Recreating the world’s most desirable mic preamp
With several other brands attempting to clone this vintage design, we decided to go the extra mile. We pride ourselves in delivering the most authentic replica. Numerous endeavors have been made to achieve the original character, making us confident in saying that you will not find this level of component quality and craftsmanship in any other offering in this price range. When it comes to components, almost correct or similar will not do. We use the right components, and the result is the right sound.
A Sowter output transformer exclusive to Stam Audio
The first step was to obtain a replica of the original Marinair LO1166 output transformer found on the original units. In a joint effort with Brian Sowter from Sowter transformers in the UK, the Sowter 1777a was born, an exact replica respecting the original laminations, ratio and frequency response of the Marinair, exclusive to Stam Audio.
Warm sound and character
Lastly, there are the small details which make the largest contribution to the finished sound. We made the extra effort to source critical components, such as the Vishay and IC capacitors, 1% metal film resistors and most importantly a Toshiba 2N3055 output transistor, which all hugely contribute to the unit’s sound and character.
The Stam Audio 1073EQ features:
- high pass filter
- switchable low shelf
- switchable mid band
- fixed high frequency band
- DI for bass, synth, guitar, etc.
- polarity switch
- 48V phantom power
- impedance switch
Due to the unique coloration of this unit, your recordings will benefit from the recognisable warmth of the original, which is described by many as deep and incredibly detailed. There is a reason these units have been the most popular choice in studios for the past 50 years. They create the sonic footprint we associate with professional recordings.
The 1073EQ is made with better components
Unlike other offerings on the market this replica respects the original circuit and components. The differences, in order of importance are listed below:
- A Carnhill line input transformer.
- A proper Marinair LO1166 output transformer replica custom made for us by Sowter transformers in the UK.
- A 2N3055 output transistor
- 1% metal film resistors
- transistors (not BC550)
- Vishay and IC capacitors as per the original (not Chinese capacitors)
The Stam Audio 1073EQ will be completely hand made in Chile. This is the only way we can manufacture them with these types of essential components.
100% satisfaction guarantee – if you don’t love your 1073EQ, we’ll refund you
If you’ve used an original 1073 EQ before, we’re extremely confident the Stam Audio 1073EQ will put a big smile on your face every time you use it. However, if you’ve never touched the original before, as gear lovers ourselves we understand that the only way to really know if this preamp & EQ is for you, is to put it through its paces. That’s why the Stam Audio 1073EQ comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. This allows you to get it into your rack and see how it impacts your recordings. If you love it (and we think you will!), great…keep the unit and create amazing music with it. If not, no problems. Just send it back to us and we’ll fully refund your purchase. And don’t worry, Whichever way you decide to go we will remain friends.
scottyjrocker –
This is a thing of beauty. Fantastic on my vocal chain. The pre amp is incredible on its own and the eq is bang on. Used this on the bass the other day and it really smashes life. I had some neve pre amps that I use also and it’s really hard to tell the difference. This is a no brainer!
tim –
Worth the wait!! The Stam 1073EQ does not disappoint. Great vintage tone. As good as the originals. Some other clones kinda “get close” but this delivers the magic. Keep up the great work Stam!
Daniel –
The vintage Neve tone you are looking for, plus an excellent EQ to add presence to your material.
derekreesemusic –
WOW This is the Best preamp and EQ I’ve ever used,
Without the eq the preamp has an awesome forward presence, with the EQ engaged it has a beautifully rich low end with a top end that is crisp and airy, thank you Stam Audio.
Gavin –
Pre amp and EQ both sound top drawer, love mine
RyanRuin –
The 1073 Pre/EQ has such a beautiful sound and is very versatile. First, all on sources, as an EQ insert, it completely blew away every 1073 plugin I own (UAD, Waves, etc). On live tracked vocals the sound was huge. I can only describe it as lush, wide and open with a rich tone. It put a smile on my face the second I heard with without even having to turn any knobs. When you start getting into pushing the unit harder, the distortions produced are very pleasant. I highly recommend this unit to anyone serious about recording acoustic instruments especially vocals. I also love 1073 on kick/snare, but it will sound good on anything. Extra brownie points to Stam for shipping it so fast as well (it arrived at my place in 4 days once it was shipped from their warehouse).
Lutz Munka –
I do not have any experience with the original hardware, but the sound of this pre-amp is absolutely amazing. As soon as stam is selling them again, i ll order a second one! <3
Pablo –
Fantástico preamp! Nada como enchufar el micrófono y tus voces encajarán perfectamente en la mezcla.
Probado también en un bajo y el low end es impresionante!
