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Black Lion Audio B173 Preamp  From Black Lion Audio

The B173 captures the essence of the original Neve 1073 at a price anyone can afford.

Black Lion Audio

What We Think

For one of the most affordable sounding 1073 clones on the market, the B173 is really quite impressive.  While we don't always love 1/2 rack space units, at this price point it really speaks to eventually owning a pair.  Getting 2 at this price will give you a great stereo neve preamp for a lot less than 1/2 of most of the other competitors out there.  Ok, we get it, we know it is very affordable, but how does it sound?!

We weren't expecting the B173 to sound the way it does.  It really will run with some of the units that are 2x the price.  Of course all Neve 1073 clones sound a little different, and that is where things get tricky.  The B173 is a bit cleaner and has a bit more headroom over what we tend to expect from vintage 1073's, but this is by no means a complaint!  With the extra headroom you have no trouble with ribbons, active or passive, and because of the slightly cleaner gain you do get a bit more versatility to use across every instrument in your mix.  We know it has a budget price, but the B173 will deliver the sound you are looking for in your studio!

Manufacturer's Description from Black Lion Audio

The B173 is Black Lion Audio’s homage to the highly revered Neve 1073 mic pre. The B173 is a single channel mic pre-amp with input and output transformers, stepped gain, output level control, phantom power, and phase. It features a DI, 80dB of gain, and is housed in a 1U, 1/2 rack chassis.

Black Lion Audio

Specifications

  • Noise Floor: 105dBu
  • Dynamic range: 112dBu
  • Gain Range: Mic +12dB to +80dB, DI -inf to +24dB
  • DI input impedance: 1 Megohm
  • Mic input impedance: 150 ohms
  • Mic at minimum gain: .2% THD+N
  • Mic at 50dB of gain: .16% THD+N
  • DI at unity: .02% THD+N
  • Shipping Weight: 5 lbs 
  • Shipping Dimensions: 13 x 10 x 4 in

Downloads

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B173 Owners Manual

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