A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp

The A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp brings back the sound of the Quad Eight console of the '70s! If you're a studio that can only afford one really good preamp, give the A Designs Pacifica some serious consideration.

The A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp brings back the sound of the Quad Eight console of the '70s! What we're going to do is go back... WAY back! ...back into time... to the early 1970s, when the recording industry was starting to bloom with the new technology of solid state. (Dig?) Hit products were pumped out as fast as hit records - one after another. There was a creative industry within the audio world. It was, without question, a golden age. Some companies that emerged during that period were Neve, API, and Quad Eight. Although it's been decades, the benchmarks they set are still held as industry standards today. If you're a studio that can only afford one really good preamp, give the A Designs Pacifica some serious consideration.

Little is known about Quad Eight, though many feel that they were the best in their field. While debating is usually best left to the history books, A-Designs took up the challenge to take a closer look into the past and decide on its own. With much research, interviews, and listening, the A Designs came up with a product that they feel needs to see the light of day again. With Quad Eight Ventura, Coronado and Pacifica console preamplifiers for reference, we closely examined the design and composition of the heart and soul in the consoles of these great pieces. After much design, A/Bing, and beta testing, the result is a solid state, single space, rack mounted, microphone pre amplifier from the "glory days." Cloning being what it is (same old same old), the A Design decided to head outside the box and make the tribute something other than the legacy. The A Design added their own touch to bring it to present day applications of the recording world. And so the new A Designs PACIFICA was born.

What makes the A Design Pacifica different?
In building any mic-pre with soul, one of the most important elements are the transformers. A Designs actually tracked down the original drawings for the old Quad 8 console transformers and went one step further - they convinced the son of the original Quad 8 designer to rebuilt them for A Designs -by ear-by hand. After many prototypes of core alloys and experiments in winding techniques, the sound of the A Designs Pacifica was born. Employing sonically crafted input and output transformer pairs, the A Designs Pacifica's sound is unlike anything on the market.

Direct Inject
Unlike modern transformerless designs, The Direct Inject front panel input is designed to go directly to the input transformer for fullest sound. The A Designs Pacifica offers extraordinary tone to today's guitar, bass and keyboard players.

Custom wound input AND output transformers
In building any mic-pre with soul, one of the most important elements are the transformers. A Designs actually tracked down the original drawings for the old Quad 8 console transformers and went one step further - they convinced the son of the original Quad 8 designer to rebuilt them for A Designs -by ear-by hand. After many prototypes of core alloys and experiments in winding techniques, the sound of the A Designs Pacifica was born. Employing sonically crafted input and output transformer pairs, the A Designs Pacifica's sound is unlike anything on the market.

Color Scheme
A Designs Audio wanted to keep the look of the old Quad Eight consoles with its Pacifica; the faceplate is a creamy off-white and the cast-aluminum knobs are red along with the red and gray switch caps. All of these are duplicates of the original colors from that era. The A Designs Pacifica is as distinctive in looks as it is in sound.

Pad, Phase and 48v
The Pad is a -20dB, the Phase reverses Polarity, and the 48v is a full 48volt Phantom Power supply for condenser microphones. These three features will provide you with all the tools necessary for a great sound.

A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp Features

• 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 D.I. 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

A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp Specifications

• Frequency response: 9Hz-101KHz
• Input impedance: 1500 ohm
• Gain range: 72dB
• Noise (EIN): -128dB
• Phantom power: Switchable 48V
• Mic input phase: Switchable 0 -180°
• Instrument Input: Jack 1/4''
• Output: Balanced XLR
• Distortion: Less than 1 percent
• Power requirements: 100/120/230 VAC - 23W
• Dimensions: 19'' x 1-3/4'' x 10''
• Weight: 11 lbs.
• Shipping weight: 12.5 lbs.

A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp Includes

• A Designs Pacifica Microphone Preamp
• Power Cable
• Manufacturer Warranty