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Cloudlifter CL-X is a single-channel mic activator with a custom nickel-core Cinemag transformer and two selectable output levels. Where the CL-1 is engineered to stay out of the way, the CL-X is engineered to give something back, adding harmonic content and saturation as you drive the input harder.
The Cloudlifter that colours, on purpose, and more the harder you push it.
Cloud designed the CL-X around a custom nickel-core Cinemag transformer. At normal input levels the transformer delivers wide bandwidth and stays essentially clean. As the input signal increases, it begins contributing harmonic content and saturation, so the character changes dynamically with how hard the source hits it.
The result is a Cloudlifter that behaves differently depending on the material rather than applying one fixed colour. Two selectable output levels extend the gain range beyond what the CL-1 offers. Rodger Cloud has described the design intent as the more signal you give it, the more it gives back. Built in the United States.
At a Glance
| Brand | Cloud Microphones |
|---|---|
| Model | CL-X |
| Channels | 1 |
| Transformer | Custom nickel-core Cinemag |
| Output levels | Two selectable |
| Character | Clean at normal level, harmonically richer when driven |
| Power | 48V phantom power |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Warranty | Cloud Microphones limited lifetime warranty |
Should I Buy the CL-X or the CL-1?
Choose the CL-1 when you want the microphone to sound like itself with more level, which is the right call for most broadcast and podcast work. Choose the CL-X when you want the gain stage to contribute character, particularly on aggressive sources where transformer saturation is musically useful.
What Does the Cinemag Transformer Add?
At normal input levels it delivers wide bandwidth with very little colour. As input level rises it produces harmonic content and saturation, so the amount of character tracks how hard you drive it rather than sitting at a fixed amount.
What Are the Two Output Levels For?
They extend the usable gain range beyond the CL-1's fixed staging, letting you match the unit to preamps of different sensitivity and to sources of very different output level.
Why Cloud Microphones
Cloud Microphones builds in Tucson, Arizona. The company grew out of Stephen Sank's restoration work on original RCA ribbon microphones and Rodger Cloud's engineering, and it holds the patent on the discrete JFET circuit that every Cloudlifter uses. The Cloudlifter created the mic activator category outright and remains the reference product in it. Ribbon elements are cut, corrugated and installed by hand, and the whole line is manufactured in the United States.