Avalon U5 Class A DI Preamp/EQ

Variable gain preamp to +30dB. Dual microphone and line outputs.

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

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"Magic Box"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
It would be nice if they included the rack-mount kit instead of selling it for $80. If it had a mute switch it would be perfect.

Quality:
Well built & road worthy. Plus, it looks cool!

Value:
Expensive and worth it if you demand the best. You'll know where the extra $'s went as soon as you plug in!

Desirability:
Showing up with a U5 instantly buys you credibility with engineers and other musicians. Having one in your studio impresses clients. This peice of gear lets people know you are SERIOUS about your tone!

Sound:
Without a doubt the best sounding direct box made! It has about 8 different settings voiced for specific instruments.

Support:
Never had a problem so I never needed 'em.

Overall:
I'm a pro bass player and bought mine used a couple of years ago. I bought it for sessions (and it works great) but I got a touring gig this year so I put it in my live rack. I figure if I play a good guitar into my Avalon and send that signal to the engineer it will be hard for him to screw up my sound in the house! The U5 will be the last link in my signal chain for a long time.

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"not worth 600! what a hype! maybe 300"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
 
 
 
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Sound:
not that impressed! my digitech gsp1101 has just as good di built in actually im thinking of sending this back, doesnt really do anything for sound in my studio 600.00 hype i had to try, but trust me not worth it. also my countryman sounds just as good

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"The best DI ever."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Not feature-laden at all, but I was never really left wanting. It does what it does extremely well.

Value:
It's very expensive relative to other excellent DI boxes, but it is absolutely the top of the heap. Honestly, it's worth whatever you pay for it.

Desirability:
How "sexy" is a DI box? It's utilitarian, really, it just makes everything better. The person who finds that concept appealing, you will also enjoy this product

Sound:
Tight, punchy, and extremely clean. Nothing I have yet heard sounds better for recording bass.

Support:
No experience here

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"Legendary DI"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
I gave this a nine on features because it's not necessarily a swiss army knife device. That said, DIs aren't supposed to be. Do you want something that gives you parametric EQ? Do you want thick, tubey tone to warm up your acoustic guitar's stock pickup? Do you want a mic preamp? Get something that isn't a DI. A DI is supposed to take the signal and boost it enough to get it down the line to the mixer before sending it to your amp. This thing does way more than that. Any rating of the features of a DI needs to take that into consideration. My only gripe is that it can't be phantom powered, but I'm guessing that they did that because you need more juice to get as accurate a signal as the Avalon will deliver.

Quality:
Built like a tank. This unit is widely used by professional touring companies.

Value:
When you're talking about close to $600 for a DI, you have to really need that quality level. At some point you encounter diminishing returns for your money and in a blind listening test I doubt that the uneducated listener is going to be able to tell the difference between an Avalon DI'd signal and a Countryman DI'd signal. But if you're doing an album or running sound in a really nice place, the Avalon is totally worth it. I gave it an eight just because it's a high end piece of gear, and pretty much no high end gear can be considered "value" priced.

Desirability:
It looks sexy. It sounds great. It's practically legendary. My only gripe is the form factor: two rack spaces tall and half a rack wide is almost unusable. And $70 for rackmount gear is robbery.

Sound:
As a guitarist friend told me when I was in his music store buying DIs, "The Countryman is like a Toyota. The Avalon is like a Benz." Several months of using this and a few other DIs in a variety of situations have definitely confirmed that statement. Turn off the "tone" circuit and you have a pure signal from your instrument that isn't colored at all, positively or negatively. All of the transients are there in detail and there is no flagging in the lower frequencies. Turn on the "tone" circuit and you're able to pick from some well thought out presets, all of which are useful in situations where you're plugging something in and need a quick setting.

Ease of Use:
My five year old daughter could be shown how run this thing in minutes. The only thing you might even need a manual for is an explaination of the tone curves.

Support:
I haven't needed to call them. I expect that they are quite bored at the Avalon service center.

Overall:
A few minor niggles will prevent this from being a home studio gem (and they're all price related) but the idea of not owning one on a serious project is laughable. I'll always have one around if money is on the line.

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Avalon U5 Class A Preamp Customer Review

Overall:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
This category is hard for me to rate. The U5 is intended to be used as a DI. Accordingly, the controls are minimal. Don't forget that many DI's offer no control at all. Using it as preamp, I find myself wishing for a parametric EQ and perhaps a compressor, but it's a little unfair to expect these on a DI. That said, there are advantages to a simple control layout, and the U5 manages to produce good tone in almost all situation eve without the EQ or compression that a true preamp unit might offer.

Quality:
The U5 is (like all Avalon products) a top quality unit. Tough as nails-- I don't hesitate to travel with it and have used (and abused!) mine extensively with no problems.

Value:
As Di's go, this a pretty pricey one, and not cheap even when compared with preamps. That said, sometimes you *do* get what you pay for. The Avalon delivers good sound, is tough enough for live work, and is very easy to use.

Sound:
I use it as a preamp and DI for bass guitar in live situations. It produces a clear, deep tone with little coloration, allowing the true sound of the instrument to come through.

Support:
No experience on this.

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