Heritage Audio HA73EQX2

Classic 2-channel '73 Pre/EQ 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 dual-channel HA73EQ ELITE mic preamp/EQ, 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/EQ module in history, the 1073. In Sweetwater's opinion, they succeeded quite handily. This thing sounds amazing. 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 HA73EQ 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.

The mother of all preamps

The Heritage Audio HA73EQ ELITE 2-channel preamp/EQ 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!

The holy grail of EQ

The EQ section of the HA73EQ ELITE adheres to the classic 1073 inductor-based circuit topology. The vintage 1073 is the holy grail of EQ, and the Heritage Audio 73EQ JR nails its sonics and behavior (complete with its fabled harmonic distortion). It's a three-band affair, with ±16dB of fixed HF shelving at 12kHz; ±18dB of fixed-Q midband peaking with selectable center frequencies at 360Hz, 700Hz, 1.6kHz, 3.2kHz, 4.8kHz, and 7.2kHz; and ±16dB of LF shelving, selectable at 35Hz, 60Hz, 110Hz, and 220Hz. A highpass filter, selectable at 50Hz, 80Hz, 160Hz, and 300Hz, lets you trim your signals of unwanted low end. If you've never worked with a 1073-style EQ before, all we can say is: you're in for a serious treat.

Add rich transformer saturation to any source

The Heritage Audio HA73EQ 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 HA73EQ has separate input and output gain controls, so you can crank the input to get more transformer color, without overloading the output stage.