gearslutz.com Review

The following is a review that can be found on the "gearslutz.com" forum (search: wunder)

OK..

So the Wunder arrived yesterday and I thought it was like Christmas or at least my 2nd birthday this week! Except I found I didn't have the right cables to plug it in ... DOH!!!!!!!

So today with mass intrepidation I went to a fellow local (Melbourne) slutz shop (studio) to try it out on a few things and do some direct comparisons with 2 of his latest pre/eqs... Focusrite ISA 110LE and Vintech X73.

First of all let me premise this brief report with a few things.

-I bought this Wunder sight unseen or un-heard purely on speculation, slutty interest and amidst a moment of pure gear weakness.

-These are the first impressions and MY OWN opinions from using the unit this afternoon and evening back home with my small Pro Tools setup (as a HW insert) on pre recorded files. It may be too early to make a valued judgment but here is what I think of the unit so far.

-For all those that thought this was simply another 1073 clone... THINK AGAIN!!. Whilst the Wunder PEQ1R bares some of the same eq points as the venerable 1073 that is where the similarities actually end. I admit that when I first saw these online nearly 6 months ago I was skeptical to say the least, but I'm honest enough to admit my reservations and stand here happily correcting them!

BUILD:

The Wunder PEQR1 is built very well.

The case is constructed of powder coated steel and the screen-printing is nice on the front. I must admit that was a bit unsure of the colored knobs on he faceplate being both red and blue... but I think its a nice change and ties in well with the overall color scheme of the light grey, rather well.

All the pots are extremely high quality Elma rotary and dual concentric pots. Which is a surefire sign of quality components. The Neve I worked on for ages has these exact same types of Elma switched pots for the input gain on its 1073's. So they will be around for donkeys years to come and will suffer the use and abuse that one can only come to expect in a professional environment. Under the hood of the unit is VERY tidy and well constructed with a central PCB containing the inductor(s) for the EQ... big Sprague orange drop capacitors etc.. The quality of the componentry bears a high level of continuity through out. Like my SHEP SN8 and I think the new AMS Neve re-issues all the amp stages are all located on the one central PCB board which is a great idea. IMHO as with the original Neves the BA amp cards are sometimes subject to the gravitational forces of nature and they can slip out of their sockets, which in my experience is the cause of most of the troubles with 80XX consoles and their associated modules. So this is just another great feature that will help users avoid any technical hitches.

Next come the mic & line input and output transformers. They are HUGE!!!!. Quite unlike what I was expecting to say the least but be rest assured they account for a fair proportion of the unit's weight.. Which is ALLWAYS a good thing from where I stand! This aint no cheap or plastic box painted in a funky green color.

The PSU is an absolute MONSTER! I wasn't sure what to expect when I last spoke to Mike (from Wunder Audio) and he mentioned that it would power an inordinate amount of Wunder units. From later emails with Mike it became apparent that it would power well over 24 of the Wunder PEQ1R's!!!. They run on a simply 5pin DIN type (looking) power plug that allows units to be powered in a daisy chain fashion without each unit going back to the central PSU there for creating a veritable 'spaghetti junction' of psu cords and confusion. So kudos here. I think that this is great way to run units. As it often breaks down the pain and expenses of external PSU's and means that in future the user will just purchase actual units instead of having to pony up for additional PSU's. Also it will lessen the load should any engineer be 'slutty' enough to own multiples of units and be upwardly mobile in their gigs.

OK.. So I've bored the shit out of you so far with all the boring inane crap that I usually skip in reviews so

HOW DOES IT SOUND?????

In a word fantastic.

But let me further qualify it against my much loved 1073's first.

As mentioned the PEQ1R is NOT a NEVE!!!!!!!!!!!

For which im kinda glad cos there are enough of them kicking around now in original, new or cloned incarnations... a change is as good as a holiday (isn't it?)!

The PREAMP:

Smooth and PHAT.

Headroom for days!

Not nearly as overtly upfront in the mid range as a 1073, but still retaining that fantastic punchy Class A sound nonetheless. I cant wait to track some guitars and vocals.

The PEQ1R seem to my ears have more HI-FI air around the preamp than a 1073, so I guess im just saying that it sounds a bit more open. Yet, whilst it is more open its doesn't take away from a shared characteristic of both the Wunder and Neve, which is that it also has a bit of that 'slowing' factor of transients that makes Neve's in general, so appealing for so many people. I'm guessing that the transformers are contributing a large part to this sonic characteristic

THE EQ!!!!

Overall I would have to say that the sound of the PEQ1R is PHAT and Smooth. The bottom end is tight and rounded and can add real life, size and dimension to both bass guitars and kick drums. The lows are deep and mellifluous that just makes drums and low register instruments, voices come alive.

The mid range is nice and can remove or add detail at will. The Q of the Eq in general is very much reminiscent of the classic 'British' bell shape that so many designers attribute their musicality to... yes Rupert included! The main thing to keep in and that the overall design brief IMHO, based on the Allotrope EQ from which it is modeled on is that the EQ is musical. And musical it is! There is very little phase shift in the EQ except at the extremes of boosting which even then it was not nearly as gnarly as some other EQ's that I have experienced.

Boosting was always a good experience and it was simply a matter of taste as too how much to boost and even at full tilt it never really got gnarly and had hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Which IMHO is just yet another hallmark of a musical design.

The smoothness of the EQ is a real attribute and positive quality of the unit. A little can go a long way or just pile it on like a slut and get it all hard over the way that it can life 'dull' and lifeless voices into a mix with some zest and authority.

The lowmids can add real depth and body to thin and wimpy snare drums and voices.

The HF is sweet and adds the nice HF sheen that can lift things out of the mud into into the greater context of a mix/song.

One thing I must clarify is that the EQ is not a surgical one. Its a very musical design but it aint no GML 8200. If you need to notch some nasty frequency go tot he right tool. Its no good maligning a tool like this when it's performing a function for which it was not designed to perform.

Overall I am very happy with the Wunder and I can't wait to use it soon on some things I got coming up with an AEA84 (ribbon mic) etc.

If you want to live on the edge and stand out from the pack I implore people to give the Wunder a go. It's not a Neve or anything else, it's close to a few things yet it has its own special X factor which is all cool in my world. In the company that the Wunder was tested against they all held their ground on their own merits and it was simply a matter of taste and choice for a given application. Suffice to say people won't be disappointed with the Wunder PEQ1R. I took a gamble and it's paid off and I hope it will for you too!

Thanx

Wiggy

Gearslutz.com

PS Feel free to ask more questions and I'll answer them if I can.