Heritage Audio HA73EQ ELITE
A Classic Pre/EQ That Won't Break the Bank
Heritage
Audio's value-packed ELITE series leverages the expertise gleaned from
years of making acclaimed vintage-inspired equipment. For the HA73EQ
ELITE, Heritage Audio set its target high: their own widely respected,
hand-wired HA73jr and DMA73 preamps — themselves based on the most
iconic vintage console preamp/EQ module in history, the 1073. In
Sweetwater's opinion, they have succeeded. You might ask how Heritage
can offer the same world-class sound and performance at such a
budget-friendly price. Through economies of scale, mostly. They don't
cut corners on components (the HA73EQ ELITE employs genuine Carnhill
input and output transformers), but they do order parts and build in
quantity, using lean manufacturing and modern construction techniques,
in the same Spanish factory as the rest of their line.
The mother of all preamps
The
Heritage Audio HA73EQ ELITE preamp/EQ packs your rack with a potent
dose of vintage vibe. It's based on the iconic 1073, amplifying any
microphone or instrument with vibrant clarity and punch. Drive the input
harder to get rich, saturated sound like you would on a vintage
console. With 80dB of gain, you've got a preamp that's ready to bring
out the best in any microphone — condenser, dynamic, or ribbon. Trust
us: it's really difficult to make this thing sound bad!
The holy grail of EQ
The
EQ section of the HA73EQ ELITE adheres to the classic 1073 circuit
topology. The vintage 1073 is the holy grail of EQ, and the Heritage
Audio 73EQ JR nails its sonics and behavior (complete with its fabled
harmonic distortion). It's a three-band affair, with ±16dB of fixed HF
shelving; ±18dB of fixed-Q midband peaking with selectable center
frequencies at 360Hz, 700Hz, 1.6kHz, 3.2kHz, 4.8kHz, and 7.2kHz; and
±16dB of LF shelving, selectable at 35Hz, 60Hz, 110Hz, and 220Hz. A
highpass filter, selectable at 50Hz, 80Hz, 160Hz, and 300Hz, lets you
trim your signals of unwanted low end. If you've never worked with a
1073-style EQ before, all we can say is: you're in for a serious treat.
Add rich transformer saturation to any source
The
Heritage Audio HA73EQ has Carnhill input and output transformers, ready
to add warmth, girth, and authority to any sound source — mic, line, or
even DI instruments. The DI circuit is ahead of the mic input
transformer, perfect for adding some hair to DI bass signals on the way
in. The HA73EQ has separate input and output gain controls, so you can
crank the input to get more transformer color, without overloading the
output stage.