Pre-573 Microphone Preamp

The PRE-573 is a one-channel vintage style microphone, line and instrument preamplifier. The signal path uses only discrete components like resistors, capacitors and transistors. The microphone and line input and the line output are transformer balanced, using two different transformers, each one optimized for its purpose.

This is the way audio components were built before integrated circuits became available. The subjective sound quality delivered by vintage equipment is often prefered over the one delivered by modern units, a situation that is even more obvious now when music is recorded with clean sounding digital audio equipment.

The circuit used in the PRE-573 is similar to the preamp section in the classical 1073 module with a cor- responding sound character that is warm, punchy, sweet and musical. These classic characteristics have been heard on countless recordings through the years and it is a versatile sound that works very well on most sound sources and in most genres. The essence of this sound is now available at a surprisingly low cost, making it available to nearly everyone.