Cranborne CAMDEN 500 SERIES

Simply put, Camden 500 is the most transparent, linear preamplifier you'll ever hear.

From the ground up, Camden 500 was designed to be the ultimate interface for the modern studio and engineer and to withstand the rigors of modern production and workflow techniques. It features a completely original, custom preamp topology that achieves astonishing low noise and low distortion performance as well as frequency and phase linearity across all gain settings. The end result is an EIN (signal-to-noise ratio) of -129.8dB (150 ohms, unweighted), THD+N (rate of harmonic distortion) as low as 0.0002%, 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 have developed the MOJO function - two styles of analogue saturation discreet sound that makes the Camden 500 the fattest, warmest, most distinctive preamp in your arsenal - all at the turn of a knob. The icing on the cake is that unlike Transformers and other existing designs, MOJO can be subtle, it can also be over-the-top, but it can also be Bypassed.

Clean, precise and natural with all gain levels
While preamp specifications often quote fantastic numbers for specific gain values, when the gain is increased, these numbers often change drastically. The Camden 500 has been designed to maintain all its impressive performance at all gain levels, from 8 dB to 68 dB. 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, allowing it to be usable at any gain level and for any possible source/mic combination .

Vintage, warm and colorful thanks to MOJO
Camden 500 is equipped with MOJO - a new type of saturation circuit consisting of a set of filters and discrete second or third order harmonic generators that enable precise emulation of saturation and bass boost behaviors frequencies of vintage transformers and tube equipment. The key to MOJO is that it can be dosed to taste; use subtle amounts for gentle 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 Camden 500's pristine core sound.

THUMP
Thump emulates the saturation of a famous “Vintage English” transformer. On the 4th notch. But since it has 11 notches, so it can generate more harmonics than a transformer is capable of. A style that works best on - but is not only - low frequency based instruments. Thump excites low frequencies by boosting harmonics in the ~100Hz to 20Hz range and below without boosting fundamental frequencies, resulting in fuller low frequencies 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 moves will produce an extreme smearing effect, because all sound energy will be amplified, even unwanted audio between notes.

CREAM
CREAM simulates tube saturation; pushed all the way, it begins to compress mid frequencies and more harmonic saturation. It introduces a vintage finesse that allows tracks to sit deep within a complex mix, in a way that can't be replicated with EQ. Setting CREAM significantly increases THD while smoothing low and mid frequencies. As with THUMP, CREAM is not EQ-based. It is purely achieved by mixing 2 saturation levels with the original signal and additional harmonics. CREAM behaves entirely based on the harmonic signature of the input source. It will increase the avant-garde tone and create unique harmonic shaping effects on mid-range instruments, but it will also add base frequency effects on full-range sources as well as a unique compression effect on transient.

Features
• Fully discrete, transformerless design with our custom 'Camden' preamp topology designed by Director of Engineering - Edward Holmes.
• Optimized and fully compliant with the 500 format.
• Camden 500 is not a 19" unit shoehorned into a 500 format module, it was designed from the ground up to operate under low voltage power rails and provide the current limitations of the 500 format while still delivering revolutionary performance.

Operates at near-theoretical limits of noise, distortion and phase/frequency linearity at all gain settings.
• EIN: < -129.5dBu, 150 ohm source, unweighted, < -135.5dBu, common inputs, unweighted
• THD+N: < 0.0004%, 1kHz, 35dB gain, 24dBu output
• Intermodulation distortion: < 0.0008%, 50Hz and 7kHz, gain 35dB, output 20dBu
• Phase change: < 2.25°, gain 40dB, from 20Hz to 20kHz, < 4°, with maximum gain, from 20Hz to 20kHz
• Frequency response: < ±1dB, < 5 Hz to > 200 kHz, on all gain settings
• CMRRR: > 70dB, typ > 85dB, 35dB Gain, 10-20kHz, 100mV Common mode

Optimized input impedance and input headroom for Mic, Line and Hi-z sources.
• Mic preamp, Instrument DI and – thanks to the MOJO function – analog line level saturator
• Re-amp your DAW tracks through MOJO to add analog saturation to your Stems, VSTs, and stereo mixes

Custom 'Mojo' analog saturation circuit with variable control, true bypass, and 2 discrete styles - Thump and Cream.
• Thump excites low-end content by amplifying the lowest even and odd harmonics from a range of 160Hz to 20Hz and below
• Cream boosts even/odd harmonics while reducing the amplitude of fundamental frequencies by adding typical transients to transformers
• Gold-plated back panel connectors to increase conductivity and durability
• Designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK