My first experience with Soyuz products in 2021 was brief but memorable. I still recall the smooth, rich sound of the 017 FET condenser and its distinctive aesthetic heirloom-quality construction. When I heard about The Launcher Deluxe, I wondered if it could offer the classy vintage vibe and meticulous craftsmanship I associate with other Soyuz products. I opened the retail box to find The Launcher Deluxe in a custom soft case, which is stylish and undeniably practical for storage and transport. I also found a small envelope of product documentation, including the names and photos of the technicians who built and tested my review unit. That is another nice touch and reminder that Soyuz products are manually machined and assembled (with apparent pride) at their factory in Tula, Russia.
Outside the soft case, the compact Launcher Deluxe curiously appears both impressive and understated. The chassis is adorned with beautiful, ivory-colored enamel. Apart from some identifying graphics, only a pair of XLR-combo inputs and a corresponding pair of XLR outputs are visible. A pair of sliding switches on the underside of the chassis select either Launcher or Saturate mode for each channel.
Launcher mode works well for passive dynamic or tube condenser mics. The signal path is a 1:6 Soyuz input transformer and op-amp-based buffer circuit that converts phantom power into about 26 dB of harmonically-rich gain. Saturate mode works with low-impedance, line level sources as well as passive or tube mics that require no extra gain. The signal path is passive and features a 1:1 Soyuz output transformer. Saturate mode will also pass phantom power to accommodate FET condensers and active dynamic mics.