1081 is $4600 new. Did see a used one for $1200 on Reverb, though. But, unless it's a seller like Vintage King that can bench test it first I'd never spend that kind of money because you never know if an inside component has died. Still want one though. The gold standard,
I don't think any of these audio folks actually know what Class A and B or AB is. Most i hear is people pricing something being Class A because it's more HiFi and here is this guy saying it's the opposite
It depends on the circuit. Class AB is more efficient, and stresses most of the components less for the same amount of gain - but the transistors switching on-and-off introduces crossover distortion, which is often inharmonic (and so more noticeable). For the 1081, the increases in performance from under-stressing the transistors / output transformer primaries far outweigh the small amount of crossover distortion - so most people think it sounds cleaner. With other preamps, this trade-off is different. Class B amps are not suitable for audio.
I agree with you. The 1081 is king in my book.
It’s the 1084 for me! But indeed you just can’t wrong with any of these Neve 80 series modules.
I love me some Neve 1081!
Would love to hear how these stack up against the 5052 Shelford module.
A/B test please
We did a whole A/B test and much more in the whole series. You can check it out here: insideblackbird.com/series/unlocking-the-power-of-preamps
1081 is $4600 new. Did see a used one for $1200 on Reverb, though. But, unless it's a seller like Vintage King that can bench test it first I'd never spend that kind of money because you never know if an inside component has died. Still want one though. The gold standard,
1073 has more "smear" thats what i want from a neve. class a/b neves are a bit snappier. 1073 can be a bit thick
I don't think any of these audio folks actually know what Class A and B or AB is. Most i hear is people pricing something being Class A because it's more HiFi and here is this guy saying it's the opposite
It depends on the circuit. Class AB is more efficient, and stresses most of the components less for the same amount of gain - but the transistors switching on-and-off introduces crossover distortion, which is often inharmonic (and so more noticeable). For the 1081, the increases in performance from under-stressing the transistors / output transformer primaries far outweigh the small amount of crossover distortion - so most people think it sounds cleaner. With other preamps, this trade-off is different.
Class B amps are not suitable for audio.