or middly sound. The wide frequency response and fast transient response plus color from the output transformer generate a "warm sweet liquid" sound quality that sets it apart from that crowd. These attributes make the Elixir particulary good at recording percussion, drums (you need to hear it on snare), vocals and stringed instruments. When used at high gains and high output levels the sound of the Elixir does not turn "dirty", unlike preamps with poor slew rate performance thereby generating dynamic distortions.

specs that matter

The Elixir noise floor is as low as can under the laws of physics and there is plenty of gain for low output ribbon and dynamic microphones. The output headroom at +34dBu is outstandingly unique in the 500 series format, and adds a feeling of real effortlessness to the sound quality. The transformer-less mic input presents a "non-reactive" load to the microphone which means you hear exactly what the microphone manufacturer intended, without the unpredictable nature of an input transformer.