Warm Audio WA73-EQ vs Heritage Audio HA73-EQ WHICH IS BETTER?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- In this episode I put two Classic Neve Clones by Heritage Audio and Warm Audio. The WA73-EQ and HA73-EQ. They go head to head to see which is better and which sounds better. The Heritage Audio Preamp retails for $100 more that the Warm Audio preamp but is it worth the $100 extra. As I was going through both units I was testing each and every feature for functionality as that is what is most important to making a $100 decision for the Heritage vs the Warm. The buttons on the knobs on the HA73 felt weak. That is something to consider if you are going to put this through the day to day rigors of studio life. The components that went into the HA73 were top notch. However, I’m not a big fan of putting every thing on one PCB board. Sonically it’s stands toe to toe with the Warm Audio WA73-EQ. That’s no surprise. However, without having rear panel insert jack connectivity that limits one’s ability to avoid having to physically patch in and out outboard gear like compressors. The flimsiness of the knobs is an area they skimped in. Also, adding an outboard power supply are obvious cost cutting measures. All in All it’s a decent unit but at the expense of the extra $100 vs the Warm Audio WA73-EQ one must consider these features before purchasing. If you like this content please consider subscribing. THANKS FOR WATCHING;-)
The current Rhythm Studio Setup:
DAW 1: (Scoring Station) Pro Tools 12 and Sibelius using a Focusrite 2i4
DAW 2: (Sketch Station) Logic Express 8 YES! on a Mac G5 still sounds amazing. I will be upgrading to Logic Pro X
DAW 3: (Recording Station) Pro Tools HD8 WHY? It’s fully paid for. 44.1K and 48K are the same on any HD system.
No one I know records at 96K and clients haven’t requested 96K sessions
Microphones: Neumann, AKG, Shure, Audix, Rode, Warm Audio
Headphones: AKG, SONY, ULTRASONE
Monitors: Auratone, Dynaudio, Mackie, TOA, Tannoy
Monitor Management: Personus Monitor Station
Headphone Monitoring: Furman
Vintage Gear: DBX, Valley International, DOD, Lexicon, Alesis
Preamps: Focusrite, NEVE, Fredenstein, Fivefish, Valley International and Warm Audio
www.therhythmstudio.net
www.warrenhenry.net
Some of my Favorite Websites:
www.ebay.com
www.rupertnevedesigns.com
www.aes.org
www.pasic.org
www.sweetwater.com
www.apple.com
www.blackmagicdesign.com
#warmaudio #wa73eq #heritageaudio #HA73eq #preamp
Thank you, this was a very good review. It has been my experience that warm audio uses very cheap parts. I agree the knobs and chassis look like much better quality on the Warm than on the Heritage but the inner components are what I'm more interested in (what affects the sound) Your audio recording of the Heritage was very short. I don't think it was enough to draw a conclusion on this product. Since you already spent the money on both of these why not do some more testing? Based on my conversation with Heritage Audio, I was informed that a lot of the extra features that warm has implemented can affect the sound in a negative way.
Thanks for your comment. All of my experience with WARM AUDIO is limited to the Pultec clone and this unit and the parts aren't cheap. Both units use the same knobs (Marconi) Heritage's design is on a single PCB. Which, when you attach switches and pots in this manner you run the risk of them going bad over time due to wear and tear. Both units used top notch components in their designs, there's no disputing that. Just opening the unit will tell you. BOTH units yield positive resulting audio. If one can't get a great sound with either they should hire an outside pro. To be clear, there is a reason why these units are constantly replicated. They just sound great. Will they sound great on everything, maybe not because preamp choice in record production is personal. What may sound great on an electric bass might sound terrible on vocals. That's the reason I limited my testing. It opens the door for unnecessary debate. WAAAYYY to many factors affect sound during a recording, the acoustics, instrument tuning, moisture in the air. I could give you examples but I respect your time. In my experience Neve products consistently sounded great on bass, vocals, guitars, kick drums, or anything that needs a FULL BODIED sound that requires very little time spent "fixing in the mix". Now, regarding your conversation with Heritage Audio, the only way to validate a statement like that is to open the unit, get an oscilloscope and other test equipment and test EACH AND EVERY STAGE OF THE DESIGN to reach an empirical conclusion that's irrefutable. AND WHO HAS TIME TO DO THAT! Now, based on the shortest point being a straight line. Heritage might have a point based on the fact their design is on a single PCB. I guess in the final analysis I'll share with you what was said to me when I asked a world renown engineer at the AES convention in '98 "Whether the SSL 4000 was better than the NEVE 8068" His reply was "Who cares which is better, It's the song title that people ask for when they go to the record store" In essence, it always gets back to the music. A great artist can make great art on anything Tascam portastudio, Heritage, Neve, SSL, Golden Age, Warm, Iphone X.... My point, all roads lead back to the Song. Tech is just a by product. Thanks for participating in the discussion 👍
Not true your statement Warm Audio has top components
perhaps you should look under the hood of a wa12 preamp. Maybe the two and only two warm audio units I had the displeasure of using were lemons but I guess that's what you get when you are buying from a company that is building in China.
Jan Espana if you have one open it up. You’ll see.
Peppertown Studio sorry about your bad experience. I guess Warm is going to have to do better in the quality control area.
I decided to go with the WA73-EQ - and I have not regretted.
How you getting on ? Can you mod them ?
Your video is pretty convincing. Thank the Lord I did a lot more research and listened to professional sound samples and canceled my order of the Warm Audio Unit and got the Heritage. The latest real Neve 1073 is built on one PC board as well. Looking under the hood of both units, the quality of the Heritage PC board and the lack of dozens of plugged in ribbon cables everywhere compared to the Warm Audio Unit is a clear indicator of the HA73 superior build quality, not to mention the clinching factor that the Heritage has the correct 3 inductor (and correct type of inductors) circuit with only 2 of the wrong type in the WA73! Take away the LED, take away the insert jack and give me a proper 3 inductor EQ, faster transient response, better sounding DI... it’s a no brainer. Sure you can get them to sound similar with a low gain voice-over application or basic vocal tracking but I did critical listening to samples of Neve, BAE, Warm and Heritage side by side and the Heritage was clearly sonically superior to the Warm and on some applications it even outshined the BAE and was virtually identical to the Neve on most sources. The proof is in the sonic end result. Extra features don’t matter if the sound isn’t there!
