Warm Audio WA273-EQ Microphone Preamp EQ

If there’s one style of preamp that professional engineers would unanimously agree has defined the tone of pop/rock records for decades, it would most definitely be the venerable 73-style of mic pre. 73-style preamps have been massively used in recording and live applications for many years and are still considered to be the Holy Grail of preamp choices today.  The Warm Audio WA73 Family consists of single and dual channel 73-style preamps (with & w/out EQ), that each pay careful homage to British audio history.

When we at Warm Audio decided to release the WA273-EQ it was imperative that it met vintage expectation in both design and performance.  The tone and sweet character that vintage 73-style mic preamps impart is so unique and familiar, that we had only the pure desire to release sonically accurate reproductions. After years of R&D, careful reverse-engineering, and countless hours of auditioning, the WA273-EQ has been born!

The WA273-EQ is a Desert Island boutique preamp, but it can also be classified as a studio and live work-horse.  Classic 73-style preamps are known for being versatile tools that work with all kinds of microphones from Condenser, to Dynamic, to Ribbon.  The WA273-EQ equally shines on all types of microphones and sources including; vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, bass, drums, percussion, orchestras, keyboards, and even as a tone shaping tool to run partial or complete mixes through.  With 80dB of gain and a fully discrete Carnhill Transformer balanced signal path, there’s no recording, mixing or engineering task that the WA273-EQ can’t handle.

FEATURES:

• Handwired, hand-assembled 1073-style preamplifier/EQ
• Fully discrete, Class A, transformer-balanced circuitry
• UK-made Carnhill Transformers
• 80dB of gain handles any type of microphone, including low-output ribbons
• Resistor-stepped rotary gain switches for easy recall
• Tone buttons change input transformer impedance for mic optimization and tonal shaping
• Polarity switches
• 48V phantom power
• 4-position inductor-based highpass filters, selectable for Off, 50, 80, 160, or 300Hz
• Inductor-based 3-band equalization per-channel
• Low-band boost/cut at 35, 60, 110, or 220Hz
• Mid-band boost/cut at 360, 700, 1600, 3200, 4800, or 7200Hz
• High-band boost/cut at 10, 12, or 16kHz
• Additional high-band frequency EQ points added (compared to vintage 1073)
• XLR mic inputs
• Line-level TRS inputs
• TS Send/Receive insert jacks
• XLR and TRS line-level outputs
• DI instrument inputs
• Output level controls
• LED level indication meters
• Rugged 19″ rackmount chassis
• Ground lift switch
• Internal IEC 115V/230V power inlet