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Thermionic Culture

Thermionic Culture The Phoenix HG15

High-gain single-channel valve mic amp / compressor / EQ (near channel-strip)

Compressor / Limiter

Price not published

Specifications

Type
Compressor / Limiter
Description
High-gain single-channel valve mic amp / compressor / EQ (near channel-strip)
Topology
all-valve/tube, Class-A
Signal path
Analog
Channels
1
Channel format
mono, stereo-linkable
Form factor
19-inch rack
Powered
yes (mains powered)
Power (W)
19
Frequency response
+0/-1dB, 16Hz–50kHz
Impedance (Ω)
Input: Mic 1kΩ / Pad 2kΩ / Line 10kΩ; Output 600Ω
Country of manufacture
United Kingdom

Details

Controls: Gain, Threshold (7-way switch incl. 'Compressor Out'), Time Constant (6 Attack/Release combos), Side Chain Bass Cut, Presence & Air switches (with In/Out), Bass Cut, Output Level (reverse linear attenuator), Line/Pad input select, +48V switch

I/O: Fully balanced XLR in/out; Link socket (phono-phono) to pair two units for stereo

Notes: Single-channel version of the classic Phoenix compressor with mic-gain boost, active EQ (Presence/Air), and 'variable mu' style compression — the manufacturer itself calls it 'about the nearest we'll ever get to a conventional channel strip,' so device_class is a judgment call following brief guidance ('compressor = Compressor/Limiter') even though it also functions as a mic preamp + EQ. Max gain: Mic 52dB / Pad 38dB / Line 25dB; MOL +25.5dBu into 10kΩ; THD 0.12%(1kHz)/0.22%(100Hz); S/N 96dB; Net weight 4kg (from official spec PDF). Official site thermionicculture.com is currently unreachable/broken (root returns an empty Apache directory listing, product URLs 404) as of research date 2026-07-19; all data below sourced from Wayback Machine snapshot dated 2025-05-16 (and linked official spec-sheet PDFs) of the live Joomla/VirtueMart catalog, cross-checked against the current Independent Audio (US distributor) product listing, which also shows no USD pricing.

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