Jason Gutierrez thanks for your analysis and contribution to the conversation ✌🏽👍🏾
On vocals and acoustic guitar, would you prefer the BAE non EQ version or the Heritage with EQ version? Maybe a strange comparison but budget wise I wonder if Heritage gets more bang for the buck with the EQ possibility?
Your argument isn't convincing. If the HA is in fact superior, they should've extended that quality build into their knobs of all things. I as well have doubts around your statement that the HA is "clearly" sonically superior.
@@lunacave what part isn’t convincing? And I’m not trying to convince you, do your own research. I used my ears 👂 AND my eyes, and in both departments the Heritage is superior to the Warm Audio unit in that it is more true to the typical sonic expectations of a Neve 1073 preamp and eq fed by various sources and various levels. I’ve been running a pair of them for almost a year now and I couldn’t be happier. I also have some Alctron 1073 clones which, like the Warm unit, sound great and they are technically more robust build quality than the Warm and Heritage units but in overall fidelity and versatility over a range of different sources and gain levels, Heritage got it right.
@@lunacave knobs doesnt effect sound quality...and for most home studio people they will probably set the EQ to their taste and never touch the knobs again...it alot of adjustments are needed then it’s probably best to get a independent EQ or use plugins...
Heritage was trying to keep with the original design more closely. The originals don't have inserts.
Most people who'd spend money on the big dog stuff would have money for another EQ if they needed it anyway.
Also, most engineers use very sparing EQ when recording. The most used feature is the high pass filter to cut mud before hitting a compressor, and the high shelf, which really doesn't trigger a compressor that much anyway. Mods are seldom boosted, and sometimes even cut during tracking, unless you are trying to fix a really bad mic. They aren't often used for excitement. That's usually done in mixing if needed... Usually, you fix it at the source with the right mic selections etc.
...And then.... If you're worried about the mixing stage, you can run line vele equipment in different parts of the chain anyway. The whole unit come come after a compressor if you need the EQ after it.
The flexibility is cool, but it can degrade the signal by adding more wires and components.. Plus people might complain even though they can't otherwise tell.. Who knows..
Perhaps the Warm is the most flexible for non pro and semi pro people.. For pro, go big and get the Heritages.
Now, the interesting thing too see is what the noise floor in these units actually is... Especially if you compress quiet sources later on, where noise becomes more noticeable as things get louder. Wither way, hiss has a way of creeping up.
The other test would be how each one sounds when pushing them hard. Where do they break up and how does it sound?
A huge thing people like about the originals afterall is the distortion.. This is seldom demoed during shootouts... Actually, I can't name one shootout that does this..
Also, there comes a pint at which people are happy with their gear and don't want to spend the time showing others their secrets... So getting the meat and potatoes demos that make sense to one's particular usage is difficult.
Very true, BUT Warm seem to have put a home studio owner and workflow options into consideration. I don't use any of the two, but if I had to I'd go with common sense - WA.
I wouldn’t necessarily say heritage is going big. BAE blows them both out.
I’d use a UAD plugin over a Warm or a Heritage unit any day. If I were to go outside of that I’d get an actual Neve or a BAE. Those are truly quality units.
@Brian Village I've now compared the Heritage higher end stuff to the higher end BAE stuff and IMO, the Heritage sounds more proper. I decided I don't like the high frequencies of the BAE (my ears test way above average in a lab). The BAE doesn't sound as much like the original units to my ears. A pretty good comparison can be done using the Zen Pro's Clipalator on their site. It doesn't show everything, but you can hear the general idea of what I'm talking about checking out the 3 slot 500 BAE vs the 3 slot 500 Heritage. It's not a perfect comparison, but the differences are pretty similar as real life. The main advantage the BAE has is extra frequencies, which I wish the Heritage had, but all in all I liked the sound of the Heritage significantly better. It's sweeter.
They're both great units but I kept the Heritage in the end.
I have original, vintage Neve/ Marinair input and output transformers that I planned in swapping out, but I'm happy so I haven't gotten around to swapping them out, as I have more pressing issues to contend with.
@@brianvillage5yet ppl use these two in the video and make great music and a good living
Hi Warren, am I missing something, where is the WA audio example? Or were you recording the entire video through the WA? Thanks.
Thanks for your question. The video was not recorded through the WA73-EQ. ✌🏽
Warren Henry So which part is the warm audio example?
th-cam.com/video/syp4OLCmUzk/w-d-xo.html
Wow, there's a lot of stuff I didn't think of. Thank you.
Kyle Mills Thanks for watching ✌🏽🙏🏽
I never wanted a mic pre that had other processors on it like an EQ and compressor. I wanted to piece together my own chain with separate processors, so that's what I did. My vocal/di chain consist of a WA12 MK2 black mic preamp from Warm Audio; Behind it I chain an LL2A compressor limiter from Little Labs (in FET mode); And behind that I chain a Pro VLA 2 from Art (optical compressor). Once I grab a parametric EQ my chain will be finished. I feel a lot better knowing that I've built my own custom channel strip with these separate processors, and the sound I get is INCREDIBLE when tracking vocals.
I believe in building your channel strip separately anyway, so this would never be a problem for me. Buy your mic preamp and your EQ separately. That solves everything.
I got the AMS Neve 1073, super happy with my decision and I would have gotten the Heritage otherwise since it is most similar to the actual modern neve 1073
Great video BTW, very informative!!!!!!
