Heritage Audio / HA73 EQ Elite

A channel strip that adds a 3-band EQ to the HA73. It uses the same inductors as the original, achieving an extremely accurate EQ curve.

■Vintage NEVE Style Channel Strip

The HA73EQ Elite is surprisingly affordable and manufactured to the same specifications as the popular 73JR, 73EQJR, and DMA73.

Leveraging the knowledge and expertise gained from its carefully hand-soldered and hand-wired products, Heritage Audio has combined large-scale efficient production with modern construction methods to reduce the high manufacturing costs associated with Western Europe. The result is an uncompromising, high-quality, affordable model in the ever-expanding entry-level segment.

Of course, the key elements for true vintage sound remain, including industry-standard Carnhill transformers hand-wound in St. Ives, England.

Manufactured in the same Spanish facility as the rest of the Heritage Audio product line, the HA73EQ Elite delivers a classic tone with a rich, musical quality that is said to dramatically improve the sound of almost any source.

The 73 EQ cannot provide accurate equalization curves without high-quality capacitors. The key is the correct ""Vinkor"" pot core inductors. In many cases, these expensive inductors are replaced with common ferrite cores, or even the mid-band dual inductors are replaced with a single. But not with Heritage Audio!

The HA73EQ Elite EQ section uses WIMA capacitors with a tolerance of +/-5% and three accurate vintage-style ""Vinkor"" pot core inductors, so the equalization curves are difficult to compare with Heritage Audio's handmade EQ line.

The HA73EQ Elite preamp section has input gain, output trim, -20 dB pad, polarity inversion, +48V phantom power, and the EQ section has high shelving EQ, midrange EQ, low shelving EQ, variable high-pass filter, and EQ bypass. It comes housed in a robust 1U British made steel and aluminium chassis and uses an external power supply for low noise operation.