The legendary 1073 wrote the book on characterful mic preamplification and EQ. These venerable circuits helped define the punchy sound of ’70s rock — and countless recordings and live concerts ever since. Today, this coveted tone can be yours for a song, with the Warm Audio WA273-EQ mic/line/instrument preamp. In both design and performance, the 2-channel WA273-EQ pays homage to the revered British console lineage that started it all. Throughout the audio industry, the 1073 is considered the holy grail of preamps and EQs, with a rich, sweet, and bold tonality that’s ideal for making audacious statements with your music. After years of R&D, painstaking reverse-engineering, and countless hours of listening, Warm Audio captured the sonic essence of this classic perfectly in their boutique WA273-EQ. With 80dB of gain and a fully discrete transformer-balanced signal path, the sound is a revelation: harmonically rich bottom end, focused midrange, and slightly resonant highs.
Handcrafted with top-quality parts
Boasting weapons-grade build quality with discrete, handwired Class A circuits and top-drawer parts such as UK-made Carnhill transformers and Blore Edwards mil-spec, dual-concentric switch pots, the WA273-EQ has 80dB of gain on tap so you can capture subdued sources with your favorite ribbon mic. Your ribbons and condensers will sound heavenly; you’ll even be gobsmacked when you hear how authoritative your dynamic mics sound. Cranking the input stage and backing off the output gain enhances your tracks with tasty vintage-style coloration. Topping off the feature set is per-channel instrument jacks, polarity reverse, 48V phantom power, and switchable impedance for tonal variation and to optimally match a variety of microphones.
Optimize every source — and microphone
There is no source that doesn’t sound amazing through the Warm Audio WA273-EQ. With judicious mic selection and placement, drums are larger-than-life; DI bass and keyboards sound massive and synths become trance-inducing; electric guitars soar; vocals rule. Pianos and acoustic guitars are resplendent. Orchestral instruments — strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion — achieve ineffable lushness and dimension. You can even use the WA273-EQ as a tone-shaping tool to run stems or complete mixes through. Hear what the WA273-EQ can do for your own recordings. It’s transformative.
Warm Audio WA273-EQ 2-channel Mic/Line/Instrument Preamp and EQ 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