Brian, thanks for watching and your comment. ✌🏾🙏🏾
Thank you for making this video review. I noticed at the beginning you had two Focusrite ISA! What are your thoughts on those pres and how do they compare to "Neve clones"?
Hi and thanks for your question. The Focusrite ISA is a much cleaner unit. The Neve and it's clones add a bit more bottom end "girth" to the signal. Thanks for watching✌🏾
Warm is the obvious choice…I think most people was sold on warm 1 minute into your clip.
Thanks for watching
This was a great review, trying to decide on an outboard parametric EQ currently. This really helped, loved the Warm Audio !
Glad it helped. Thanks for watching
Having the power transformer outside the unit is always the best for sound. Noise interference.. it can be isolated inside the unit but at a cost and compromise
The smaller output button was to balance the led vu meter and keep the knob centered. Without the led's the knob would have been matched to the others, but it's not something that bothers me as they all turn with the same fingers. I's take the warm audio as well, haven't heard the Golden Age Premium's yet but I suspect they are compatible but the price between music stores selling the GA premium here varies by over $350! Now that's odd. Thanks for the review, a real Neve would always be preferred of course, Rupert is my hero and still at it in his 90's. Don't you wish all of us artists could give up a week and give it to Rupert Neve to keep him going for another 90 years though? Worth it.
Thanks for watching and participating in the discussion. You are right. So much of the success in the music industry is a direct result of Mr. Neve. We all owe him a debt of gratitude and kind wishes. ✌🏽
And here it is 4570 subscribers later, we're watching and learning! the power of YT. Thanx for sharing.
My brother! Thanks for watching🙏🏽✌🏽
I was tossing up between the WA73eq and HA73eq. Your review has helped me in choosing the WA73eq.
Just bought one.
Hey Paul, glad it helped. Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing to receive future content.✌🏾
Warren Henry will do.
are you happy with your unit in the battle of the clones?
I chose to buy a Warm Audio mic preamp (WA12 MK2 black), and then run a separate Eq and separate compressor behind it. It's so much sweeter like that. My EQ is a Tonelux EQ5P surgical parametric EQ that can be used like a Pultec, and my compressor is an LL2A compressor limiter from Little Labs. The EQ on the WA73 EQ unit can't touch my Tonelux Eq5P with a fifty foot pole. Period!!!! And my compressor is better than most compressors that come on channel strips out there today.
@@lightafluident.9950 i wanna be like you when i grow up...
only thing i want to know is about the sluggish transients of the WA? ive read some not so positive things that indicate muddy results in certain situations.. most gear snobs say save your $crilla for a BAE or Great river bc the get what ya pay for they say is not to be ignored in pres.. Not sure if theyre wrong or right but big money risks.
Hey John thanks for watching and participating in the discussion. You are right about the "gear snobs" adjective. Yes, BAE makes some really great stuff with A LOT OF ATTENTION being paid to aesthetic detail inside and out. That said, you have to buy within your budget. There is no doubt that the WA-73 WORKS EXTREMELY WELL in most situations. I can attest to that firsthand and WARM has a ton of videos on their TH-cam channel. If you are looking to make a purchase that you intend to have as a FINANCIAL INVESTMENT in your studio now and in the future, sure save for the BAE. On the flipside if you want to make music with unit that will SONICALLY stand up to a NEVE 1073 go with the WARM or it's rival Heritage Audio. Hope that helps. ✌
I found the Warm eq in the upper registers to be horrible and returned it. The Heritage is pretty good even compared to the originals.
I agree. Alot of bigger studios cosign this too. Heritage is a better product.
That's why it pays to build a strip with separate processors. Separate mic preamp, separate EQ, and separate compressor. It just works so much better in the end. Especially if your using top notch companies.
so you are saying the warm and the heritage sounded exactly the same? no difference in tonality or potential saturation? is this your 1st impression and you will do an A/B of the units and of maybe an AMS or did you return the HA73EQ?
No, what I am saying is that the differences between them are negligible at best. You’d really have to be nit picking to be unhappy with the sound of either. Any transformer that runs into any degree of saturation will impart it’s own character. I originally was going to do a detailed video of a session with a vocalist again but scrapped it simply because the units I’ve sampled recently (The AMS 1073, WA73 and HA73) were that close in terms of sound; that is why I opted to do a features video. I’m not saying the HA73EQ is a bad unit. It didn’t have the feature set I needed so it went back.
Gotcha...Yes, the features of the warm make it very versatile. I esp like how they have implemented the tone button throughout the entire circuit. How you can use it with the line settings as well as the mic settings....not so with the HA73EQ. The tone button brings it closer to the sound of other units imho. I actually thought/think the warm has more weight than the Heritage, but the Heritage seems more mid forward, but this is just a quick assessment and I need to play much more. Thanks for the vid, I was planning to do a similar one as well
i will soon own the 2 channel Warm audio unit. but after hearing the warm, heritage and the BAE units in person, u are right, the differences are definitely negligible. thru my years of experience ive learned to look (and listen) past all the preamp hype. especially when i kept picking the ART MPA ii in a few blind tests. the sound difference between pro quality preamps in general are usually small, but are TINY when comparing units that are the same "type" of pre like these 2.choose based off feature set... mics, comps, technique, acoustics, etc etc are all wayyyyy more important IMO
Russell I think that's a really cool observation/comment. I have seen a few "blind" shootout/tests where the ART did well. From what I understand when you are using a pre to simply achieve a decent level they are all pretty much close, generally. When you begin to use it as tool, much like compression, things change and I think that's where preferences begin to come in. I don't have a lot of experience with higher end preamps, but I do like the Warm and the Heritage, but I also liked my Chameleon 7602 and also my Gauge MP-1073. Part may be the lack of experience with higher end units or maybe I have been able to get what I need/want out of these without dropping loads of $. For me I keep wondering "can I get better" which is why I picked up the warm and the heritage. Either way I like them so far
From what I hear Chameleon has beefed up the 7602 but it has to compete with others in that price point. Thanks for contributing to the conversation.✌🏽
So which one did you end up keeping? ;)
Warm. Thanks for watching✌🏾
Which one sounds better? Which one sounds closer to a real 1073? annnd what about the sound? Questions this review doesn't touch..
