Vintech Audio

The Vintech Audio Dual 72 is a dual channel preamplifier designed after the classic Neve 1272 preamps. It has pretty much all of the same design and parts as the 1272 as far as I have been told. The unit is an analog one and has XLR connections as well as 1/4 inch ones. It is indeed rackable and will take up two rack spaces. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Vintech Audio Dual 72 is just as easy as any preamp out there. Each channel has knobs for input sensitively and output gain as well as buttons for phase and phantom power. Each also has a nice looking LED meter that is great when trying to make sure that your levels are all set. Even if you don't have experience with preamps (which you really should if you are using one of these!) you will be able to figure out how to use this as you simply just need to set your levels with this. I haven't seen a manual for this but unless you need it for technical reasons I don't think you need one to figure out how to use the unit. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the Vintech Audio Dual 72 is outstanding and sounds just as good as an original Neve 1272. It is a great pre for any type of application as it just has a full and warm sound that makes it suitable for anything. If you know about Neve and the classic 1272, you know what this is capable of. There really isn't much to say that can be described as this is simply one of the best preamps that you can get. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Vintech Audio Dual 72 for a couple of years and even though I always prefer to have a real Neve pre if I am able to, this is a great substitution if you don't have access to one and really sounds just as good as the original. While this will of course cost you a pretty penny, I would say that if you are a home studio owner looking for a set of high end preamps to upgrade your studio, the Vintech Audio Dual 72 is a good way to go. These are a great investment for any home or professional studio owner looking to get the classic Neve sound without having to have the console.

The Vintech Audio 473 is a four channel set of (Neve) 1073 style microphone preamplifiers. They're not 1073 clones exactly, but share the same make up of that you'd find on them, EQ and all. The connections it has are for both 1/4" and XLR inputs and outputs, as well as 1/4" inputs on the front panel for plugging directly in. It is a rack mountable piece of gear and will take up two rack spaces in a traditional casing. UTILIZATION Regardless of your experience with original Neve 1073 modules, the Vintech Audio 473 is pretty user friendly and there isn't much of a learning curve for this. Each of the four channels is the same, with what's basically a two band EQ, and switches for phantom power, phase, EQ in/out, and a button for selecting either a mic or line input. The two bands of equalization just each have two frequencies to choose from, while the preamp has both a line level and a output level for finer adjustments. Lastly, there's an impedance button to switch between input or output levels. I haven't seen a manual for this, nor do I think most users will need it. SOUND QUALITY The tone quality of the Vintech Audio 473 is definitely of a high standard. While perhaps not as smooth or warm sounding as a real Neve 1073, the price speaks for itself in comparison, as this will cost you nearly as much as one channel of the original will. These are overall really full sounding preamplifiers and are definitely great for a variety of purposes, although I've mostly just used one channel of it for recording vocals. Maybe it's not as good as a real 1073, but very few mic preamps are, and for this price this is definitely the closest you're going to come. OVERALL OPINION The Vintech Audio 473 is the perfect addition to any studio looking to get four high quality preamplifiers at a great price. In terms of price per preamp, it really doesn't get much better than this in terms of quality of the preamps. It's also great to have the EQ on here as it's easy to use and can add a lot to your sound when needed. I'd say that something like this is perfect in a smaller home studio or producer's suite where you might only need no more than four preamps at a time anyway. No matter where you're using it however, the 473 is a great deal!

The Vintech Audio 609 CA is a stereo compressor/limiter that is mostly based on the Neve 33609 compressor/limiter. This is the only dynamic processor that I've seen or used made by Vintech, as they most reissue Neve preamps. The 609 CA is made up of Class A analog components, and does require power from an external power supply that isn't included. It is rack mountable and will take up two spaces in a traditional casing. UTILIZATION Even if you're not familiar with the 33609, the Vintech Audio 609 CA is pretty easy to use granted you know a thing or two about compressor/limiters, so let's assume that you've used other compressors out there before you're using a big guy like the 609 CA. Each of the two channels is broken up into a section for the compressor and a section for the limiter. The limiter has parameters for threshold, attack, and recovery, while the compressor has the same parameters as a limiter but also adds those for gain and ratio. There has it's own in/out switch, and on the right side of the unit, there are switches for bypass and compress for each for the channels as well as metering for gain reduction and a stereo switch. A manual isn't a necessity as far as I'm concerned with the 609 CA. SOUND QUALITY Having used the original Neve 33609, I think it's safe to say that Vintech Audio has done a top notch job with the 609 CA. While this isn't a direct copy of the 33609, it does have a similar essence although it isn't a tone for tone direct copy. It can certainly be used for almost any application out there where you want some compression or limiting, but I've only used it for vocals, a stereo electric guitar send, and for mono kick and snare drum tracks. While my use with the 609 CA may be limited to this, I do believe that it is versatile enough to be used across the board. OVERALL OPINION You're definitely going to pay a whole ton of money for the Vintech Audio 609 CA, but if you're looking for a classic sound that will get the job done more than adequately day in and day out, looking no further than this special compressor/limiter. This isn't going to cost nearly as much as a real Neve compressor/limiter would cost in a new condition, so in this sense it's great to have a company like Vintech Audio out there to help share this sound with more people. Those in the market for a top tier stereo compressor/limiter, regardless of if you're looking for something like the 33609, should check out the Vintech 609 CA.

