Warm Audio WA73

If there's one mic preamp that professional engineers of all ages around the world adore in equal measure and that has shaped the sound of countless rock and pop albums over the last 50 years like no other, it's definitely the 1073. The 1073 has been used massively in studio and live applications for decades and is still considered the "holy grail" of mic preamps today. The Warm Audio WA73 family offers one and two channel recreations of this classic British preamp (with & without EQ), all of which pay careful and humble homage to the original circuitry.

The WA73 family of preamps are boutique preamps that can be very well categorised as studio and live workhorses at the same time. The classic 1073 circuit is known as a versatile tool that harmonises fantastically with all types of microphones, from condenser to dynamic and ribbon. The newly launched WA73 family is equally suitable for all types of microphones and sources such as vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, percussion, orchestra, keyboards, and even as a sound shaping tool to perform partial or full mixes. With 80 dB of gain, a fully discrete balanced signal path equipped with high quality Carnhill transformers and a versatile 3-band inductor EQ (on WA73-EQ and WA273-EQ products), there is no recording, mixing or engineering task that the WA73, WA73-EQ, WA273 and WA273-EQ can't handle and excite.

Hand-wired, hand-assembled:

The classic 1073 was hand-wired and so is the WA73 family. According to a number of audio gurus, part of the classic sound character of the 1073 is due to the hand-wired circuitry of the units. The entire WA73 preamp family (including the EQs) is authentically hand-wired and hand-assembled, including the PCB components, which are all assembled by hand.

UK Custom Carnhill Transformer:

1073 enthusiasts are unequivocal about the importance of components in classic circuits. A very common topic of conversation is the transformers. Various versions of transformers have been used in classic vintage equipment over the years. The most popular of these were the very first versions from Marinair Radar. Marinair Radar transformers are considered the first choice for 1073 preamps due to their sonic characteristics. Warm Audio worked closely with the renowned manufacturer Carnhill Transformers from Cambridgeshire, UK, to develop the most faithful possible replicas of these coveted transformers. These fantastic Carnhill transformers are used throughout the WA73 family. As a result, the WA73 family comes closer to the sound of the early vintage devices than any other modern 1073 preamp.

Signal path and capacitors:

An important part of classic British circuitry that is not often talked about is the different types of capacitors and output transistors that were used. In order to maintain the integrity of the original design, it became apparent in the development process that it was important to use tantalum and polystyrene capacitors in the signal path and certain output transistors that behave much more smoothly in the high gain settings than what is typically found in modern 1073 replicas.