Thanks for watching. This was a features reviews as noted in my opening statement. I wanted to see where the extra $100 justification came in comparing them both. I have a done a few videos including one using my 500 series 1073 where YOU would make the determination as to which sounds better. What sounds great to me might not sound great to you. It's a matter of personal taste and whether a particular pre gives YOU the magic you're looking for. Something one can't cover in a review because it's personal. Also, I try to not get hung up on comparing its sound to my 500 series 1073 because it's simply... Not a NEVE. But does it sound great, yeah. Having Carnhill transformers is surely a bonus that will NOT let your down.
I have the WA73-EQ. I love the way I can make my audio very sweet by raising mid and high frequencies (just a tiny bit) with the eq section. Even if you don't want to change the EQ on the WA, I highly recommend that you enable the eq section and set the eq flat because when you enable the eq section it directs the audio source through an additional transformer that sounds real smooth and sweet and sounds more 3 dimensional. One more tip: if you use the WA, don't use a compressor that colors the sound... use a transparent sounding compressor like the FMR Audio RNC1773 Really Nice Compressor.
IF YOU USE THE HERITAGE HA73 YOU FORGET WA73< FOR SURE I CHACKED BOTH BUT HERITAGE IS VERY CLEAN
Mark, Thanks for watching and your comment✌🏽
Naaagh the Art pro vla ii
Thanks Warren, I subscribed and liked because I LIKED your no non-sense yet kinda goofy approach. Heritage makes some nice gear but the are going to need to step up their game with Warm in town. Best to you, Tod
Thanks for the sub!✌🏾
I disassembled a few Warm units now, and they are solid , vanilla, machine soldered through hole units with off the shelf medium quality , reasonable priced parts. Comparing to the Behringer stuff they are more than double the price for like 10% more sound.
If you decide you want hardware, get something that does sound differently than a well written plugin.
Wes audio for example...that is where the music plays...or Heritage...or Stam, or Retro...but in the 500$ league I feel I do not get any benefit that outweighs the hassle of cables, no recall, heat, dust and crackling pots.
Thanks for watching and for your comments ✌🏾
Thank you very much for the useful info.
Thank you for watching✌
Hi Henry, thanks so much! I was really waiting for such video coz I’m planning to buy either of the units within few months, so I’m happy that do did EXACTLY what I’m looking for! Just small suggestion for your channel: if you could reduce the background music while you’re talking, that would be nice and would sound more pro :) Thanks anyway
Will do! Thanks for watching
Don't mean to be disrespectful here, but one would think in a shootout between two preamps, one would perhaps bother to compare their sound. I mean, this really doesn't even come close to answering the question of "WHICH IS BETTER".
Greg Bonnier point taken. Which is better is a matter most important to the end user. My opening statement tells you my perspective yours may be different. Thanks for watching
@@WarrenHenry Ok, but the end user will be using it as a preamp, for sound, right? Not just turning the knobs and looking at the pretty lights... Unless I missunderstood the use of a preamp.
The function of a preamp goes waaaayyyy beyond sound. The feature set of your equipment will either enhance or detract from your ability to get up and going as quickly as possible in a professional setting. Manufacturers know and consider this in the design process. Again, as I stated in my opening statement "Is the Heritage Audio worth the extra $100.00?" For my workflow, no but maybe yes for another. Everyone's mileage may vary. For me time is money so having that mic input on the front, the ability to insert on a button push and a couple of extra frequency bands work for me. I did a followup video about this debate, "Which preamp is better" because so many people get it twisted. It's not about the equipment. It's about your music chops in the end. One either has talent that shines or not because a top notch preamp will only shine a brighter light on Crap!
@@WarrenHenry But don't you think the sonic characteristics of piece of gear are more important than its feature set? I mean I choose my preamps depending on what character I want on a given source, what colour I want to give it, how transient are going to react to this or that circuitry... Sure it's nice to have the extra feature and you are right, manufacturers do think about this, look at the new Neve 1073SPX, it boasts the same features as the warm audio, and believe me, if AMS/NEVE put the extra components, it's because there's a demand for this kind of feature set. But at the end of the day, the preamp I choose for a given job has 100% to do with how it will handle the source and how it will affect the final product. I don't know about you, but I can't hear the LEDs in my mixes.
Your next last sentence says it all... Garbage in will yield garbage out. Warm Audio is not to be considered the "end all be all" of manufacturers or preamps. However, by the same token they are far from the worst. Your perspective seems to come from a more technical viewpoint and that's okay. Paying clients are concerned more about the quality of the outcome, my skillset in the ability to deliver ahead of time and under budget if possible. As a producer and arranger (my profession), before If the client requested it I would have to rent a Neve room or the preamp if the client requested it. Then I'd have to pass the cost off to the customer in billing. Warm is a game changing company that goes the extra mile to give features that allow pros like myself to get exactly what they need sound-wise and fast. Again, your mileage may vary. Thanks for the convo very insightful viewpoints you present✌
I have the WA73 EQ, and I love running my tracks back through it for the eq. Really adds some weight to them. I do like my Daking mic pre one better for the preamp. Your video made some great points for why would you spend more for less. I have been looking at the Heritage Audio HA81A though.
Thanks for sharing!
I also have a Daking mic pre one which i really like but was looking at swaping it for a WA73 EQ to give some more weights to my vocals. What do you think?
@@AndyKingCo I am no expert by far. I really think the daking is a better pre amp to my ears. I use the Wa73 eq pretty much for the eq, after I recorded. Which I really like. Have you maybe tried the daking into a compressor. Ive been using a WA2A, and it sounds great. Anyway the wa73 eq for the price, is a pretty good piece.i wouldn't mind having another for stereo. I have been experimenting with different mics too, some expensive some cheap. I ended up settling on a LA-220. For the price you can't beat it.
