There are switches to change both the load and level settings and also a gain knob to turn the gain up and down when the level switch is set to variable. Radial Engineering’s McBoost unit is the first in this roundup to have some additional features in comparison to the other models. Robust, quality components, made in the US and considerably cheaper than the CL-1, the Durham is a great alternative to a Cloudlifter.įor more information, see the Cathedral Pipes website. The gain boost although still clean and transparent is slighly lower than the other models in this roundup at +20db but that’s still likely to be enough in most cases. Made in the US, it includes Neutrik connectors and has a powder coated steel chassis, both of which are reassuring features from a quality perspective. The Durham MKii by Cathedral Pipes looks more like a Cloudlifter in construction than a FetHead does in that it doesn’t plug directly into your mic. The only niggle with it is that there tends to be a bit of play between the mic and the cable but this doesn’t impact performance in any way.Ĭlick here to the latest price on Amazon. Like the Cloudlifter, the FetHead provides a clean and transparent gain boost.
It’s still inline but perhaps less convenient than something like the FetHead which plugs directly into your microphone. With the Cloudlifter, you need to plug your mic into it and then run another XLR cable from the output port into your mixer or audio interface. The FetHead is a popular Cloudlifter alternative because it provides a similar amount of additional gain a lower price point and it does so without needing an additional XLR cable. For our comparison with Cloud’s CL-1, we’ll be looking at the standard FetHead. Models include the standard version, the FetHead Phantom which still passes phantom power to the microphone therefore making it suitable with condensers and the FetHead filter which features a high pass filter. The FetHead range contains models with different features for different applications. Triton Audio is a European company which is based in the Netherlands and that’s where its FetHead unit it built. Channels: 1 (other models are available in the range with more than one channel)Ĭloud’s video below provides a good overview of the unit.The unit is designed to provide a completely transparent boost meaning that it won’t change the sound of your mic in any way. What’s nice about them is that they’re manufactured in the US using quality components and Cloud offer a lifetime warranty which says a lot about how long they expect them to last. For more information on how the unit utilizes phantom power, see our article Does a Cloudlifter Need Phantom Power?īuilt with a solid steel chassis, the CL-1 is robust and made to stand up to regular use in the studio. This means that you don’t need to worry about batteries or finding a spare wall socket. The only power it requires is that of the 48v phantom power switch on your mixer, audio interface, or external phantom power unit. There are multiple models in the range but we’ll be looking at the original single channel CL-1 as all the alternatives we’ll cover are also single channel. All are inline mic activators which provide a similar amount of gain for low sensitivity dynamic and ribbon microphones.īefore we look further into these alternatives though, let’s take a look at the Cloudlifter in a bit more detail. In this roundup, we’ll explore the different options available and detail the pros and cons of each.Ĭloudlifter alternatives include the Triton Audio FetHead, the Cathedral Pipes Durham, the Radial McBoost and the sE Electronics Dynamite DM-1. This means that you can avoid having to crank up the preamps of your interface which risks introducing excessive noise.Īs popular as they are though, alternatives do exist, some of which are more friendly on the wallet and others which have additional features. Your support is hugely appreciated.įollowing its release back in 2010, the Cloudlifter has become one of the leading mic activators for boosting low sensitivity dynamic or ribbon microphones.īy using the phantom power voltage of an audio interface or mixer, the Cloudlifter provides +25db of clean gain which boosts the level of classic podcasting microphones such as the Shure SM7B.
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