Cranborne CAMDEN 500 SERIES

Simply put, Camden 500 is the most transparent, linear preamp you've ever heard.

From the outset, Camden 500 was designed to be the ultimate interface for the studio and the modern engineer and to withstand the rigours of modern production and workflow techniques. It features a completely original and customised preamp topology that delivers amazing low noise and low distortion performance as well as frequency and phase linearity across all gain settings. The end result is an EIN of -129.8dB (150 ohms, unweighted), THD+N (harmonic distortion) as low as 0.0002%, a frequency response of ±0.7dB from 5Hz to 200kHz with maximum gain and <2° phase shift between 20Hz - 20kHz.

For those times when you need a little more 'British' character, rather than using a transformer and learning to live with its drawbacks, Cranborne Audio has developed the MOJO function - two styles of discrete analogue saturation that make the Camden 500 the fattest, warmest and most distinctive preamp in your arsenal - all with the turn of a pot. The icing on the cake, unlike existing transformers and other designs, MOJO can be subtle, it can be overdriven, but it can also be Bypassed.

Clean, precise and natural with all gain levels
While preamp specifications often quote fantastic figures for specific gain values, when the gain is increased, these figures often change dramatically. The Camden 500 has been designed to retain its impressive performance at all gain levels, from 8dB to 68dB. This means that even when the preamp is operating at maximum gain, the phase and frequency response remains linear and the THD always remains inaudible, making it usable at any gain level and for any possible source/mic combination.

Vintage, warm and colourful with MOJO
Camden 500 features MOJO - a new type of saturation circuitry consisting of a set of second- or third-order discrete filters and harmonic generators that allow precise emulation of the saturation and low-frequency boosting behaviors of vintage transformers and tube equipment. The key to MOJO is that it can be metered to taste; use subtle amounts for smooth saturation, or turn it well beyond the point where destructive clipping would usually occur with a transformer. Perhaps the best thing about MOJO is that it can be bypassed to reveal the basic immaculate sound of the Camden 500.

THUMP
Thump emulates the saturation of a famous vintage English transformer. On the 4th notch. But since it has 11 notches, it can generate more harmonics than a transformer is capable of. A style that works best on - but is not limited to - low frequency based instruments. Thump excites the low frequencies by boosting the harmonics in the range of ~100Hz to 20Hz and below without boosting the fundamental frequencies, resulting in a fuller low end on all reproduction media. As Thump is not EQ based, the additional harmonic content is shaped by the source and its existing low frequency content, resulting in a natural additional addition of "Thump". Similar sounding EQ movements will produce an extreme slobbery effect, as all sound energy will be amplified, even the unwanted audio between notes.

CREAM
CREAM simulates tube saturation, pushed all the way up, it starts to compress the midrange frequencies and more harmonic saturation. It introduces a vintage finesse that allows tracks to sit deep in a complex mix in a way that cannot be reproduced with an EQ. The CREAM setting dramatically increases THD while smoothing the low and mid frequencies. As with THUMP, CREAM is not based on EQ. It is purely achieved by mixing 2 levels of saturation with the original signal and additional harmonics. CREAM behaves entirely according to the harmonic signature of the input source. It will enhance the cutting edge sound and create unique harmonic shaping effects on mid-spectrum instruments, but it will also add base frequency effects on wide band sources as well as a unique compression effect on transients.