@@tedgerard333 I like the Daking is very clean. Have you tried The wa73 to track vocals?
@@AndyKingCo yes, I have. Side by side I just like how clean and harmonicly the daking sounds. I have done some tracks with a sm7 into the Wa73eq, which sounded good. Though when I used the daking it just always sounded fuller to me. Your ears might hear something different.
I love Heritage Audio i have the 500 series version with EQ and is my 2go pre with Wa2A. They just sound amazing but Wa73 with eq sounds interesting.
Peace Warren. Gratitude for this vid. Question did you put the WA73 insert jacks on your patchbay or did you hardwire them to a compressor?
Always on a patchbay but you can hard wire the insert as well. It’s a matter of whatever works for you. Thanks for watching ✌🏽
@@WarrenHenry Gratitude. I just got it from FedEx , I ended up putting the WA73's Send & Return above each other in Thru mode, using the XLR Line out to a TRS cable on the Top row next to the Send, and and temporarily using an unbalanced TS cable to put the WA73's Line Input on the bay. I really appreciate you and the Content you create it has definitely help me along the way...Peace & Love
I am torn between the WA73-EQ and TB12 for tracking vocals mainly. The fact that EQ is present in the WA73 makes it quite attractive. What is your opinion please vs Vintage presence of TB12? What is your opinion please Mr. Warren Henry?
Answering your question this weekend
@@WarrenHenry thanks!
@@WarrenHenry Awesome, seeing the video now and will pose any questions there. You're great!
Go for the TB12 and then a separate EQ from a different company. You won't lose so long as you get a great EQ and not a "cheesy" one.
If you want an EQ in your signal chain then buy a mic preamp, and then buy a separate Eq that comes from a reputable company such as Tonelux. The best channel strip is a custom made one, not one somebody puts together for you.
Multiple EQ selection points in the high end was never a feature on the 1073. The originals just had the 12k shelf EQ. Heritage Audio respect the original design. I wouldn't fault them for that. Moreover, Heritage have been doing Neve reproduction for a lot longer than Warm Audio and their hand wired series is really good. Insofar as who nails the original, well that usually goes to the one with more experience. I don't think Warm guys do 80 series reproductions whereas the Heritage guys do. And the 80 series is actually the original 1073 format.
Thanks for watching and your comment
@@WarrenHenry No worries :). Great review. I really like what Warm Audio are doing but I doubt that they'll be able to nail the 1073 on their first try. Looks like they went for an interpretation of it anyway which is cool. The other thing is Heritage have some old Siemens people working for them and all their stuff is made in the EU. Siemens folk are pretty highly skilled. Hard to find that sort of thing these days in the west since outsourced manufacturing is all the rage these days. You should consider a comparison of the Heritage 80 series 1073 module with AMS Neve's 80 series reproduction. That's the gold standard of Neve 1073 reissues. Everything else is kind of an approximation or a take on it. Although i'm curious about both the Elite series and the Warm's interpretation. I haven't tried either.
How about the very affordable Alctron 1073 based units?
I have been trying to get my hands on one for the longest. They are hard to find. I've heard many good things about it though. Thanks for watching✌🏾
Buy a WA12 MK2 mic pre, then a separate EQ that's not cheap, and that solves everything. I don't like these channel strip clones, I'd rather build my own strip.
@@aarona.dubzperson8245 the Alctron dual unit here is $629 for two 1073 style mic pres (6 transforners all up) with no EQ attached. That's $315 per channel. The Warm Audio is $1200 for one channel. Thats why I recommended trying the Alctron out. I have two Alctrons giving me four pre's for the price of one Warm Audio pre. I'm not saying they are as good or the same but we wont know till we compare. The Alctron sounds to me as good as the GAP pre 73 at least for half the price per pre.
Note there is an Alctron unit with a single pre and an EQ. I didnt buy that one.
I returned a Heritage Audio Successor because of the 'delicate' feeling knobs. The sound was great though!
Thanks for this video!
Thanks Warren, this is great information.
Jeffrey, thanks for watching
Thx for sharing. I have a request if its possible. The warm audio vs. UAD Solo 610. Thx hope I'm not asking too much
Thanks for watching and your suggestion. Have to get my hands on a 610. Great idea 👍🏾 thanks again
Have you tried the uk sound 73mp?
I haven’t, but Guitarists I know are raving about it. Thanks for watching ✌🏽🙏🏽
Thanks for your review man!
Thanks for watching✌
Por favor por favor alguien podría hacerme una síntesis en español de lo que dice este señor? Desgraciadamente no sé inglés y precisamente ahora estoy en la encrucijada de comprarme uno u otro por favor cuál es mejor? Que dice al respecto de los dos pre amplificadoreso
I recommend using the Google Translate extension.
I like how you worded that about the visuals on the heritage because if it was me making the video I would only say the visual is boring and looks like other brands already doing this style like neve, BAE, and one other I can't think of right now, oh wait warm audio (because you referenced that in the video).
There is something you didn't mention that I always notice and that bothers me. The amount of vents on top of the unit. The warm audio units have lots of venting whereas the heritage audio only has the one back row of vent slots. From that I would suspect the heritage audio unit is built better and requires less heat dissipation unlike the warm audio unit that needs lots of heat release.
Clayton, thanks for participating in the discussion. The visual aesthetic is important to some people and is a successful marketing tool if you are trying to compete in a market saturated with similar products. The small thing that I disliked about the Heritage was the fact that the entire design is on a single PCB (keeps costs and heat down) In my experience, such designs over time present problems in that the switches might loosen from the board if the unit is used in a busy studio. They could have done better in that area. The Warm Audio unit is built around "many" PCB's, which can make troubleshooting and repair a lot easier (pop out one board replace with another). Whether that's good or bad is a debate for design engineers. On the other hand BAE is well made soup to nuts "ipso" the price tag of $3K.