Felicidades a todo el equipo de stam audio por la fabricación de uno de los mejores aparatos que he tenido ocasión de probar.
Genial servicio al cliente y rápido envío!
Dave –
I’ve got 4 of these and I’ll probably be ordering more. These sound great and all of the input and output options on the back make my work flow so much easier. I’ve been happy with everything I’ve bought from Stam so far and they’ve really outdone themselves with this one. Thanks Stam!!!
Jamie Sitar –
I bought a pair of these with the line input transformer and the Sowter output. They’re incredible. They sound just as huge and smooth as the originals, but they’re dependable and affordable. So far, I’ve used them on vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, and synth – all with the expected stunning result.
Stephen Gallagher –
My 1073eq took almost 2 years to arrive …was it worth the wait? YES! ABSOLUTELY! This unit sounds beautiful. I am a very happy man. Thanks Stam!
Al Isler –
I waited patiently for the model with the Sowter transformers and it was totally worth it. This thing sounds absolutely gorgeous. Like velvet butter. It’s also whisper quiet. I engaged the DI and cranked the gain to max and no noise at all.
The sound is huge, smooth, but still incredibly detailed. It made my “whatever” guitar in my “whatever” room sound (almost) like a Fleetwood Mac record. I’m incredibly impressed and totally in love with it. Can’t wait for the rest of the stuff I have on order 🙂
Karnig Baghdassarian –
This is a honestly huge sounding pre amp!! It makes the singer smile. it has a certain touch of magic. Vocals seriously become huge, and believe me i tried a range of valuable pre amps. it has the dark vintage tone. it does have a certain tone. and it has HUGE amount of gain!!!! Talking about the EQ, the eq is sooooooo smoooth, u raise the high end to the end, still do not get any spitty type of effect. its so silky. the low is not muddy AT ALL!!! amazing piece of gear.
Daniel Salvador –
Excellent preamp and EQ!! I’ve always wanted a 1073pre+eq and I could never afford it, but thanks to Stam now I was able to afford one and get an amazing piece of gear for a fraction of the cost of what the real thing would’ve been.
In terms of quality, it is excellent too! Couldn’t have a better preamp at this price and at this level of quality, thank you Stam! 🙂
Ken McGowan (verified owner) –
My first experience with Stam and I have to say it has been excellent. I bought a pair of these with the line input transformer and the Sowter output. Pre amp is huge and the EQ is super smooth. Everything it touches turns into something special . Service from Stam has been great from Order to Delivery. Already got my eye on some more Stam products
Pablo Urrutia –
Es un excelente equipo, los resultados sonoros son muy buenos, te facilita mucho la vida cuando ya grabas con un producto de calidad, la voces quedan de inmediato adelante, le das unos toquecitos al eq y ya estás listo!!!…lo mejor de todo es que son precios asequibles sin tranzar con la calidad.
Daniel Redd –
Stam Audio hits one out of the park yet again. This time with their replica version of the venerable 1073 Mic Pre. Stam Audio held nothing back and provided us with Carnhill Input (I/P) Transformers (Trany), Sowter Output (O/P) Trany, the correct number of high quality Inductors (3) from Carnhill, High Quality Transistor and lastly, High Quality Circuit Components. All this led a Thick and Lucious sounding Mic Pre!
Not only that, once you start driving the I/P this is where things get very interesting and complex. Turns out, when you start driving the I/P Knob past 50 and above, you start overdriving the signal causing beautiful rich sounding distortion and changing the original EQ Curve of the signal. But engage the EQ and now, you can start to shape the distortion of the distorted EQ Curve thus becoming a tone shaper.
This is where the complexity kicks in because every I/P Dent past 50 delivers a slight different EQ Curve providing a plethora of tone shaping options when boosting. However, if you wish to clean up the enriched EQ Curve, when you attenuate, it’ll always be the same type of cut curve no matter how distorted your EQ Curve may be. One last thing about the EQ, each High Pass (HP) Filter Freq has a different type of Filter which makes shaping the Bass Freqs very interesting and fun. None of this could’ve been accomplished had Josh and the team at Stam Audio not used top quality components throughout the entire device.
Stam Audio definitely delivered a great sounding unit here without sacrifices. The 1073EQ has depth and warmth, and when you start Boosting the Upper Freqs, it does it effortlessly and with lush. And that bass! Man that bass! The best analogy I’ve come up with is when someone knocks at a heavy door. You hear the knock inside the house, but because it’s low freq transients, you also feel the knock slightly vibrate the room and walls. That’s the bass I got from Stam! It was rich and beautiful!
