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Chandler Limited LTD-1 Preamp/EQ
by: Russ Long
Pro Audio Review - January 2004
Chandler Limited, a Waverly, Iowa-based company, specializes in manufacturing and
reintroducing classic equipment that is no longer available or in some cases never
was. The Chandler Limited TG1 has been one of the most talked about and lusted
after pieces of analog gear over the last few years. The box is a recreation of
the classic and extremely rare limiter/compressor featured on the custom EMI/Abbey
Road recording and mastering consoles that were used on hundreds of albums,
including classics by The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Most of Chandler's products are
based on vintage EMI or Neve modules and every product manufactured is completely
hand-assembled and hand-wired in the USA using point-to-point wiring. The company
is so committed to original designs that they do not modernize or re-plot the
circuits. Instead, every detail, including circuit board layout, wiring and module
layout, ground structure and part selection, is recreated as accurately as possible
to ensure the sound and function of each unit is true to the original.
FEATURES
The $2,100 Chandler Limited LTD-1 preamp and equalizer is essentially a remake of
the classic Neve 1073. The power supply, which is an additional $100, can power
four LTD-1s. In the design of the LTD-1, Chandler has paid extraordinary attention
to duplicating the grounding, wiring techniques and part selection of the original
1073. The box uses identical replicas of Neve's five original circuit boards and
all of the inductors and transformers are the English St. Ives that were used in
the original 1073. This attributes to the accuracy at which the LTD-1 reproduces
the character and performance of the Neve 1073.
The LTD-1's highly polished, nickel-plated steel chassis even resembles the original
Neve modules. Unfortunately, the top and the bottom of the chassis fit rather
loosely and if the box is rackmounted with nothing in the spaces below it, the
bottom of the chassis sags about 1/4 inch below the bottom of the front panel.
To make the LTD-1 practical in today's recording environments; Chandler has
expanded the features of the Neve 1073 to include a high-impedance direct input,
phantom power, EQ in/out, phase reverse, nine additional EQ points and an output fader.
The LTD-1's rear panel has two unlabeled female XLR connectors for line and microphone
input and a male XLR connector for line output. The mic input impedance is 1,200 ohms
and the line is 10 kohms. The maximum output is +28 dBm and the box boasts a fat
frequency response from 15 Hz - 20 kHz.
All of the boxes controls are on the front panel. The DI button switches the unit to
Fast Facts
Applications:
Studio, broadcast, post-production, and sound reinforcement
Key Features:
Phantom power; phase reverse; three-band EQ; DI; modeled on Neve 1073 Input module
Price: $2,100
Contact:
Chandler Limited at 319-352-2587,
www.chandlerlimited.com
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DI input, which is accessed via a 1/4 inch jack on the front panel. The 48V button
activates 48V phantom power. The EQ button inserts the equalizer into the circuit.
The PH (phase) button reverses the phase of the output of the unit.
The LTD-1's equalizer blends the strengths of the Neve 1073 with additional frequency
options found on the Calrec and Audix consoles that were commonplace at the BBC in the
1970s. The three-band EQ offers a smooth sound and a musical selection of EQ points.
The mic/line input sensitivity control selects between the mic or line inputs on the
rear panel
and attenuates the selected input. The bottom and left side of the control adjusts
the mic input and provides 20 - 80 dB of gain. The right side of the control adjusts
the line input and provides control from -20 dB to +10 dB.
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