Thread: Avalon U5 overkill?

Originally Posted by bewarethanatos

Oh, I certainly didn't mean they weren't worthy products to own- whether they are or not- I just mean that this seems to be the obligatory response to any pro-audio thread. Instead of "yeah, the Avalon U5 is worth the money over the Focusrite, IMHO" it's, (paraphrased) "buy a GT Brick instead." not to pick on anyone specificially, it just happened to be the scenario this time.

your paraphrasing is definitely slanted to make your own point. Here is my actual complete quote:

"the brick is a nice alternative and its cheaper and also gives you a quality pre"

it was definitely NOT the scenario, contrary to what you suggest.
The point was that in the brick you get a mic pre as well and its a nice alternative for the money- definitely not a 'buy a brick instead thing"

But of course Joe H was definitely right when he said:

"Both are great boxes. Take chance! I'll bet you you'll get the same results out for your recordings with either of those, or a Mackie Onyx pre. Yeah, that's right: An ONYX pre.

But hey, it's your $$$, spend it any way you like. "

Cheers 8)

Sorry to come late but I thought to report my thoughts about the same DI/Preamp search.
I tested three boxes side by side with what I consider the most difficult instrument to DI: electric guitar.
The boxes were: Avalon U5, Summit 2ba-221 and SPL Gainstation1.
To make it short, all were great and very different but:
The summit was very nice with the solid state circuit and more and more muddy (especially in the midrange) while you were adding more tube channel (while compensating the solid circuit).
The Avalon was alive and very detailed but I found the 5 eq presets being very bass-tailored and making it a bass dedicated box.
The Spl has been one of the best surprises of these last years for me.
The sound was rich, detailed, very dynamic even with just the solid state path engaged. The attack was very fast and defined. Engagin the tube path allowed a lot of nuances, which I found be wider than the ones offered by the U5. It is one of the instruments that made me want to play while testing. I kept the Spl. At the end I find having an astonishing DI plus a very good mic preamp and a nice compressor all in one box that, even if it was the most expensive of the test, didn't took more than 10 seconds to make me go for it and never cry for the decision.
I can consider myself being very boring when it comes to sound quality (sorry for all the ones who work with me) and this has been one of the very few boxes that made me happy with no reserve.
Hope I didn't show up late....
my best,
luca
www.unguitar.com