Sunday, October 13, 2024

REVIEW: BEHRINGER 1273 COMPARED TO NEVE 1073SPX AND WARM AUDIO WA-73

Are you ready for the Behringer 1273-KT clone of the classic Neve 1073 in a smackdown comparison to a real Neve 1073SPX? Just for good measure we’ll also compare the Behringer to the Warm Audio clone of the classic Neve 1073. Along the way I hope to answer that question which is burning a hole in your brain; Is the Behringer 1273 good? You may think you know but there are some big surprises awaiting. Let's dig in!

The Behringer 1273 features two full channel strips of 73-style preamps

Click to enlarge
Rack of preamps for testing, Top is 1273, below that is WA-73, Neve 1073 at bottom


The number one most read article here on High on Technology is the previous review-shootout between the Warm Audio 73 clone and the current Neve 1073SPX. The big surprise from that comparison was the fact that the Warm Audio ’73 preamp stage (compared to the Neve) delivered virtually identical recorded performance but turn on the EQ section and the Neve pulled way out in front with rich character, clearly defined midrange and beautiful sparkle in the highs. 


On the outside the EQ section of the Warm Audio piece has more sections, more selections and more frequencies than the Neve but when you actually engage those features for sound shaping they come off sounding thin and shrill compared to the real Neve. But, if you just need to bring a studio microphone up to line-level to feed a digital recording input the Warm Audio piece with the EQ bypassed, is more than up to the task delivering virtually identical recorded performance to the Neve 1073. (Check out the original H.o.T. review here)


Warm Audio uses Carnhill brand audio transformers made in the UK, these are not inexpensive components. Years ago the company which is Carnhill today was operating under a different brand name and they claim they were a subcontractor for Neve which got them intimate proprietary knowledge about the unique transformer designs created by Rupert Neve. Mr. Neve's gapped designs allowed class A circuits to be used without magnetizing the transformer cores (if the iron cores become permanently magnetized the performance of the transformer diminishes dramatically). 


Inside the Behringer 1273


Behringer likes to manufacture as much of their products as possible so costs can be tightly controlled. Inside the 1273 you’ll find the transformer positions filled with components designed by Midas and manufactured in the Behringer factories in China.


BEHRINGER 1273 OVERVIEW

As you take the 1273 out of the box your first impression will be what a stout little box this is, it weighs over 10 pounds (all those Midas-designed audio transformers add weight). The steel enclosure feels thick, solid and rigid in construction. It is more shallow front-to-back than either the Warm Audio or Neve version.


Click to enlarge
Output meters on 1273 (7 LED, +24) and WA-73 series (5 LED, +20)


The Behringer 1273 is a two-space rack mount unit containing two identical, independent preamp channels. Each channel has microphone and line-level inputs with three band EQ and high pass filters. Class A amplifiers and inductor based EQ are used throughout the 1273. There is a seven segment LED output indicator which follows the output level knob, this lets you know and easily adjust exactly what size signal level you’re sending from the output of the 1273. This should be a dream machine for folks who regularly record in stereo. The two channels share a single inbuilt power supply which is capable of operating anywhere in the world. 


1273 PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS

Max Output Level: +28dBu

Microphone Frequency Response: 20 to 20 kHz plus or minus .5 dB

Line and Instrument Frequency Response: 20 to 20 kHz plus or minus 1.0 dB

Distortion (THD+N): less than .07% from 50 to 20 kHz @ +4 dBu

Noise: less than -83dBu (20-20 kHz unweighted)

Dynamic Range: greater than 102dB (20-20 kHz unweighted)


These are some impressive specs for the low price leader in 1073 style preamps. Top that off with precision metal work and a meticulous paint job and you have a solid contender in the 1073 race. 


Neve 1073SPX, click to enlarge


OVERALL DESIGN

The original Neve product was designed to be a component inside a much larger, mixing console system. The Neve 1073 is laid out, left to right: Treble, Midrange, Bass while the Behringer and Warm Audio are arranged in reverse order, left to right: Bass, Midrange and Treble (more like the arrangement you’d find on a piece of hifi stereo equipment). The Neve is arranged the way it is because the module was designed originally to be a component in a mixing console, they literally took it out of the console, rotated it 90-degrees (counter clockwise) and made it into a 19” rack mount piece.


Behringer 1273, click to enlarge


When you compare physical exterior features initially it appears Behringer used the Warm Audio 73 design for their inspiration even more than the Neve original design. The input selection switches on the front left side are laid out identically on both, same for the tone control arrangement. 


