Neve 1073 DPA vs. Universal Audio 610 Pre Amp

Preamp # 2 is louder, ruining the whole experiment. You need to match the volumes, otherwise our brains will always prefer the louder one. Also, use a condenser mic next time.

Came here thinking I might buy a 6176 - Left thinking I should get a shelford channel.

The hi mids of the 1073 are always going to put your source right up front. That said, I preferred the 610 on the female vocal. The rest is debatable

Damn i knew it. Preamp 2 was so round musical deep and gentle where as UA was just so harsh and rough at so many points

You may want to try it again with a change to the 610. A 58 sounds stronger and more detailed at 2K ohm; 400 is less than a 1/3 of what it should be getting in order to be sounding closer to the 1073.

Transistors removed most impedance concerns in later equipment, but tube amplifiers can be even more sensitive about impedance than they are to input level.

Fuckers sound better then all my damn unison preamps

Nailed it! Preamp #2 has that neve low mid oomph that the 610 does not. Both sound great, though!

Great voice!

I preferred the 1073 on vocals and the 610 on guitars.

With this shit of mic?

610 is mellower, rounder top end, slightly compressed, and smooth. Neve is more open, forward, dynamic, and gritty (in a good way). That said, for my personal preference I like smoother tones, so it's the 610 for me. However, I totally get the appeal of the Neve. I have the 2-610 and 6176, and also had a pair of Shelford Channels (73-like). These sounds are similar to my results as well. Love the Neve sound, but I feel more at home with the 610.

Preamp 2 sounds like it better captures the full range of frequencies. it sounds like it has more character

Lewis Capaldi here

My ears are fried. They both sound great. I can’t tell. And I own the 2-610 😂

Thanks for the comparison! It’s of great help! I put on my headphones and right after the female vocal started I immediately choose pre #2 as my preferred one. Since I never own any high end pre, now I know which I prefer, and its an easy win with Neve to me.

Thanks a real lot!

2 all the way

Ua has a sweet rounded thing
After that just push it up to heaven
Like has nice tone
Like someone's voice
The neve sounded like someone with a harsh out of tone voice

Both have parameter settings that can be adjusted for different tonal qualities so it may be difficult to say which one sounds better.

Very cool outro song. Where can I find it?

610 could seems to be worst because it's a little bit darker but transients are faster and more under control. Much easier "ess" and hiss to mix

The 610 rounds off the highs and eliminates some harshness. I really like that and it makes the electric guitar easier to listen to

La 610 👍👍magnifique le grain.. le neve un peu mou et timide .

I chose #2 preamp for all. Guess i'm going to get one now lol. It was either a 1073 or a 610.

Thank you for helping me choose!
Great video!

I was listening in the headphones and I instantly knew that amp 1 is UAD 610. I like the tube sound.

i kinda assumed ua would be 2, someone i expected tubes to be "warmer", which in my head must have meant more bass...

I'm not a skilled engineer, rather than a musician. I always wonder why have been made comparison tests like this with DIFFERENT signals and not with the SAME signal - for getting realistic results. F.e. the girl sang more closer at the 2. preamp record than the first one ... funny. Completely different sound gets to ANY of preamps, before signalprocessing... pointless comparison.
I can believe that skilled ears can hear and recognise the tools, even with different signals (f.e. bass amps), but this test would be more instructive with one signal of each type. I know it could be litl bit complicated to perform.

I liked the character of the 1073 on the vocals and the openness of the 610 on the guitars.

Neve its amazing <3

Sadly I couldn't hear differences. Listened on pc so that may be a factor.

Friend, how to connect the amplifier to the apogee?

You did all these parts so it would have been natural to hear the whole mix done with each at the end :(... It would be much easier to form an opinion that way, I think.

super video mate. how on earth an sm58 can sound this good?

To me was clearly better the number 2

1073!

Thanks a lot

Great video btw!! Thanks 🙏

I have LA-610 and Warm 273 and RND 5211. There’s a big beautiful depth and dimension when a great singer on a great condenser like U67 goes through the 610. Not that the Neve doesn’t also have it but it’s a bit grittier in the mids. That makes 1073 awesome for rock vocals guitars etc especially with dynamic mics. Big Fat Beautiful Butter is 610. 1073 is more versatile and probably better on more sources but I love having the 610 for vocals bass and things that benefit from a roomier more dimensional sound.

The neve sounds better to my ear!

Thank you very much for your time

Well. I don’t like this video. It proved I like neve more. But I don’t want to admit it.

sm58's best sound is here.

Why not mention that the Neve is at least twice the price of the 610? 😳

Nicely done. Preamp 1 seems thicker on the vocals, most notably the male vocals. preamp 2 would probably sit better in a dense mix for vocals as it was a bit clearer. But preamp 1 would be better for a light mix, like a singer with a piano, or a singer with a guitar. it was a bit difficult to tell on the female vocals, as the key notes i decided to focus in on were sung differently on her two takes. but also she seemed to enjoy singing into preamp 2 more, which is probably where those differences came from. and it's always worth mentioning which gear brings out the better performance! in her case, preamp 2. Preamp 1's electric guitar sounded absolutely killer. nice and thick without being over top, making it still easy to use in a mix. Preamp 2's electric got way to thick for my taste and style. admittedly it sounded great, but not for me. and i think it's usage would be very niche because of the intense thickness. I thought preamp 2 sounded just a bit flat on the acoustic guitar, and would need some eq or compression to 'fix' it. but preamp 1's acoustic sound was quite perfect. certainly eq and compression wouldn't hurt it, but it didn't need correction. that being said, preamp 2's sound being flatter would once again fit into a dense mix a bit easier. whereas preamp 1 would fill out a simple mix of vocals and guitar, or vocals and piano type thing better. Both are obviously great mic pre's. but for my style and taste, i'll try out the 610 first. I generally love the thickest useable tone for vocals.

god I hate when chicks try to emulate every other chick, it sounds cheap and fake as hell. I wish chicks would sing with their own voices

Only liked the “610” on the guy’s ballad vocals. That’s it. The Neve was easy to spot and it’s the GOAT 🐐

I'm having trouble understanding the markings on the neve preamp. The numbers seem to be everywhere, and what does "off" mean? Awesome vid btw!

Neve for the win! Great vid!

I am thinking of buy a Warm EQ273 for Neve kind sound, thank you for this review, Neve sound more solid in bottom, and it helps me make the decision. Thanks!