Overview

The Heritage Audio HA-81A delivers what generations of recording engineers have wanted. The legendary 1073 console module wrote the book on characterful mic preamps, but arriving as it did in the early '70s, it was paired with a three-band EQ that sounded incredible but left something to be desired in terms of flexibility. Then the powerful 1081 EQ arrived with four overlapping bands and under-the-hood enhancements that made it sound better than ever. It still had the ability to transform iron-poor sources into powerful rails, in addition to offering the surgical precision that its predecessor did not offer. Now the Heritage Audio HA-81A includes the best of the best: a fully discrete Class A 73-style mic preamp and a powerful 81-style EQ, all in a 1U rackmount chassis decked out in classic RAF gray paint .

The preamp by which all others are measured

Heritage Audio's take on the legendary '73-style preamp is nothing short of a tour de force. It's all here: 80dB of gain to handle even your lowest-output passive ribbon microphones in a fully discrete Class A circuit path with Carnhill and St. Ives input and output transformers. Driving the transformer-coupled input gain stage saturates your signal with a lovely vintage-flavored coloration. The HA-81A preamp section delivers the signature Class A sound with a harmonically rich bottom end, focused mids, and euphonious resonant highs. The feature set includes phantom power, gain, output adjustment, a 20dB pad, polarity inversion, a wide gain range DI, a line input, and selectable impedance to optimize the preamp's response to a variety of inputs. microphones.

The ultimate in console EQs

Introduced in 1972 as a 4-band upgrade of the 1073 (itself a legend), the 1081 was implemented in classic Neve boards such as the 8048. A fitting testament to how good they sounded, vintage 8048s with 1081 modules are still in use today in world-class studios like The Village in LA. But you don't need to take the time there to enhance your tracks with the ultimate British equalizer. Heritage Audio designed the HA-81A with a vintage 1081-style circuit with wide frequency coverage and unmatched punch. Modeled on the 1081, generally considered the best console EQ module ever made, the HA-81A's EQ section is an exceptionally musical 4-band inductor-based circuit with high-pass and low-pass filters, plus low- and parametric bands. medium-high overlapping.

Characteristics

• Classic British console preamp and equalizer;
• Hybrid design based on 2 legendary designs;
• Fully discrete Class A circuit with Carnhill and St. Ives input and output transformers;
• Full-featured 73-style microphone preamp;
• Full-featured 81-style EQ;
• Handcrafted in Spain at Heritage Audio headquarters.

Specifications

• Preamplifier type: Class A solid state;
• Number of channels: 1;
• Phantom power: yes;
• Pads: -20dB;
• Polarity switch: yes;
• Equalizer: 4-band equalizer, dual adjustable mid-Q, low/high pass filters;
• Analog inputs: 1 x XLR (microphone), 1 x XLR (line), 1 x 1/4" (Hi-Z);
• Analog outputs: 1 x XLR;
• Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz;
• Rack spaces: 1U;
• Power source: AC adapter (included).