Warren Henry the latest real Neve 1073 is built on one PC board as well. And the quality of the Heritage PC board and the lack of dozens of plugged in ribbon cables everywhere compared to the Warm Audio Unit is a clear indicator of the HA73 superior build quality, not to mention the clinching factor that the Heritage has the correct 3 inductor (and correct type) circuit with only 2 of the wrong type in the WA73!
good explanation of the differences thanks. After this I would have to get the wa73 lol
Thanks for watching 🙏🏽✌🏽
Based on the fact that at least 6 of your last 6 videos are on wa73, this comparison was destined to be unfairly biased. You left out a few of the most glaring facts that make the Heritage an obvious upgrade over the Warm:
1. They are European made under the supervision of the designer instead of some random factory in china the pumps out gear with a goal of quantity over quality.
2. I have opened both up and can ABSOLUTELY say the EQS are NOT the same. In fact, heritage has commented on how using the correct style and number of inductors was paramount to their design. Their observations of design differences seem to match early reviews of the Warm which makes me inclined to believe them.
3. The Warm is undeniably made by the same guys as Golden Age. when you open them both up side by side, you can clearly see they are the same design with the same parts. The Warm has a nicer faceplate if that counts...
Fair observations. But only the purchaser can say whether or not they justify spending the additional $100. I clearly state there are no real sonic differences making one better than the other it gets down to which features you personally like. For me I prefer inserts, I like having a mic input on front. It’s about personal preferences. We could debate the design aspects until the proverbial “cows come home” but at the end of the day it’s about how they sound and like I said in the video sonically they are similar.
I agree that for your specific vocal needs they might sound similar, BUT that is a crazy oversimplified way to look at the way a preamp imparts its sonic footprint. saying the two preamps sound the same when using minimal gain on a quiet source, therefor they sound identical is like saying a lamborghini and a kia drive similarly when you are picking up your groceries, therefor you should be getting a kia. The fact of the matter is, if they aren't being pushed as they are in most real world usage, then you aren't getting a true view of what each are capable of. That was in my experience where the Warm fell apart and the Heritage shined.
Simcha Znamirowski, curious to HEAR, your point. Please email, me a few audio examples of what you are referencing as were testing both units.
*you were testing both units
@@WarrenHenry did you get any samples?
Well, they present themselves as a reliable company, but if they are not in Europe, there are more and more cases where these people announce and sell new gear, but then no equipment appears. For the Baby Ram people have been waiting for 6 months and have paid for it...but nothing comes, no information. There you have the feeling that they can be pre-financed for free..I call this a bad scam !
Alex, thanks for watching. There is always a caveat when you purchase gear from and international company that has limited customer service in the States. To your point, I too have experienced this downfall way too many times. Thanks for weighing in✌🏾
I'm in the market for a pre. I just sent one back and have to make a decision. I'm leaning towards warm audio. I have a compressor. Soon real soon . Cant wait!
You can't go wrong with Warm Audio. Thanks for watching and please subscribe✌
The external ps makes it less noiser
I would love to hear your thoughts on Vintech's x73i
alec I’m working that out. Thx for participating in the discussion ✌🏽🙏🏽
Great review!
Hey man I have been trying to pick out a 73 style preamp for my studio. In one video you said the Warm Audio unit was better simply due to the knobs and feel plus both units sounding essentially the same. But in one of your videos you say the HA 73 is the most accurate unit because of the eq section, regardless of cheap knobs and a wall wart power supply which I am NOT stoked about. If I was able to buy both units for the exact same price on the used market and I can get a student discount on the warm audio gear which makes me more likely to choose a unit with an fx insert and better build quality. In your newer video you said the HA 73 was more accurate and had the right sound but here it sounds like they are the same. I definitely want the most accurate and useful preamp for my studio. I'm still likely to choose the warm unit based on this video and samples side by side for features and sound. It's just confusing to see two deep dive videos that contradict one another. I really like the warm unit. I just want to make the right decision for my home studio space. Thanks for making this video.
Hey Joel, thanks for your response. Each video highlights the pros and cons of each. I would say if your budget permits and you want the most truest sound buy an actual AMS Neve 1073. Both the Warm and the Heritage are great units with the Heritage more accurately reverse engineering the actual schematic made by Rupert Neve. I'm not a huge fan of surface mounted components in a design but I will compromise when practical. All units present compromises in one way or another. Your mileage may vary. Thanks for the comment
Thanks so much for your response and so quickly getting back to me@@WarrenHenry I definitely would say that for my purposes for now and being a home studio that isn't charging $100s an hour to do jobs, I am ok with getting a clone. I have to also allow for a good mic and a compressor, then I am upgrading my monitors. It's a whole lot really to do and I wanted to save where possible knowing that I am mostly recording my own music at home and a few friends who want to release their music as well. I think the Warm unit having an insert point and a 3 way high band seems like good features if you're looking at just what is built with quality components but if it doesn't sound right at high gain or in the top and bottom end I would go with the HA 73 EQ since I can get both around the same price. But if you look at the way the inductor EQ works the HA 73 EQ seems to have gotten that the most true to spec. Still the Warm Audio 73 EQ has its own sound and features that seem like they cut less corners than the HA 73 EQ. Knowing that I can get a WA 73 EQ for around $599 new from sweetwater with the 2 year warranty makes me gravitate more toward that unit. I was also looking at the WA 87 R2 and comparing that to the similarly priced mic from Roswell Pro Audio. I like Warm Audio as a company and I have used the Heritage gear in my studio at the college so I have experience with both. I think if it comes down to the decision for me, I like the features that the WA 73 EQ has. I mostly record guitar, male and female vocals doing pop, gospel, rock, and hip hop. So I'm looking for the better unit for doing that. I looked at the Tone Beast for the API style sound with 2 transformers and was interested in that but it has no EQ, which might be fine for some situations but I was looking more for the 73 sound. I might eventually get both but for now I am just trying to make a good decision on one thing to use for everything.
cool i love it Warren and plz do more eq on warm
Thanks for watching and the video suggestion.
i almost believed this guy till someone mentioned all of his videos are about warm audio? and it turns out true. whats going on here? you work or in business with them?