What would I like to see in a MKII 1073EQ? First, I would like for the knobs to be flushed with the faceplate. Second, the addition of at least one or two more High Shelf Freqs, at least a 15K or 16K addition would be great. Next, a Post O/P Attenuator to also drive the gorgeous Sowter O/P Trany. Lastly, although I do like the current color, the gray knobs blend in too much with the faceplate. I’m thinking some sort of Charcoal Gray, Black of some sort of darker shade of the Slate Blue. Notice these are mostly cosmetic changes and additional features for additional value. The signal path is great as it is!
In closing, I strongly believe that the only reason Stam Audio is compared to the Sub $1K brands is because of its price. You absolutely will not get close to the quality Stam Audio brings to the table. ALL Sub $1K brands will cut corners compromising the sound signature of a real 1073. Even if you Mod a Sub $1K Brand, it will always fall short of the Stam 1073EQ, let alone a real 1073. Stam Audio really performs against units costing $2-3K at retail stores. Let’s never take Stam Audio for granted because Joshua and the Stam Audio team are delivering out of this world studio gear at a reasonable price for home/project studio owners. Even big studios benefit out of Stam because they can preserve their classic gear and throw reliable and consistent Stam Audio workhorses that’s not far at all from sounding like the originals.
One last thing, I gotta give props where props are due. Stam Audio really does go above and beyond with quality parts. I’ve noticed now with the SA-2A, 3A and 1073EQ that the potentiometers (Pots) are top notch! Every time I’ve conducted my tests, I make sure to level match. Well, I’ve noticed that the Pots in Stam Audio always and I mean ALWAYS! respond accurately each and every time with very little effort. It’s the right type of tactile feedback to what my digital meters are displaying. This is not the case with my Sub $1K gear! Sub $1K never amplifies or attenuates at a consistent rate. So kudos to Stam Audio.
David DiMuzio –
This into an 1176 compressor is the sound of rock. This unit totally brought the sound of my tracks to the level I’d been looking for. Suddenly I was hearing the sound of my favorite records when recording.
Yan Grill –
Le 1073 EQ + Stam : enfin du gros et beau son, très bien équilibré pour chacune des notes que l’on joue avec ce préampli c’est limpide et puis dès que l’on appuis sur EQ, alors là c’est la cerise sur le gâteau, tout se transforme au fur et à mesure des balayages de fréquences sans jamais être déçu des possibilités tellement nombreuses, c’est toujours que du bon son, on redécouvre notre instrument de musique. Merci à Neve pour le master du 1073 EQ et à Stam de nous permettre d’y gouter pauvre que nous sommes.
Camilo –
I bought two 1073EQ+ MK2 units and I’m pairing them with two SA-76D+ compressors. These magical pieces of gear are giving me the sound and versatility that I always dreamed of. The EQ on these units let’s you sculp the sound in endless ways and the compressor has become a swiss army knife in my studio (the SLO function and the tube option have taken these units to another level). So far I’ve recorded drums (kick and snare), acoustic guitars, electric guitars and vocals achieving wonderful results (I can’t wait to test these babies with more instruments).
In terms of built quality they are definitely built like tanks. You can tell that a lot of work and effort has been put in to make sure they meet the highest standards. Hopefully they will still be doing their job long after I’m gone.
I would also like to add that I’m extremely grateful with the Stam Audio staff for being so kind and helpful. I was treated more like a friend rather than a mere client.
Hope you find this review useful and make lots of music with whatever gear you have. We are living in a wonderful time for music production! We now have access to gear, plugins and sounds that in the past, only the big studios could afford! Cheers!
Patrick Pleau (verified owner) –
Wonderful preamp and eq, lots of colour choice, very well build, great service from Stam. I use it everywhere for tracking vocals, guitars, mixing, master bus, it’s so great. Vintage vibe and analog sweetness to my digital mixes and it looks great. Very happy with my 1073 EQ plus mk2.
Lucas –
I’m absolutely loving it and using it every day!
This thing is a game-changer. The sound quality is top-notch, and it’s become an essential part of my setup.
Regarding the V/M cap, I prefer the sound when it’s pressed down. Adds a sweet warmth to the source.
The combination of the 1073 and my SA-76 ADF is truly magical. It brings out the best in my recordings, adding that extra punch and clarity. I’m absolutely thrilled with the results.
Benjamin –
I have received my 1073 EQ+ Mk2 last month. What can I say? This thing is incredible. I haven’t worked a lot with legendary analog gear before (altough I had a nice Daking Mic Pre myself) but I now understand why so many people praise the Neve sound. Each takes I make with this beauty are incredibly thick, organic yet open and detailed. Plus the build quality is astonishing. Thank you so much Josh and congratulations for your impeccable work!