Warm Audio WA-273EQ, click to enlarge


Behringer kept the switchable low-pass filter controls on the right side of the face (like the Neve) while Warm Audio moved the low-pass control over to the left side next to the Input Gain knob. The output metering on the Behringer matches the Neve with one-to-one accuracy down to the exact same numerical levels displayed on identical seven section indicators. Warm Audio only gives you five section indicators and the loudest is indicated to be +20 which is Red. Neve and Behringer give you two more displayed levels with +24 at the top. 


TONE CONTROL SURPRISE

The concentric tone controls have been an iconic feature on the Neve 1073 design since its inception. The combination of the unique knob layout and circuit construction make it challenging to copy. On the Neve 1073 the outer ring selects the frequency center and the inner knob adjusts the boost and cut. Behringer has reversed the functions on the 1273, the inner knob selects the frequency and the outer ring adjusts the boost and cut. It seems odd that Behringer would reverse these key control functions since they’re trying to slide right into the throne occupied by the original Neve design. The Warm Audio 73 with tone controls has them arranged in the same order as the Behringer 1273 but has the inner knob adjusting boost/cut and the outer knob adjusting the frequency center (like the Neve).


INSIDE THE BEHRINGER 1273

You’ll need two small sizes of star type screw driver to take the top off the 1273. The thick steel cover has a nice solid feel as you lift it off to reveal the inner workings. The 1273 is packed with precision purpose-built electronics. The circuit board layouts have multi-pin connectors which allow them to sandwich tightly together and minimize wiring looms. There are still plenty of wires connecting signals around the inside of the 1273.


1273 transformers and inductors, click to enlarge


Midas Designed Transformer and Inductor Components

The Neve 1073 has two input transformers on each channel, one for microphone signals and one for line-level signals. Behringer owns the Midas brand located in the U.K. and they tapped this engineering group to design audio transformers for the 1273. There are what appear to be eight small signal components in Mu-Metal cans along with two larger open-frame output transformers to drive those +28 dBu outputs. Behringer knew we’d be peeking inside the 1273 so they carefully branded each transformer with an attractive gold label prominently displaying the Midas logo and a message to let you know these components were engineered and designed in the U.K. (and manufactured in China). I speculate that the two largest cans are line-level input transformers, two of the smaller ones are microphone input transformers and four of the smaller cans are inductors for the EQ and High Pass filters. The two large open-frame transformers are the output components. 


1273 Open frame output transformers, click to enlarge


The Behringer 1273 has been engineered to be two channels in one box. It’s not designed as a left half and right half, it’s one high density, tightly integrated two-channel package of high quality components. If Behringer wants to build a single channel version they would need to design all new circuit boards since the 1273 is clearly meant to be what it is, two channels of 73 style preamps for an outrageously inexpensive price. 


I would not want to be a repair tech on the 1273, replacing a damaged front panel control would require a huge amount of careful disassembly. Fortunately the adjustable-pots all appear to be closed type so they should remain free of static from dust longer than units that have open-frame pots. 


There is no sign of false or fake design in the 1273, it appears to be a real and fully implemented 1073-style pair of preamps with EQ and it’s equipped with quality transformer coupled inputs and outputs. Without more detailed teardown  and measurements I can only speculate about the circuitry but my initial examination of the interior left me impressed. 


USING THE BEHRINGER 1273 IN THE STUDIO - The Contenders line up

The number one application for the 1273 is getting a vocal microphone up to line level so you can feed it to a compressor or EQ or right into a DAW converter input. By cloning the preamp design of the Neve, Behringer claims to deliver the same +80dB of gain so you can use virtually any microphone with it, this includes low output ribbon mics as well as high output condenser styles. For all my testing I left the Hi Pass Filter and EQ bypassed. 


The Warm Audio WA-73 (clone version of Neve 1073) also promises the same 80 dB of gain available, another reflection of the clone design process. 80 dB is a LOT of gain, unfortunately background noise goes up on any of the three preamps under test when you move up to the highest gain settings. The High Pass Filter on the WA-73 was bypassed for all test recordings. 


The Neve 1073SPX is the single channel version of their rack mount 1073 product.  The model I used for testing has been here for about four years and it is generally a first choice for vocal recordings. The high pass filter and EQ were bypassed on the Neve for all my test recordings. 


The Test Setup

Each of the three preamps has numerical indicators on their respective stepped gain controls. I started doing test recordings on the Beheringer 1273 with the preamp set to 50 dB and I brought up the output control to hit my target recording level peak of +12dBu. I chose this level so it would leave lots of headroom since I was recording with no compressor or limiter. For precision signal level metering I used one of the incredible JLM Peak/RMS analog, 40-segment meters. By keeping an eye on the meter while singing I could easily work the preamp under test to produce natural sounding tone without gross sounding solid state distortion. The JLM meter helped guide my singing-level by boldly displaying the volume in 1dB increments, by watching carefully I was able to track all the vocals at roughly the same level with no external compression or limiting. 


