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A TEC Award-nominated preamp that wins the hearts of all who hear it.
Consider the A-Designs
Pacifica solid state stereo microphone preamplifier if you're ready for your first really good preamp-or the last one you
may ever need.
How often in life do you encounter someone or something that no one has anything bad to say about?
We haven't met that "someone" yet, but the "something" is the A Designs Audio Pacifica solid state, dual-channel preamp. This
Tec Award nominated beauty has won more hearts than Jennifer Garner, and has, if you'll excuse the pun, garnered
more praise from engineers and producers than just about any other preamp to hit the streets in a long, long time.
A
Designs Audio Pacifica, First Take:
- 2-channel, solid state preamp with 2 x front-panel hi-Z inputs
- Custom-wound
input and output transformers
- Captures the sound quality of the legendary Quad Eight console but with more presence
and high end
- Balanced XLR I/O, phase reversal, -20dB pad, +48V phantom power
The Sound of the
'70s Reborn
The 1970s was a time of great music and great change in pro audio-a golden age if you will. The
introduction of "solid state" electronics led to an explosion in development and a very different sound than the tube gear
of previous decades. The recording console in a high-end 1970s studio was likely a Neve, API, or Quad Eight. These companies
set the standards for audio quality - with a unique sound firmly imprinted on the popular recordings of the era. Even though
the Quad Eight mysteriously faded from view, many engineers firmly believe that the Quad eight Ventura, Coronado, and Pacifica
consoles were the very best sounding of the big three. Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and Pink Floyd's The Wall were
mixed on a Quad Eight!
But rather than just crank out another clone, A Designs Audio's Peter Montessi and audio designer
Jon Erickson (who spent years bringing vintage gear back to life for LA studios), added their own touch to bring the preamps
of the glory days to serve the present-day needs of the recording world. The result is the Pacifica, a fabulous-sounding preamp
the captures the heart and sole of the California and takes the LA sound a step further.
Custom Transformers,
the Key to a Big Punchy Sound
In solid-state preamp design, the key to a big punchy sound rests in the input
and output transformers. (That's where you get what is known as the "big iron" sound of the '70s). To ensure top-quality sound,
A Designs has their transformers custom-built by Tom Reichenbach of Cine-Mag, whose lineage extends back the days when his
father Ed built transformers for Altec-Lansing in the '40s. (Ed Reichenbach was also one of the designers of the Quad Eight
console on which the Pacifica is based.) Not only are the transformer hand-made, they're also ear-made" by Jon and Peter,
who won't okay a transformer design until they get exactly the sound they're looking for. After extensive listening tests
and redesign after redesign, they finally found the sound they were looking for. And herein is the most important distinction
of the A Designs Pacifica. While its name, look, and inspiration was taken from the Quad Eight Pacifica, the A designs Audio
Pacifica has a sound all its own, and one that top producers and engineers feel that they could make an entire record with
(that's pretty rare in this business).
Pacifica Performance
Aside from the custom wound transformers,
which, by the way, the instrument inputs are routed directly into for the fullest possible sound, the Pacifica boasts a frequency
range of 9Hz-101kHz. (Another reason for its great sound. Input impedance is 600 ohm at 400Hz and the gain range is a remarkable
72dB - so break out those ribbon mics and go to town. Since the focus of A Designs is sound quality first and foremost, you're
not paying for bells and whistles and extra devices in the circuit path that can degrade sound. Features are kept to the necessary
minimum, which include polarity reverse, a -20dB pad (which sounds nearly invisible, +48V phantom power with indicator LED,
and balanced XLR I/O.
In use, producer-engineer Tony Sheppard (Back Street Boys, Lionel Richie, Kenny Loggins, Melissa
Etheridge, Elton John) claims that the Pacifica has the depth of Neve and a high end that rivals GML combined with the punch
of API. We say, "It doesn't get much better than this, baby!" Try a Pacifica and experience the sound that everybody is raving
about.
A-Designs Pacifica Solid State Stereo Microphone Preamplifier
Specifications:
- Input impedance: 600Ohm@400Hz
- Gain
range: 72dB
- Mic Phantom: switchable 48V power source
- Mic input phase: switchable 0-180
- Instrument input jack: 1/4" phono
- Balanced XLR out
- Frequency response:
9Hz to 101KHz
- Distortion: less than 1%
- Power requirements: 100/120/230 VAC -23 Watts
- Dimensions: 19" x 1.75" x 10"
- 11 lbs.
A-Designs
Pacifica Solid State Stereo Microphone Preamplifier Features:
- Custom
input and output transformers
- Single rack space
- Balanced XLR ins and outs
- Level
controls
- -20dB pad switch
- 48v switch
- Phase switch
- Blue
LED power indicator
- 72dB of gain
- Hi-Z 1/4" input
- Red LED phantom
power indicator
Once you hear what the Pacifica can do for
your mics, nothing less will ever do. Order now and experience it for yourself.
Customers who
shopped for the A-Designs Pacifica Solid State Stereo Microphone Preamplifier ultimately bought:
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