germanium
Lomo
The monster. Transformer isolated, all-discrete vintage Soviet LOMO germanium console preamps running directly into the original germanium buss amps to create a ~70 dB mic pre. This is the real deal vintage Soviet stuff. All-discrete and all Germanium.
It is difficult to overstate how scarce this configuration is. It will not be available for too much longer. A single channel of this design uses the original LOMO Console's channel preamp AND the main buss card running together to form a high-gain mic preamp. Given that each original LOMO console had only one main buss card - from the days of MONO - the components for this monster are exceedingly rare. This mic pre version is SO scarce that they will remain a newsletter/website exclusive until they are gone. My treat to you loyal Cycloptic colleagues.
Balanced Outputs (XLR or TRS) are terminated with vintage ADM 1:3 transformers. These were some of the nicest output transformers I’ve gotten my mitts on, so it seemed fitting to finish this rare germanium beast with such hefty & warm iron.
As of 3/25, I am officially OUT of original LOMO buss cards. My cloned versions are fast approaching and will be using all OEM transistors.
There will be a small batch that also utilize the original LOMO preamp cards. Availability will be VERY limited, so reach out now to get on the contact list for them.
MICROPHONE PREAMP
01:
LOMO Germanium 4-Channel
02:
LOMO Germanium 2-Channel
03:
LOMO Germanium 1-Channel
line driver + saturator
Adding analog “Color” and “Saturation” are more a part of the modern recording process than ever before…..so with some tweaks I’ve got the LOMO Germanium circuit operating as a super colorful line-amp. A very unique and toneful option to add discrete saturation and vibe to your tracks & mixes. Run audio straight through it to give things that warm vintage germanium vibe or crank the “Saturation” knob and SMASH the darn thing before sending it off. It is a truly unique and fuzzy color these LOMO gain amps can impart when pushed hard into saturation.
Each unit is racked as a pair for optional 2-buss flavor. Roughly 40dB of all-discrete germanium gain per channel with transformer-balanced inputs and outputs on TRS jacks for mating directly with your interface.
~3-4 week build time
$1250 Direct
lomo germanium FAQ
-
The LOMO Germanium circuit is a unique preamp/driver design using all-discrete Germanium transistor gain stages. These LOMO builds are using preamp cards that were pulled directly from vintage Soviet LOMO consoles. Exceedingly rare vintage parts. As far as is known, Cyclops Audio is the only place on the planet you can acquire these designs from.
-
The obvious comparisons are vintage RCA and the Chandler Germanium stuff. However, these LOMO circuits have a flavor all their own. I’ve tweaked the design of these finished builds to encourage MASSIVE amounts of saturation and they will go deep into that direction sonically.
-
The LOMO Germanium circuits run off a -24v power rail. I went with an external power supply & internal filter to keep these as quiet as humanly possible. There is also a dedicated +48v power supply for Phantom Power on the mic preamp. There is diode protection installed to prevent damage from plugging in the wrong adapter. Power supplies are included.
-
The mic preamp uses both the preamp gain cards from the channel strips of the vintage LOMO mixers AND the output/master buss cards together in series for 65-70dB of massive germanium gain. These are perfectly suited for microphone preamp application.
The Line Driver + Saturator uses only the preamp gain card to achieve ~40dB of gain. This level of gain is perfect for line-level sources such as your DAW interface sends. The circuit has been tweaked to encourage similar levels of saturation as the mic preamp so this makes for an excellent way to achieve that LOMO Germanium saturated sound on anything that you send into it.
-
Not currently, these are primarily done built-to-order. Supply of these vintage parts is EXTREMELY limited so it is first come, first serve. Pre-built Cyclops Audio stuff and one-off/unique builds will occasionally happen, so subscribe to the newsletter below to stay informed of these if they become available.