It is very hard to give an objective opinion about something that comes close to your idea of how things should be: you lose your honorable objectivity and suddenly you hear yourself defending idealistic concepts tied to your childhood.
Let's not kid ourselves: today's product is not intended for the classic workstation. It is a copy of pages 1 and 2 of the electronics cookbook: the Neve 1272 design.
A true classic based on the BA28AV stage, a set of hand-picked components forming a class A circuit in which we won't find a single op-amp. Instead, each amplification block is built from a combination of BC184C transistors or equivalents and a 2N3055, distributed in two stages in which the input or output transformer is an integral part of the circuit.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CLASS A
Signal amplification circuits are the most delicate part of any signal processing structure, and they create the "bottlenecks" in the quality and amount of distortion of our gear. The different ways of increasing the size of a waveform depend on the size and power consumption possibilities of a circuit, which brings us to the first question: what is class A? Class A is the most logical way to amplify a signal, biased so that the entire waveform is conducted, that is, amplifying it whole in one go instead of splitting it up, the system used in the other classes, thus achieving lower distortion and purer behavior in the linear region. In single-ended circuits such as Neve's BA28AV, the response does not suffer the drastic drop seen in class AB circuits built with op-amp ICs, those "ticks" made of a chip of acid-etched silicon on a laser/photographic print. In class A circuits, the response is very similar to that of tube circuits, but with smaller size and lower power consumption. We must also consider crossover distortion, at the point where the signal is split into separate "amplification packets" in class AB, a problem that does not exist in class A and can only be solved by reducing the signal level at the zero point, clearly affecting the second harmonic.
In the case of the 1272, the class A circuit with a special output transformer produces just the right amount of second-harmonic distortion, considered far more musical than third-harmonic distortion, which is normally associated with solid-state circuits.
In light of the concept we are analyzing, a quick look at the guts of this PRE 2 reveals a fantastic landscape: an extremely simple structure with very few transistors, which shows the genius of its design; a stepped input pot with plenty of low-tolerance resistors; a SOWTER input transformer per channel and a special output transformer from the same brand, a dead ringer for those in the legendary AMEK 1000 and 2000 series consoles, so we won't miss the Neve L01166 transformers. High-quality switches and good grounding, including a grid on the board, a well-isolated power supply with a small brand-name toroidal transformer, all of which add up to an elegant, well-finished unit.
The main disadvantage of class A circuits is their poor energy efficiency, which requires a larger power supply, making them impractical for building consoles with more than twenty channels; besides the increase in circuitry size and weight, the cost at those dimensions would skyrocket.
In principle, for a single module we shouldn't make too much of this; in all other cases it will in practice be a losing design, but all romantics lose with elegance.
In any case, I am including a diagram of the two stages that make up each preamp. Learn from it; I still find it overwhelmingly beautiful.
DESCRIPTION
Dual class A Neve 1272-style mic preamp, with +48V phantom power switchable per channel, phase reverse, both with indicator LEDs, a stepped input pot in 5 dB steps, a front-panel line input with selector and a high-impedance FET transistor, an input level LED and a conductive-plastic output pot, SOWTER input and output transformers, a blue enamel finish and polished aluminum knobs, all in a single rack unit.
On the back we have XLR inputs and XLR and balanced jack outputs, which is useful for direct monitoring, a ground lift per channel and the voltage selector.
IN OPERATION
The result is immense: very good on vocals, kick drum and acoustics. It is less bright in the high frequencies than the AVALON M5 but behaves similarly in presence and clarity, setting itself apart by how it enlarges the signal, as well as by the quality of its gain "ceiling." Compared to my MILLENNIA HV3, I found it less flexible but very close in quality, and above all you have to consider that it costs between fifteen and forty percent less, although a decent VU meter is sorely missed.
Live, I used it during one day of sessions recording Alberto Comesaña's live album, together with a NEUMANN KMS105, with what Oscar Marañón, the live engineer that day, called an impressive presence.
CONCLUSIONS
Most electronics have already been invented. Finding copies today from the era when listening mattered more than pleasing the oscilloscope is still the pursuit of maximum quality, a pipe dream thanks to which Rupert Neve is today an elderly millionaire and we are sad apprentices.
All this is still just a story; the reality is the box I have tested, which is now before my ears, confirming classic ideas that never fail and putting to shame the lack of method and conviction of many of its competitors.
As I said before, the absence of decent VU meters is unforgivable in a device of this type and price, though you forget about it once you are working with it and get used to looking at the single LED devoted to that purpose. Perhaps it was because of the spartan design, or because the savings were spent on licenses, who knows.
If you are thinking of buying this gadget to record at home, bear in mind that you are getting a first-class piece of gear that will be very hard to pay off, but it will make you happy like few other "boxes," and paired with microphones at its level it is a bombshell: you will be the true envy of your friends and your recordings will be truly big. But the rest of your gear must be at the right level; don't forget that.