Listening To The Preamps

For monitoring (while recording) I was using Sennheiser HD600 headphones powered by the Little Labs Monotor amplifier. This combination of headphone and amp delivers natural and effortless listening with ruler-flat frequency reproduction.


The Microphone

I set up a BeesNeez BN251 vocal microphone and used that set to Cardioid (directional) for all my test recordings. This microphone has a wonderful big, clear and natural sound. By using the same microphone for each preamp audition I could really focus on the characteristics of the preamp tone and reproduction. 


I recorded the same lead vocal part four times using the Behringer 1273, three times times using the Warm Audio 73-style preamp and three more times using the Neve version, then I adjusted all the playback tracks to play at the same volume. Finally I listened to the song and switched between the various tracks while listening, I could very quickly A-B compare the sound delivered by the three preamplifiers. 


LISTENING TESTS

I listened to the test recordings using JBL 3 series 8” two-way monitor speakers and Sennheiser HD600 headphones. I listened to the recorded tracks with and without a little Lexicon PCM92 reverb. I listened to them dry with no processing and I listened to them with plugin compression in Logic to tighten them up with the instruments. Finally I listened to the tracks through my UA black face 1176 and Audio-Scape Opto Compressor/Limiter to get a feel for how the recordings would blend in a final song master. How much difference does it make using different preamps of similar design?


TEST RESULTS

It is a testimony to the popularity of the Neve 1073 design that there are so many high quality clones coming out. These are not the only ones either, there are clones by BAE, Stam and Vintech and numerous other boutique builders, all claiming to utilize Mr. Neves original class-A circuit designs connected through suitable high quality input and output transformers to achieve the sonics that have been delighting ears since the late 60’s..


I could record with any of the preamps in the comparison presented here and be totally satisfied with the results. The Behringer 1273 is a breakthrough price per channel for a 73-style preamp and it delivers solid performance in the same ballpark as the Neve. The Warm Audio 73 series does not disappoint either, it produces the big, fat clear sound in the Neve tradition. I finished my testing and came away liking all three of the preamps under test and I’m happy to have them in my recording palette of sonic paints and brushes.


After listening to the test recordings repeatedly for over a week I came away feeling like the genuine Neve 1073 produced the closest to the sound my ears are drawn to. The Neve 1073SPX delivers smooth frequency response with robust midrange, full effortless bass and vivid clarity in the high frequencies that can only be described as very musical sounding. With this preamp I felt like the microphone reached out further into the room and created the most natural recorded performance. This “reach” characteristic was the “tell” in my double blind listening comparisons, if I heard that it was the Neve. 


Rear 1273, click to enlarge

Rear WA-273EQ, click to enlarge

The WA-73 and the Behringer 1273 both deliver excellent sonic performance and provide all the key “1073” requirements. I cut recorded pieces from both mics recorded tracks, spliced them together into a contiguous single track and you would be very hard pressed to tell which vocal is which tonally speaking, they’re both excellent and extremely similar in character. 


The Behringer 1273 is brand new here in our studio so we’ll be experimenting with it a lot more in the future on other sources like acoustic guitar, dobro, cymbals and drums. With the introduction of the 1273 I can see a lot of people will be making great sounding recordings. It delivers the unmistakable professional sound quality and smooth full range frequency response with useful tone shaping features. 


CRYSTAL BALL - MY PREDICTION

Behringer has a history of higher prices at the time of a new product release and dramatically reducing them once they’ve seriously tooled up to stamp a product out in mass quantity. If history repeats itself this would portend to a $349 MAP retail price for the 1273 sometime in the future. After carefully examining the build of the Behringer 1273 I see no reason this price (or even lower) would not be attainable.


EPILOG

The Behringer 1273 is really an exceptional value with no obvious shortcuts or defects. It provides two channels of the classic Neve 1073 style preamp design for only $350 per channel. You could buy five channels of the Behringer for the cost of only one channel of the Neve product (current retail price is $1795 for 1073SPX).


A rack full of 1273 is not going to impress bands looking for a place to record but for a musician/songwriter on a tight budget the 1273 offers a lot of sound, capability and solid performance for a bargain price. 


Thanks for reading High on Technology, Good Music To You!

©October 2024 by Mark King, it is NOT ok to copy or quote without written permission