Wunder Audio PEQ2

Description

The Wunder Audio PEQ1 and it’s History The PEQ1 is a fully Class-A discrete 1970’s-style mic-pre/ equalizer. The design employs proprietary, custom-designed mic, line, and output transformers. It can directly replace the Neve 1073. The 18-way gold plated Amphenol connector will mate with vintage Neve “80 Series” consoles or racks. The similarity to the 1073 stops there! Compared to a 1073, the PEQ1 has more equalizing power with better lows and more presence in the mids and highs for a sound that lifts the veil off your input signal. We were really pleased to see that almost all of the approximately 400 people at the AES that A/B tested The PEQ1 to a 1073 really favored the sound our module. We had a mono source CD of 24 soloed instruments (kick, snare etc.) which was fed into the A/B rack with both modules. We would like to thank those people for listening. The project started when we were joining together and refurbishing two 80 Series Neve consoles. In the late 90’s we came across 24 modules that were custom made for a console for John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. This was a one-of-a-kind console, and these modules were only ever made for this one desk. We noticed the Zeppelin modules sounded far better than anything we have ever heard. The amplifier circuits were very similar to the Neves, so the sound had to be attributed to the transformers. We had the idea of making new modules based on those very same transformers that fit into our Neve frame. However, The PEQ1 is not another Neve clone. It has its own unique circuit, and over the last four years we have made about 20 modifications in the prototype stages including adding some Neve touches. The only way to explain the sound is that is it like a 1073 with a deeper low end and more depth overall in the mids and highs without that phasey boxy sound. The 3db roll off points are 8.7Hz on the low and 118KHz on the top end. It is similar to a Neve in that it is a Class A discrete fully transformer floating circuit with an inductor based equalizer. The EQ is the best we have ever heard, reminiscent of a powerful Pultec, but with more frequencies. The drum sounds you can dial up are invincible, and nothing can make the vocals stand out in a mix like the PEQ1. There are twice as many amplifier stages in the PEQ1, which provides 60db line in gain compared with the Neves 30 db! This gives you more sonic headroom. The 60 db of line in gain also allows for a wide range of instrument/line levels. You can plug a bass guitar, guitar or keyboards directly into the Line Input for a huge, better than any direct box sound. One can also use the Line input as a totally separate microphone input utilizing the large Line transformer. With 42 dB of gain, the Line input stage works great with most mic’ed sources! The keys to the sound on the Wunder modules are the huge Mu-Metal transformers. They are the exact ones that the old Zeppelin desk had used and are nearly 80% nickel! PEQ2R and PAFOUR Plus require a PSU and5′ DC main cable. Additional PEQ2R and PAFOUR Plus units only require a 1′ DC daisy chain cable

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