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Solid-state hand-built 2 channel 1U rack-mounted preamp from California
At a glance
- Two-channel, solid-state preamp with two front-panel Hi-Z inputs
- Captures the sound quality of the legendary Quad Eight Pacifica console with even more presence and high-end
- Very warm and full tone without being dark; wide bandwidth with a sweet top end
- Custom-wound Cinemag input and output transformers
- Input transformer: A-Designs proprietary input transformer with unique winding
- Output Transformer: A-Designs proprietary alloy using the same massive design as the original Quad Eight
- 72dB of quiet gain, great for use with ribbon mics
- Unique DI design sends signal through the input transformer for two transformers in the signal path
- Balanced XLR I/O
- Phase reversal (each channel)
- -20dB pad (each channel)
- +48V phantom power (each channel)
- Solid construction, handmade in the USA.
The A-Designs Pacifica is a 1U solid-state, 2 channel pre-amp built to the highest standards for professional applications.
With the A-Designs Pacifica, the company took their inspiration from the long-cherished solid-state desks from the '70s, such as the Neve, Quad 8 and API of the best studios - each capable of imparting their particular sound to the final recordings.
The distinctive styling of the Pacifica came from A-Designs love of the American Quad 8 desk in particular, though they didn't let that obsession stop just there - they even had the transformers built by Tom Reichenbach, son of the builder of the original Quad 8 transformers.
The simple uncluttered layout of the Pacifica preamp offers you a jack input, Phantom Power, Pad and Phase Reversal buttons, plus a rotary gain knob per channel. The back panel has an XLR In and XLR Out per channel. And that's all she wrote.
But like all the best audio equipment, it's not about the buttons on the A-Designs Pacifica - it's all about the sound.
