Cloud True Blue CL-520

 

ON SALE - SAVE $50 !!
valid Oct 1 - 31, 2026

The CL-520 is a next-generation 500 series microphone preamp created through a collaboration between Cloud Microphones and TRUE Systems, combining Cloud's relentless focus on high-quality, low-noise gain staging with TRUE Systems' 20+ years in high-end studios, live sound, and post-production environments.

Designed for stunning musical accuracy, the TRUE BLUE 520 captures sound with exceptional depth, clarity, and dimension without relying on coloration or exaggerated character. The fully balanced topology provides outstanding low THD+N, wide bandwidth, and fast transient response, ensuring reliable signal integrity in any recording environment.

What you hear is what you capture. Focus on the performance, the mic placement, the source. The TRUE BLUE 520 delivers exactly what's in front of the microphone.

Performance Features:

- Extended 76 dB gain range
- Musically tuned variable high-pass filter
- Dedicated Dynamic and Ribbon Mode with optimized impedance and signal path for passive microphones
- Cloud Touch Interface (patent pending) activate high-grade telecom relays for precise, reliable signal switching
- The TRUE BLUE 520 is engineered to sound finished from the source: record-ready.

Capacitive Touch Controls:

Gain Range
6 dB to 76 dB

Maximum Output Level
+26 dBu

Bandwidth
-3 dB: 6 Hz to 630 kHz
±0.25 dB: 10 Hz to 250 kHz

Phase Response
@ +26 dBu output
2.5°: 30 Hz to 20 kHz (40 dB gain)
2.5° @ 30 Hz, 3.3° @ 20 kHz (60 dB gain)

THD+N
< 0.0004% @ +28 dBu output

Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)
< 0.0005% (MOD) @ 40 dB gain

Equivalent Input Noise (EIN)
-133 dBu (unweighted, 20 Hz–20 kHz, Rs = 0 Ω)
-135 dBu (A-weighted, Rs = 0 Ω)

Slew Rate
54 V/µs

Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR)
92 dB (30 Hz–20 kHz, +10 dBu CMV input)

Input Impedance
5 kΩ (phantom power engaged)
10 kΩ (Dynamic/Ribbon mode)

TRUE BLUE CL-520 Preamp is a precision 500-series mic preamp designed to deliver the highest possible level of sonic realism. It doesn’t color your sound—it reveals it with breathtaking clarity. Unlike traditional “transparent” preamps that can feel flat or lifeless, the TRUE BLUE 520 produces a stunning three-dimensional soundstage. Every nuance, transient, and harmonic is captured with remarkable resolution. You hear the microphone. You hear the talent. You hear the space—exactly as they truly are.

TRUE Legacy Reimagined - Built from a 25-year lineage with the TRUE Systems Precision 8 preamp with a proven history in live and studio performance (Kennedy Center, Warner Bros, Remote trucks at Coachella, Bonnaro, etc.), the TRUE BLUE preamps build upon the core of the TRUE designs utilizing modern innovation and technology to improve performance, reliability, and user experience. 

Innovative patent-pending Cloud Touch Control System uses microprocessor controlled telecom-grade relays yielding 100x the reliability; expanding life cycle over conventional mechanical switching systems.

Illuminated interface is easy to see and intuitive to use, this is especially helpful in typical darker studio environments 

Ribbon/Dynamic Mode automatically removes front end phantom power circuitry, creating a capacitor-free front end, lowering distortion and raising the input impedance to 10kOhms.

Blink-Delay features prevent accidental engagement of Phantom Power and High Gain mode. The Phantom Power button must be held for 2 seconds, the LED will blink and go solid when it engages. This must be held to engage or disengage the +48v Phantom Power. This will prevent accidental damage to ribbon and tube mics, as well as unintentionally disengaging the phantom when being used.

High Gain mode provides an additional 16 dB of clean gain, bringing total available gain to 76 dB. The function is engaged by holding the button for three seconds, preventing unintended activation. The indicator will blink during engagement.

High Gain can be disengaged instantly without delay, allowing immediate recovery if the added gain is excessive. This behavior helps protect monitors and speakers from sudden level changes while maintaining fast, intuitive control during use.

INSTRUMENT DI IN and THRU jacks act as a “split”, for simplified interconnections.
The instrument DI IN is routed to the preamp core while the THRU jack can pass the instrument signal along to an external amp, or an additional DI signal path.

Powerful Focus with HPF control:
The continuously variable HPF provides precise control over low frequency content, making it especially effective for vocal applications where proximity effect can cause excessive low end buildup. With smooth adjustment from 25 Hz to 420 Hz, it allows targeted reduction of low and low mid frequencies that contribute to muddiness and plosives, without compromising the natural tone. This flexibility makes it easy to tailor the response to different microphone types and sources, helping maintain clarity across vocals, bass instruments, and other low frequency rich material.

“This preamp completely changed the way I think about transparency,” says Rodger Cloud, founder of Cloud Microphones. “It’s deeply authentic—like lifting a blanket off your sound. The preamp is designed to give you exactly what the microphone heard, what the talent produced, and what the acoustical environment allowed.