The maximum gain available on the review model was 71.4dB, and I measured an EIN figure of -120dBu (with a 100Ω source), which is rather better than BAE claim (although I measured it with a normal 20Hz-20kHz bandwidth, rather than the bizarre 300kHz bandwidth of BAE's tests!). The DI input, which is essentially the same as a passive DI box, has an input impedance of 150kΩ.Īll connections and controls are hosted on the front panel, with only the power inlet on the rear.The 1073 DMP's technical specifications are all very good for this style of product. Whereas most 1073-style preamps provide two selectable input impedances, courtesy of alternative input transformer windings, the 1073 DMP only offers the higher option, which is 1200Ω. The DI signal is handled by a separate Jensen transformer in a configuration described as the 'Bootsy Collins Mod', and the output passed on to the BA283 circuitry in place of the normal Carnhill microphone transformer's output. In this version of BAE's 1073 MP product range, the DI input is activated automatically just by plugging something into the front-panel DI input socket.
The microphone input gain range is from 15-70 dB, in nominally 5dB increments, and the output level control attenuates the output to zero, with the top half of the range spanning just 6dB for fine level tweaking. The operational controls are trivially simple, comprising a classic red, winged 'Marconi' gain knob, a small grey output level control, and two white rectangular buttons (both with integral warning LEDs) which select output polarity inversion and phantom power. Below these is a trio of (TRS) quarter-inch sockets which accept an instrument input and provide two direct looped-through outputs. The front panel is dominated by two black XLR connectors for the mic input and balanced line output. A small Jensen transformer sits next to the DI input socket, while the front panel supports all the connectors and controls. The chunky output transformer and slightly smaller microphone input transformer are bolted to the case floor on the right-hand side, while the BA283-based circuit board is supported horizontally in an edge connector over the left-hand side. Internally, the device is put together well, with a torroidal mains transformer mounted on the back panel, the PSU circuit board affixed to a vertical steel dividing plate, and the audio circuitry arranged in the front half of the case.
HOW TO USE NEVE 1073 PREAMP PLUS
A sturdy metal carrying-handle adorns the top of the battleship-grey painted case, and the rear panel carries the usual IEC mains inlet (with integral voltage selector and fuse holder), plus a mains on-off rocker switch. It measures roughly 136 x 115 x 305mm (5.3 x 4 x 11 inches) (WxHxD), including handles and knobs, and it weighs about 3.3kg (7.4lbs). The 1073 DMP is a neat 'brick' of a single-channel mic pre. The purists might not like the idea, but the approach appears to work perfectly well and BAE have a lot of products out there now employing this revised design, and some very satisfied customers. That second gain stage is absent from the 1073 DMP (as it was from the 1073 MPF) and instead the BA283 circuitry's gain structure has been cleverly modified to provide up to +70dB of gain all on its own. However, the actual mic-preamp gain stage employed here is slightly different from the original Neve 1073 module design, since that employed an additional gain stage (the BA284), which did much of the work for the +50 to +80dB end of the gain-range switch. The 1073 DMP uses the same Carnhill (St Ives) input and output transformers as were specified for the original Neve 1073 console modules, for example, and the same discrete-transistor BA283 class-A preamp and output-stage circuitry.
HOW TO USE NEVE 1073 PREAMP PORTABLE
In fact, it is a 'desktop' - or portable - version of the 1073MP: the 1073MPF without the high-pass filter option, and with an internal power supply.īasically, we're talking here about an authentic 1073-style mic preamp packaged in a modern, convenient and attractive way, and retaining all the distinctive sonic character of the original 1073 circuitry. I reviewed BAE's 1073 MPF preamp back in SOS April 2010, and the 1073 DMP is another variation on the same basic theme.
But does it deliver the familiar Neve sound?īAE (formerly Brent Averill Enterprises, and now British Audio Engineering) are a Californian company who specialise in manufacturing preamps based very closely on - and, in some cases, that are extremely accurate replicas of - the classic Neve 1073 microphone preamp and related products. BAE's latest take on the classic Neve 1073 preamp design is presented in a sturdy, portable format.
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