The Vintech Audio X81 is a high end channel strip that features a microphone preamplifier and a five band EQ (including a high pass filter). The microphone preamp is modeled after the Neve 1081 as it has a similar look and has basically the same make up as far as I know. The unit has both XLR connections and a 1/4 inch input in the front for using this a DI. It is a rack mountable piece of gear that will take up a single rack space. It also requires a separate power supply made by Vintech. UTILIZATION Using the Vintech Audio X81 isn't too hard at all as it is quite user friendly. If you have any experience with any Neve board, this is quite similar to them no matter what the model really (this is a 1081). Even if you don't specifically have experience with a Neve board, these are pretty much the basic parameters that you are going to see on any channel strip. You have a knob for gain, which is the red one, and then you have four dual layered knobs that control both frequency and gain of a differenent band. There is also a knob that control the high pass filter and a knob that controls the overall output level. Since everything is pretty straight forward, I don't think that a manual is necessary. SOUND QUALITY The sound of the Vintech Audio X81 is outstanding. This is pretty much an exact match of the Neve 1081 and is made with all class A circuits. The mic pre has an absolutely killer tone as it gives you an extremely full bodied and rich sound. The EQ is quite clean and does exactly as it says it does. It is definitely suitable for applications and genres of all types as it is simply a great sounding channel strip. In my opinion Neve consoles are the best ever made and Vintech has done an outstanding job here emulating that sound. OVERALL OPINION I first used the Vintech Audio X81 a few years ago and of course was impressed right away. I was expecting it to have a great sound since it is essentially a channel strip from a Neve 1081. I can't say that I really have any complaints whatsoever about this channel strip as it is a great all around choice for professional engineers and studio owners looking for a great single channel mic pre/EQ combination. The price isn't cheap but when compared to an actual Neve, this is quite a deal. I would definitely recommend checking out the Vintech Audio X81 if you are looking for a top end channel strip.

The Vintech Audio 273 is a dual channel microphone preamplifier with built in EQ. It is an analog piece of outboard gear that doesn't have any effects or anything beyond the preamp and the EQ. It has XLR connections in the back and has 1/4 inch inputs in the front for using this as a direct input box if you so choose to. It is indeed a rackable piece of gear and will take up a single rack space. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Vintech Audio 273 isn't too hard to follow, especially if you have experience with channel strips or mic pres and EQ in general as the parameters seen on here are all pretty standard. Each channel on the pre has parameters for gain, output, and two bands of EQ. It also has buttons for impedance and to choose between either a mic or line input. It then has switches for phantom power, phase, and EQ in/out. I haven't seen the manual for the Vintech Audio 273, so I can't say if it would be useful or not, but I can say that the unit is easy enough to use on its own that most people will probably not need a manual. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the mic pres on the Vintech Audio 273 is outstanding. This is just like having a great console pre and EQ combination in a racked pair and definitely lives up to this in terms of sound and clarity. They are great pres for just about any application and the EQ sounds pretty awesome as well, although I don't always use the EQ. The pres won't really color your sound exactly as I do believe that it presents a clear picture of the signal that you are sending it, but like all pres, each one is different and will bring its own sound to the table. Overall, this is a great sounding set of mic pres and it is always a pleasure to use them. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Vintech Audio 273 stereo channel strip on and off for the last year or so and I'm always happy when I get a chance to track with these pres as I always seem to get extreme clarity and warmth in terms of tone. The price isn't cheap, but also isn't all that expensive for a two channels of mic pres and EQ that sound as great as this one does. While definitely suitable for both professionals and home studio owners alike, I would make a case that home studio owners without a board could get a lot out of having one of these as you then have a great pre to record two channels with at once, which is a huge upgrade from just using the pres on your audio interface. Anyone looking for a stereo mic pre/channel strip should definitely consider buying the Vintech Audio 273 channel strip.