Heritage Audio HA81A

Definitive British-Spec Channel Strip

The Heritage Audio HA-81A gives you what generations of recording engineers have lusted after. The legendary 1073 console module wrote the book on characterful microphone preamplification, but arriving as it did in the early ’70s, it was paired with a three-band equalizer that sounded incredible, but left something to be desired in terms of flexibility. Then the mighty 1081 EQ arrived with four overlapping bands and under-the-bonnet enhancements that made it sound better than ever. It still possessed the ability to transform iron-poor sources into powerhouse tracks, plus it offered the surgical precision its predecessor did not. Now, the Heritage Audio HA-81A packs the best of the best: an all-discrete, Class A 73-style mic preamp and a powerful 81-style EQ, all in a tidy 1U rackmount chassis decked out in classic RAF gray livery.

The preamp by which all others are measured

Heritage Audio’s take on the legendary 73-style preamp is nothing less than a tour de force. It’s all here: 80dB of gain to handle even your lowest-output passive ribbon mics in an all-discrete Class A circuit path with Carnhill and St. Ives input and output transformers. Cranking the transformer-coupled input gain stage saturates your signal with lovely vintage-flavored coloration. The HA-81A preamp section delivers the characteristic Class A sound with a harmonically rich bottom end, focused mids, and euphonically resonant highs. The feature set includes phantom power, gain, output trim, a 20dB pad, polarity reverse, a broad gain-range DI, a line input, and switchable impedance for optimizing the preamp’s response to a variety of microphones.

The last word in console EQs

Introduced in 1972 as a 4-band upgrade from the 1073 (itself a legend), the 1081 was deployed in classic Neve boards such as the 8048. Fitting testimony to how good they sounded, vintage 8048s with 1081 modules are still in use today at world-class studios such as The Village in LA. But you don’t have to book time there to enhance your tracks with definitive British EQ. Heritage Audio designed the HA-81A with a vintage 1081-style circuit with broad frequency coverage and unrivaled punch. Modeled on the 1081, generally considered to be the best console EQ module ever made, the HA-81A’s EQ section is an exceptionally musical 4-band, inductor-based circuit with high and lowpass filters, plus overlapping parametric low- and high-midrange bands. This is the authoritative, audacious sound behind countless hits — and it can be yours, with the Heritage Audio HA81A.

Legendary performance, epic value

Considering the HA81A’s impressive sonic performance and versatility, it’s amazing that Heritage Audio managed to bring it in at such an affordable price point. But then, that’s what they do. Founded in 2011 by engineer/producer Peter Rodriguez, Heritage Audio immediately set about designing and manufacturing equipment inspired by legendary vintage British console modules, using the same handwired, transformer-coupled Class A circuitry, with functionality aimed at today’s studio workflows. Built to stringent tolerances in their state-of-the-art Spanish factory using reliable modern components, Heritage designs deliver clean, problem-free audio with generous headroom and the vintage-flavored sonics we all crave. Sweetwater is proud to offer you such a