dbx 580 Mic Preamp - 500 Series

The dbx 580 slots seamlessly into your 500 Series rack as a compact, single-slot preamp that delivers intuitive gain staging and responsive tone shaping during live tracking and mixing. Its warm, slightly colored character captures vocal and instrument detail with musicality while maintaining clarity across the frequency spectrum. The tactile front-panel controls and real-time metering give you immediate feedback, making it straightforward to dial in compelling results This tracking intimate vocals, aggressive rock performances, or adding presence to digital sources.

Gain Structure & Signal Path

Up to 60dB of gain covers mic and instrument sources with headroom to spare; the 20dB pad handles hot sources without distortion, pushing your maximum input level to +35 dBu. Low input impedance on the mic input (1.7kΩ) and high impedance on the instrument input (500kΩ) ensure proper matching regardless of source, while RF filtering and CMRR >60dB keep interference and noise floor clean.

Tone & EQ Control

The Low and High Detail EQ controls let you sculpt presence and warmth, while the variable-frequency Low-Cut Filter eliminates rumble and proximity effect without fixed frequency constraints. Polarity invert simplifies phase alignment in multi-mic setups, and +48V phantom power supports condenser microphones directly from the module.

Key Features

• Up to 60dB of gain
• Variable-frequency Low-Cut Filter
• Low and High Detail Equalization Controls
• 20dB Pad
• Polarity Invert
• +48V Phantom Power
• Front Panel Instrument Input with MIC/INSTR switch
• VU Metering and Peak Indicator
• Electronically balanced/unbalanced input with RF filtering
• Maximum output level +22 dBu (balanced 30Ω, unbalanced 15Ω)
• 1-slot 500 Series format (6 × 5.25 × 1.5 inches, 1.3 lbs)
• Low power draw (80 mA per rail, 2.56 watts)

The dbx 580 combines transparent gain staging with forgiving EQ and sufficient headroom to become an instant favorite in any 500 Series chain.