TL Audio Ivory 2 5052

A work of art, masterpiece...

Pre-Amp / Input Section ----
The 5052 seems to support pretty much any analogue audio input type today, with a switch to select between Phantom power mics, non-phantom powered mics, standard line level input and instrument input.

This switch is accompanied by the various inputs on the rear of the unit, with the instrument input conveniently placed on the front of the unit, (good thinking TL Audio). I am also very glad to see that all the inputs (and outputs for that matter) seem to feature gold-plated contacts which you would expect from a high priced unit anyway.

After entering the unit, the signal will pass through a selectable -30dB MIC attenuation switch and a 90Hz high-pass filter, 90Hz seeming like a good frequency to cut at, but I would have shifted it up a little myself, an extra 10 – 20Hz would of made it perfect, but then again a filter such as this would be down to personal preference and the type of application, so maybe a variable filter next time TL?

Input gain is then selectable through the bright red knob which gives a very healthy amount of gain, (up to +60dB for mics, which is all you’ll ever need for nearly all mics). The Phase Reverse switch on the right of that is also a good standard switch to see, especially being a two channel unit.

Just after this pre-amp stage is a valve stage too, just to note, 'Drive' and 'Peak' LED's show the status of the valve drive for the 3 valve stages as a whole, (3 stages per channel). The 'peak' LED is very useful showing when the valves will come to near clipping level, the 'drive' LED becomes brighter as the valves are driven harder too, both very useful indicators.

No complaints on this stage at all, great stuff, I mean, it's only a pre-amp stage and it sounds very, very nice, but I'll get to the sound later on.

Compressor Section ----
Fully featured compression section with all the right adjustments which are very flexible. The attack and release ranges are by far enough to satisfy most if not all users’ needs.

It's also very nice to see a switch which allows the adjustment between hard and soft knee compression, this is something which you don't see too often.

Another great feature, which just keeps on giving this unit more reason to be used for almost ANY application is that the EQ sections output can easily be side-chained through the press of a switch. I'll also note that the compressor fully supports standard side-chain input through unbalanced 1/4" at the rear too, TL Audio are really thinking of every detail and feature here.

Below all of this is of course a switch to select whether or not to use the compression section. I'll just note here too that the compression is still performed within the unit whether routed into signal or not and so the Comp Gain Reduction still shows up in the VU's. GMU, (green knob) provides gain make-up with plenty of range (up to 20dB extra) and a valve stage is again placed at the end of the section.

EQ Section ----
Flexibility in an EQ section is what gives good reason to use a unit as a head unit and for a final master. Not stupidly over detailed, but detailed enough for a superb master is the 5052's EQ section, although bandwidth (Q) control for the top and bottom bands would have been very nice, they have though a selection to change these individually between shelving or peaking types which is very useful in certain situations.

Each band allows for between -15dB and +15dB cut and boost, more than enough, if you need more than this, your either a mentalist or your simply using the wrong equipment/vocalist or whatever! Although, some interesting sounds could result from using excessive amounts of boost as a valve stage is placed at the end of the EQ section too.

I am also VERY happy to see a selection for changing the EQ's position from after the compressor to before it by using the 'EQ Pre' switch. The inclusion of all these little extras just shows you that TL really do not cut any corners and look at every angle possible when creating their pre-amps/channel strips.

Output Section ----
The output stage is next to the pre-amp stage and features an Output Gain control and a final Limiter. The limiter being something which you could simply not do without when recording into digital gear.
The limiter allows you to set the level at which limiting kicks in, (the threshold) and a small red LED above lights when limiting is active, again, like many of the 5052’s LEDs, very useful. The limiter is nothing special, it just does the job, you will find that every now and then a sharp peak may slip through but it is very rare. The final output gain adjustment can be useful for when you have boosted a lot in the EQ section when you have the compressor before the EQ, so good stuff.
A ‘Bypass’ switch is also located to the left of the blue output gain knob and allows the signal to pass through untouched by the compressor and EQ stages, a good useful tool for comparing processed and unprocessed signals. Like I have mentioned before it’s the little features like this which help cover every corner of fantastic pre-amp/channel strip design and for such a price, the 5052 really is a diamond find.

Metering ----
The VU meters are definitely a pleasure to have when matched with analogue circuitry, of course a digital meter wouldn’t have gone a miss but space is very tight as it is I suppose and it is not the end of the world. The VU’s work as expected and allow you to switch between metering the Input, the Output, Compressor Gain Reduction and Limiter Gain Reduction, seems that they’ve covered all that is needed for metering.

Stereo Mode ----
A pleasing feature is that you can stereo link the gain reduction of the compressor and the limiter and the settings of the EQ. The first channel (the left side) then becomes the master control for these settings. The linking can of course be great for when mastering stereo tracks and using stereo recording techniques, having both channels receive the same amount of reduction for example will keep the stereo balance intact.

Build Quality ----
Absolutely exceptional, it is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. It’s good to see that the unit is manufactured in England, England having fantastic build quality standards and it goes to show on this unit. The quality also helps to reassure the user that this thing will indeed last you for as long as you’d be keeping it for, (and that would be forever… trust me!).

Sound ----
What we’ve been waiting for!
In a nutshell, unbelievable. The multiple valve stages seem to give the high ends, especially on vocals a glossiness and smooth sparkle to them, it is extremely pleasing on the ear. The highs are really something that show out for me in this unit, they really do turn a sharp spit/hiss of any signal into a very, very smooth sparkle making this unit fantastic for vocal recording, especially in aggressive styles. Overall the lows and mids are as you’d expect, very, very warm but while retaining a cleanliness in the signal, (maybe aided by the 5052’s exceptional SNR for a unit based on valves).

The EQ is the sweetest sounding ever, listening to the results of twisting a knob giving some healthy boost or cut just screams SMOOTH all over, it’s fantastic. Using extreme cuts and boosts on some EQ’s will sound harsh and very unnatural, it just sounds so damn fine on this bad-boy! The EQ really is something which will shine through for any user of this unit, boosts are really aided nicely by the valve stage at the end too.

The compressor sounds great too, not as much fun as the EQ, but still real good and sounds nearly as good as an analogue compressor could get.

The limiter, like the compressor, there’s not much to say, it does the job and does it sounding very well, it may not be fantastic for some deliberate extreme limiting to get that harsh cutting sound, but then again for a job like that your probably looking for a nice flexible digital limiter.

Overall ----
A FANTASTIC unit. You’ll fall in love with this thing after a good few uses and one of the many beauties of the 5052 is its ability to be used for almost any audio processing task, it is extremely dynamic and would be great as a head/final unit in any studio. It is something which you’ll get and most likely keep forever; it’s not a reseller by any means. At the price too, it’s an absolute steal, TL Audio really have done their homework for this one and you’ve got to give them a pat on the back for this masterpiece.