Golden Age Audio Premier PRE-73 DLX

My only experience with a 1073-style preamp was with the Warm Audio WA-273, a great sounding unit but I sold it after i noticed a mains hum at the right channel, the one that was close to the power transformer, the hum was barely audible but it was there and after i discover it I became sensitive to it.

One of the key points of my decision to buy this Golden Age Premier PRE-73 DLX was the external power supply so to avoid having again mains hum in my signal. I also heard good words in forums that it sounds identical to the original.

The Warm Audio had better stepped gain switch, it felt military grade while in this unit is just ok, overall all of the buttons are not bad but not as good as Warm's.

If you are wondering where GAP is cutting corners just take a closer look at the front image of the unit... look at the DI's input jack... no bolt around it, it is just like Behringer's cheap guitar pedals. When you buy cheap you do not expect to last so you can not complain, but in this unit an input jack like that is unacceptable.

All the input socket moves as you plug the instrument cable in it, it is also moves when the cable is moving and if you pay attention you will notice some sounds coming as an artifact of that movement.

If you think this is not a big deal just imagine while having an instrument plugged in the DI you stumble up on the connected cable and you pushing force to this connector... most likely it will get damaged.

If you look at the back of this unit ALL the TRS (Out and Insert) are having plastic bolts around them, and these connectors are not for often use cases. Warm Audio had this right with a plastic bolt, BAE and Heritage has it even better with metallic bolt.

The GAP no doubt cut corners in this and cheap out for no reason, I wondering to what else they cheaped out that the eye can not see...

The power's supply cable is thin and feels cheap and fragile, like is meant to power a cheap toy or something

I would rather pay 5 or more euros and have a good sturdy device

The most annoying was that the device came with the oddest malfunction I ever encounter, a malfunction that has to do.... well you guess it, with the DI.

While having connected my Precision bass and turning the bass volume half way down the device produces extreme hum mixed with radio waves, when I plug my humbucker LP guitar this only happens when the LOW-Z button is engaged. If the cable is not plugged to the instrument the device produces extreme hum, way above the expected normal hum.

Other cons are that the knobs are very close together and is not that satisfying working with them, not a big deal though.

The pros of this device is the output pad, I can be very handy in some situations, the leds are faster and overall better than the Warm Audio, AIR EQ is a very welcome addition, i can not comment on its quality though since I never put it to the test.
The half rack size is great too, It can fit in more places on your desk.

I will return the device to Thomann for money back, I rather save money and buy a BAE or I would rather have nothing that is half way there...

I kind of like it better than my DPX (the preamp section of the DPX, just to be clear). The GAP has more usable range, where the Neve seems to have less headroom on the input. Also, GAP’s build quality is on par with Neve’s. A previous reviewer complained about the D.I. input jack on the pre73… I’m “glad” to report the D.I. input on the Dpx is exactly the same PCB mounted 1/4 jack.
In terms of sound, the DPX can get abrasive when pushed, with brighter microphones (U87), unlike Pre73 which gets progressively darker, but with a sweet high end that reminds me of 15 ips tape. Great for smoothing out vocals, a little too slow for guitars and drums; amazing for bass (synth or electric). This is my favorite 1073 style preamp that I heard to date. This is what comes to mind when I think vintage Neve sound.

1 year ownership edit: upon deeper understanding of the 1073 circuit and taking the lid off I can hole heartedly say that this is as good as it gets in terms of circuit design modeling. Good parts throughout (including the inductor for the HP filter, BC184s all over the place, quality transformers and up to spec 2N3055. You can definitely do different, but you cannot do better.