French hardware makers GC-Audio have just been in touch to tell us about their innovative new Inherit preamp system. Essentially, it's a 2U rackmount microphone preamp, but with hot-swappable cartridges that allow you to switch up the circuit topology on the fly for different sonic flavours.
The chassis hosts all the controls you'd expect to find on a premium preamp, including switches for phantom power, pad, polarity inversion and a high-pass filter, as well as a gain control (maximum 66dB) and an output attenuator, which lets you drive the preamp's input while keeping a sensible level for recording. There's also a 10-LED level meter, which can be switched pre/post the output attenuator.
It's in the cartridges that the magic happens, however. At present, there are five cartridges available. The RE-73 is inspired by the classic Neve 1073, while the RE-4K takes its cues from SSL's classic console. The RE-98 and RE-15 are both described as Class-A differential preamps, the former sporting a Lundahl balancing transformer and the latter employing an “ultra low-noise” opamp. Finally, the Tube Heat cartridge is a valve design.
GC-Audio are pitching the Inherit system as an alternative to the 500-series format, but with the advantage of higher voltages, and thus the potential for multiple high-current voltage rails suitable for valve circuitry and complex discrete designs.
Inherit 'starter' bundles, pre-loaded with one of the above-mentioned cartridges, are priced between €1740 and €1870, while a 'complete' bundle is available for €3580. Individual cartridges are priced between €560 and €740.