Ottoman Muzic I’ve always been told believe all of what you experience and part of what you hear. I’m sharing nothing more than my experiences with their equipment. Your mileage may vary. Been in business for myself a very long time and owe no allegiance to Warm Audio.
@Secret_Armor Actually it was my mistake,. Warren was right and had very valid points. i ended up staying away from Heritage Audio.
Great video! I liked how you showed the components and as a budding gear-head (been mostly in the box) it was nice to see a breakdown of the components. Especially since some companies will ask for the big ticket price without delivering on the big ticket components.
Jordan thanks for your comment and for subscribing. This is a great time for the budding gear head. I’m taking future video suggestions. What would you like to see me do a video about?
Warren Henry give me a bit to chug through your catalog and I'll get back to you. In the meantime, keep doing you man!
People don't know or care what product delivered the goods.. if it sounds good roll with it
True 👍🏾
Such a great video. Subscribed.
John! Thanks for the sub! More to come✌🏾
Thank you, very very good review bro ;)
Victor Castro, my brother ✊🏽 Thanks for watching ✌🏾
Victor Castro, my brother ✊🏽 Thanks for watching ✌🏾
Thanks for the video...I would take either but can't afford them but the Nerd in me love this stuff. I downloaded the analog obsession plugin of the neve channel,my buddy has a REAL Neve 1073 mixing board in his studio and I think the AO plugin sounds close.
Thanks for the video
Thanks for watching🙏🏽
Por favor por favor que alguien me haga un resumen en español soy Pedro de España no entiendo inglés desgraciadamente pero precisamente ahora estoy en la encrucijada de comprar uno u otro por favor que dice este señor? Cuál es mejor
Pedro Hermano! Tengo Warm y Heritage. Ambos hay bueno. El mejor para mi es Heritage por este razon. La diseño. Gracias Hermano por su pregunta 🙏🏾🙏🏾
PEPPERTOWN ! Warm audio does not use cheap parts (KLARK MIDAS DOES !) The only problem i have found is the warm audio when comparing other units seem to always never sound as good that's what bothers me.
I've noticed you are always favoring Warm Audio. As long is you don't work for them, it's all good. I have a WA TB12 Tone Beast that I love, and a Heritage Audio Successor that I just got and I'm learning.
Hi Geoffrey and thanks for watching. While watching many of my videos you'll notice I speak about the "tools" I use for any given job. In this video, I don't favor Warm to make Heritage appear inferior. I happen to appreciate the features Warm offered. In my professional life time is money. I've used all preamps from ART to NEVE and in the end it's about what a client wants and is satisfied with. Heritage happens to make fine products, I like what they do. Kudos on acquiring the Successor. I hope it serves you well. Peace
I had the TB12. Dope mic preamp. Warm Audio is a dope company.
thanks for the info. I've been looking into both for sure. for tracking AND for a stereo pair for running stems on mixdown (possibly even master bus stems in the master bus routing OP. However, I've heard that neither of these compare to a neve or BAE. is that harsh feedback or is that true? I've not used any of them yet. but i need to soon
In my opinion BAE makes the best clones of them all. That is not to say these units are bad It's a matter of design. To me the components make up the unit. BAE goes the design mile by hand wiring and simply crafting a beautiful piece of equipment. That aside, with all 3, BAE, Warm and Heritage you'd be hard pressed to Not be able to get a great sound out of either. Thanks for watching, participating in the discussion and please Subscribe if you haven't already. Also, I'm taking video requests. Do you have one you would like to see done?
I decided to go with the Heritage Audio HA73-EQx2 in fact. It's on backorder, but will arrive soon! I will think about the video request thing as well, and Thanks!
Thx again🙌
looks like both these companies borrowed the pot color n layout designs..? wth.. !
Good review!
clusha2 Thanks for watching
Heritage wins the battle!
Disappointed with the quality control on the WA73EQ. Expected so much more than what I got. Crackling switches, sloppy pots low signal to noise ratio and brittle top end on EQ ( nothing a like a Neve ). Very average unit that rides on the back of the Neve name!
Wow sorry about your negative experience. Thanks for weighing in and watching ✌🏽
I said hello to my family like you suggested, but they're still not letting me buy more outboard gear! 🤣
Ah mannnn! and Christmas is right around the corner HA!😃
Great, succinct review.
Thanks for watching 🙏🏽✌🏽
This dude is the illest. Please do some request reviews? Let me know if that's possible, got a few suggestions.
Hi and thanks for watching. Always open to content suggestions. If you have a request simply leave me a comment. Thanks ✌
@@WarrenHenry thanks a lot I appreciate you. I was think heritage successor? And I was wondering if we could talk about some audio engineering stuff one on one?
@@WavetableMetaphysics Great suggestion, I'll keep that in mind. If you want to connect shoot me an email.
@@WarrenHenry ok cool I appreciate it! What's the email? Or you can try to inbox me here on TH-cam. Let me know.
The email is in the link in the "about" tab
I think the closest sounding to an original neve 1073 is the bae 1073 ... but it’s a lot more expensive than both these units unfortunately
I hear a lot of people saying so. Thanks for watching✌🏾
awesome video but i'm not sure it was a fair comparison due to what's under the hood
Thanks for watching. This video was about the features. Both units use quality components in their design. There is nothing cheap about either unit whether you're talking construction or components. What did you find unfair?
Warren Henry not really the points in ur video but just comparing these two alone seems unfair given that the heritage, as we all know, is a better clone. That's all. The video was pretty insightful where the features were concerned. Awesome job
@@demodeiowa Heritage is a better clone IN YOUR OPINION.
Thanks for this, I was sure that WA is better, but with your opinion I'm sure. The High Eq with frequency control I think that is more important!
