Heritage Audio HA73

A 73 Pre That Won't Break the Bank

Heritage Audio's value-packed ELITE series leverages the expertise gleaned from years of making acclaimed vintage-inspired equipment. For the HA73 ELITE, Heritage Audio set its target high: their own widely respected, hand-wired HA73jr and DMA73 preamps — themselves based on the most iconic vintage console preamp in history, the 1073. In Sweetwater's opinion, they have succeeded. You might ask how Heritage can offer the same world-class sound and performance at such a budget-friendly price. Through economies of scale, mostly. They don't cut corners on components (the HA73 ELITE employs genuine Carnhill input and output transformers), but they do order parts and build in quantity, using lean manufacturing and modern construction techniques, in the same Spanish factory as the rest of their line.

A potent dose of vintage vibe

The Heritage Audio HA73 ELITE microphone preamplifier packs your rack with a potent dose of vintage vibe. It's based on the iconic 1073, amplifying any microphone or instrument with vibrant clarity and punch. Drive the input harder to get rich, saturated sound like you would on a vintage console. With 80dB of gain, you've got a preamp that's ready to bring out the best in any microphone — condenser, dynamic, or ribbon. Trust us: it's really difficult to make this thing sound bad!

Add rich transformer saturation to any source

The Heritage Audio HA73 has Carnhill input and output transformers, ready to add warmth, girth, and authority to any sound source — mic, line, or even DI instruments. The DI circuit is ahead of the mic input transformer, perfect for adding some hair to DI bass signals on the way in. The HA73 has separate input and output gain controls, so you can crank the input to get more transformer color, without overloading the output stage.