Authentic Neve 1073 8-channel Preamp with Digital Connectivity for the Modern Studio
Coveted by top engineers and producers since its introduction in 1970, the Neve 1073 channel amplifier represents the holy grail of characterful microphone preamplification. The 1073 input module defined the punchy, authoritative sound of the legendary Neve 80-series consoles that dominated professional recording studios in the Golden Age of Analog. Today, you can obtain this iconic sound for your studio with the AMS Neve 1073OPX 8-channel Mic/Line/DI Preamp rackmount unit. Handwired true to the original vintage design, and updated to meet the demands of modern workflows, the 1073 gives you a rich tonal palette for making audacious statements with your music.
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The industry’s most esteemed front end
With its uniquely euphonic tonal quality, seductive warmth, low-mid punch, and subtle harmonic distortion, the Neve 1073 has, for a half-century, provided studios of all sizes with the industry’s most esteemed front end for producing radio-ready product that blasts right out of the speakers. Carrying on the 1073 pedigree, the AMS Neve 1073OPX gives you eight remote-controlled 1073 preamps with Neve Marinair specification transformers. It also offers USB and Dante digital connectivity courtesy of its preinstalled digital I/O module, priming the legendary Neve preamp sound for its next half-century of prominence. The 1073OPX packs eight legendary 1073 preamps into a 2U rack unit with front and rear connectors for comprehensive connectivity to any studio, stage, or broadcast environment, while modern remote-control software gives you two-way control with total recall of all settings. Mic input sources benefit from Neve’s proprietary Marinair transformer-coupled input stage, and sources can be connected directly to the front-panel mic/line/DI inputs for convenient recording in the studio control room.
Included USB/Dante digital module
Factory installed in your AMS Neve 1073OPX, the Digital I/O card adds a USB and Dante AD/DA interface with eight channels of analog-to-digital conversion for each 1073OPX preamp output, plus two channels of digital-to-analog conversion for the digital monitor return signal path. The USB connection allows the 1073OPX to be connected to a DAW running on a PC or Mac and can serve as your primary/Core Audio interface. In addition to the USB connection, primary and secondary Dante connections permit the 1073OPX to be connected to any Dante Audio-over-IP network as a Dante-enabled preamp.
Legendary, authoritative “big iron” sound
Since the 1970s, the Neve 1073 has reigned as the most sought-after mic preamp and equalizer on the planet — one reason being its inimitable sound, another its impressive versatility. With a generous 70dB of gain on tap, the 1073OPX handles even your lowest-output passive ribbon mics on quiet sources. While today’s 1073OPX retains all its vintage bona fides, AMS Neve remains an R&D-driven company that continually improves their classic designs to meet and exceed the performance requirements of today’s hybrid analog-digital workflows. The name Rupert Neve is synonymous with custom transformer-balanced Class A circuitry, and AMS Neve continues to innovate in that realm with their state-of-the-art Marinair transformers, found on the mic inputs of the 1073OPX. With their “big iron” transformers, Neve consoles deliver wide, linear bandwidth while maintaining audiophile quality throughout the spectrum for rich, full-bodied sound with formidable lows, assertive midrange presence, and sweet, airy highs.
Military-grade build quality
The 1073OPX 8-channel Mic/Line/DI Preamp offers you a user experience like no other. The robust build quality of the 1073OPX — including its rotary switches, stout metalwork, and internal circuitry — is manifestly superior even to most of today’s high-end pro audio gear. And it’s a joy to use. In operation, everything feels just right, from the satisfying precision click of the switches to the spoon-in-honey throw of the headphone level pot. As was all pro audio gear of the era, vintage Neve equipment was built with mil-spec parts and materials — which, together with their extraordinary sonics, explains why we still see half-century-old Neve consoles in major studios worldwide. This is how they used to build professional audio equipment — and AMS Neve still does.
The legend continues
At Sweetwater, the name Neve commands reverence. Rupert Neve started designing audio equipment in the tube console era but made his mark with solid-state designs. Setting up shop in Little Shelford in the ’60s, Mr. Neve faced many obstacles in establishing his brand amid a new technological landscape. Transistors were new, expensive, and difficult to obtain in quantity in the UK. Reliable faders didn’t exist yet — a far cry from today’s world, where parts are affordable and readily available from multiple suppliers, all competing to win bids. Nevertheless, Rupert persisted. By the early 1970s, the Neve company was humming along, taking orders and building custom transformer-balanced consoles for recording and broadcast studios the world over.
Neve 80-series consoles had a huge, punchy, and authoritative sound that defined the sound of ’70s rock. From London to New York to Los Angeles and beyond, top studios were installing Neve desks as fast as they could. By 1978, with the introduction of the majestic 8078 — the pinnacle of handwired analog “production” consoles — and NECAM automation system, Neve boards were the main component of the success formula for any recording studio with world-class aspirations. In the decades since, AMS Neve has innovated with groundbreaking products such as the VR, VX, and 88R series consoles. Today, the company continues to advance the state of the art with cutting-edge pro audio gear that sounds incredible and intelligently addresses the challenges of the digital age.
AMS Neve 1073OPX 8-channel Microphone Preamp with Remote Control & USB/Dante Option Card Features:
- 8 channels of remote-controlled 1073 mic/line/DI preamplifiers
- Proprietary Neve Marinair transformers on microphone input
- Class A transformer-less DI input
- Remote control software can control up to 8 1073OPX racks at a time (64 preamps)
- Automatic total recall of all settings
- Front-panel mic/line/DI combo input
- Rear-panel mic/line/DI D-type connection
- 80Hz highpass filter; 25dB pad; Polarity reverse
- Smart phantom power control
- Lo-Z button switches impedance from 1.3kΩ to 300Ω
- Microphone input: Gain 20dB to 70dB in 1dB steps
- Line input: Gain –20dB to +20dB in 1dB steps
- DI input: Gain 30dB to 60dB in 1dB steps
- Separate stereo monitor path with independent level control
- Latency-free monitoring of all signal sources
- 8 front-panel DI inputs for instrument tracking
- Front-panel headphone output
- Digital I/O module adds USB, Dante, and word clock connectivity
- Designed and crafted in England by AMS Neve engineers