Thanks for watching ✌🏽
The bottom end on heritage is more defined. The warm 73 sounds a bit muddy
Thanks for this comparison. It answered exactly what I needed to know. I have a Heritage Successor and love it, so when looking for a 1073 style channel strip, I was tempted to just go with Heritage. Instead I'll be picking up a Warm unit.
Thanks for watching
Did you go with the warm audio + successor combo? Was it any good? Was thinking about going the same route.
@@CookieColt I didn't go for the Warm Audio. I bought an old Roland SDE-3000 instead. I figured that I already had enough boutique pres.
!!!! Man it’s nice for you to do this video but you are absolutely wrong, you can not make a review like that or compare both units like that, I tell you I had both units and I much prefer the heritage it’s a better design and the eq sound way better it has a better low end and the mods are smoother anyways I returned both units and bought 2 BAE mp1 now that’s a magnificent mic pre.
Chacho Adame you’re entitled to your opinion, I don’t think I’m wrong. But I will agree with you on your last sentence 😜✌🏾
Bro im in search for a 1073 clone but my mic takes 2 mic inputs its a stereo mic im tryna get 2 channel clone my budget is 3000 idk what to do its a townsend lab L22 mic
Heritage audio pressed in the comments
Got my WA73-EQ today! Now please make a video about the basics of the eq section? Would you ever use eq when tracking say male vocals with a ribbon mic, to add treble? Thanks!
Congrats 👍🏾 Thanks for the video suggestion.
Thanks for bringing this unit on to my radar - Joe Carell also has been enthusiastic, yes it's a real work of art just sitting there - can't wait to put it through it's paces!
Why not? Add some 10k
People here are like "which one sounds closer to a Neve 1073"? If you want that sound GO BUY THE NEVE 1073!!!!! Smh.
True ✌🏽
great video! but i gotta say the music in the background is too loud and distracting. made it pretty hard to focus tbh. anyways, great content!
Thanks for watching
Warm vs heritage... The heavy match
Warm for sure, people these days are fooled by perception and out of tune with the facts. Warm have closer specks to original Neve, and the high end pots and knobs, & inductors for EQ.
Warm spent money getting Carnhill to find the old specs and build of that. Also the inductors are legit Neve level, & the pots are from a company Blore Edwards Limited look into it it’s all ideal stuff.
Also the baby output knob on the warm is same style as Neve style design
There’s no reason to have a separate power supply from a electronic stand point. Also I have the Neve pda 1073 the power supply is in the unit 4 inches away from the output transformer.
I’ve heard the a/b test between the warm and 1073 from Neve and it’s very similar.
Thanks for watching and your comments ✌🏽
WARM AUDIO RULES!!!!!!!
if you want something build with the best components, and without any compromices
check out vintage audio projects on facebook handmade in Belgium
BUT HERITAGE IS MUCH MUCH BETTER THEN WA73
Thanks for watching ✌🏽🙏🏽
Hey Man, I dont know who pays you or why you are such a blind WA Fan :)
But, when you compare two 1073 clones, it makes no sense to talk about a 2nd high shelf frequency or Inputs on the front. the mort iportand question is which unit comes closest to the origina. And this easy to answer. The Heritage comes much closer to the original circuits and it sound more than a real neve 1073. I think this is no secret. ANd this is the reason why people how worked with a reral neve and whant this sound will decide to the Hertiage. The WA is not a bad preamp/eq. but itt only looks like a neve, but dont work like one.
Ummmmmm.... Okay? Thanks for watching✌
The more expensive heritage units come much much closer, as they are almost identical to the original Neves in design.
Both the units reviewed here are budget models. The expensive Heritages cost up to $2620 usd each, and you still have to buy an expensive rack to put them into. The 6673 is a thing of beauty though!
After talking to the dude who produced morcheeba, I think I'm getting one. He prefers the heritage clones to the originals, even though the use custom transformers made by carnhill, rather than original marinairs.
Totally agree. I really don't see what he didn't understand...
You shouldn’t have done it, because now you will have to review the new unit from Stam Audio.
Ha Ha! true but after a while they all becomes relevant. If you've heard one you've heard them all. However, I understand that the Stam Audio pre you can customize the transformer options so... Maybe...Hmmmmm LOL
tenthconcept Stam Audio BAD customer service
@@andrerayomusiconline That's what I've heard. Try AudioScape!!!! They're in Florida.
My warm audio broke after one day 😂 never again
Yikes 😳
Baby output knob! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
HA! Thanks for watching🙏🏾
en Français sa peut être mieux merci
100$ for faster rise times and shorter slew rate. Anytime !
I hear aside those feature it doesnt sound good
ConfidenZe Music I did a follow up video demonstrating it in a vocal session. Check it out. Thanks for watching 🙏🏾✌🏾
@@WarrenHenry i think it sounds good but for someone that has a UA APOLLO TWIN(uad neve 1073 plugin) it might not be worth it because the plugin gives me the same sound as what i heard in your video if not better!!! I want the wa73 to be what i need but i might go with heritage i need to be blown away from this plugin if imma go harware why get something that isnt going to make my sound better!!! rather the same or less 🤦🏽♂️
Everyone’s mileage may vary. In the end you have to trust both your gut and your ear. Thanks again for watching ✌🏾🙏🏾
ConfidenZe Music it's never going to be a dramatic difference. It's gonna be that 5 to 10% of extra depth that the hardware Will add that's what you're buying it for I personally hate to record with just a interface now it lacks that fat full sound no matter what emulations you use.
Warm audio products trash period
Thanks for watching
@@WarrenHenry I've watched a couple of your videos there good we just disagree on one thing warm audio some uad plug-ins sound better but then again it is cheap
@@DaNOIZEBOYZ thanks again for watching. For me, they're just tools in the toolbox bro. Everyones mileage may vary. I have an AMS NEVE 1073, HA73 and WA73-EQ. The differences between them all are small. But again, Your mileage may vary. Peace
Love your work .
Thank you!