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RECALL SHEETS
NOW LET’S GET STARTED!
The Warm Audio WA73 is one of the highest quality microphone preamplifiers on the market in its
price range. It uses custom made components similarly found in preamplifiers with much higher price
tags. Home-based musicians and professional studios alike will find the WA73 to be an extremely
powerful, versatile and fully professional piece of gear that is capable of warming and shaping both
input signals and mixes in a way that is very pleasing to the ear.
The information contained in this manual is written to help you get quickly started with
using your WA73.
TECHNICAL SPECS
1. +48V Switch
The 48 volts feature provides power for condenser mics and any other devices requiring continuous
phantom power through the XLR input. This power is supplied at a constant level to prevent any
degradation of audio quality. The adjacent LED lights when phantom power is active.
2. Polarity Switch
This feature inverts the polarity of the signal. Use the polarity switch when recording with more
than one open microphone to combat phase cancellation between microphones.
3. Tone Switch
The control switches the input transformer configuration from a 1:2 (step up) turns ratio to a steeper 1:4
(step up) turns ratio, drawing out a greater degree of coloration and impact from the input transformer.
When engaged, the input impedance of the WA73 is 300 ohms. When disengaged, the input imped-
ance of the WA73 is 1200 ohms. This feature will make a noticeable tone change to most microphones.
The 1200 ohms impedance setting is recommended for condenser and dynamic microphones, and
300 ohms is recommended for dynamic and ribbons. This switch is labeled “Tone” for a reason; most
listeners will find the unswitched setting to be more open and natural, with the engaged setting to be
more punchy, aggressive, or thick. We strongly suggest you experiment with both settings on all sources
to find the best possible tone for your recordings. As with all things, let your ear be the final judge on
which setting to use for any given situation.
4. Line Input Switch
This feature engages the TRS line input on the back of the WA73 and disconnects the XLR microphone
inputs.
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