Behind the Sound of Waves Signature Preamps

Sep 11, 2024 | 5,824 Views

At the heart of Waves’ latest and upcoming hardware are Waves Signature Preamps: Originally designed preamps with fully discrete analog circuits, which deliver maximum headroom, lightning-fast transient response, and an incredibly low noise floor, plus your choice between transparent preamp sound and added rich harmonic enhancement per input.

Already powering Waves IONIC 16 stage boxes, Waves Signature Preamps will soon be featured in new exciting hardware for live sound.

Learn how Waves Signature Preamps were engineered for excellence, in this interview with Waves’ Senior Research Fellow in Hardware Engineering R&D, Rich Cabot (Ph.D.).

Engineered for Excellence: Waves Signature Preamps

A world-class designer of analog audio equipment, Rich Cabot was one of the founders of leading audio analyzing and testing company Audio Precision before joining Waves. “Attaining audio perfection,” Cabot says, “means paying attention to every nuance. Whether you’re capturing the subtle details of a quiet moment or the full intensity of a dynamic performance, the caliber of your equipment is crucial.”

“To achieve this, the front end of the Waves Signature Preamps was designed for a very wide dynamic range: the mic input (XLR) can handle +27 dBu before clipping. Equally important, it can handle massive common mode interference without driving the input into misbehavior. The front end incorporates very-low-noise discrete transistors to ensure that the other end of the dynamic range equation was optimized. A user will appreciate the headroom in that the transients will not clip, and one can choose between a super-clean tone, or a warmer, more analog sound like in a classic console.”

“The unique advantage of Waves Signature Preamps,” Cabot adds, “is that they handle bigger signals. They do not have restraints. The user can be confident: as long as you adjust your input gain you are good to go. We made certain that every link in the chain is designed carefully so that no segment is weaker than others, and the signal makes its way through each stage. This ensures that these preamps have enough dynamic range to handle your audio correctly.”

Waves Signature Preamps are further ehnanced by the optional, software-controled analog-modeled HMX harmonic enhancer, which deliver timeless analog warmth without compromising punch or clarity. The result with HMX is a rich, full-bodied sound usually found only in classic high-end mixing consoles. The harmonic enhancer can be turned on or off per input, with “off” providing a more neutral sound.

Cabot elaborates, “Selectable input impedance and digital distortion modeling allows these interfaces to mimic the sound of a wide range of consoles and preamps, or to behave like the proverbial ‘straight wire with gain. High-input impedance mode offers another benefit— it’s not uncommon in live sound to have the FOH and the monitor engineers demand their own completely independent signal chains. Putting a Y cable on each mic and driving two inputs can result in the mic seeing too heavy a load. The high impedance mode also allows interfaces to be paralleled with consoles or other input devices without affecting the sound of the mic. Furthermore, this unit enables your mic the option of sounding like your cherished console. Or you can just turn the enhancement processing off. The beauty of it is that if you were to use plugins to reach this result, it would burn resources.” He adds, “Furthermore, the interfaces also enable users to get more out of their stage mics: their preamp section’s analog impedance selector allows you to choose the mic reaction you want – between a classic 2kΩ and a modern 7kΩ – for greater sonic flexibility.”

Favored by Live Sound Engineers

The exceptional sonic performance of the HMX-enhanced Waves Signature Preamps has recently been confirmed by many live sound engineers who are using the Waves eMotion LV1 mixer together with IONIC stageboxes. “The sound of these preamps is sweet at a level I haven’t heard in live setups,” says FOH engineer Omatali Beckett who has been using Waves IONIC in his recent tour with Sean Paul. “They have the sound of vintage analog studio gear—only without the hum and noise! Very warm, in a way that gives me a nice fuzzy feeling, but at the time also very clean. It’s a real achievement!”

Similar sentiments are voiced by FOH engineer John Buitrago (Karol G, J Balvin), who calls the preamps “pristine, but with a beautiful, crispy and punchy sound.”

Cabot concludes “We designed the board with great care. Whether powering stage wedges in competition with a drummer, a full rack of in-ear transmitters, or a PA system of any size or quality, these powerful outputs and two independent headphone-outs deliver super-clear results with plenty of headroom. Live sound is very demanding: close-miked vocals, kick drum, condenser mics, all conspire to produce very high output levels. Waves Signature Preamps can handle those with ease and its preamps rock. They will handle anything you throw at them and simply sound amazing!”

Waves’ unique Signature Preamps, which power the latest generation of Waves hardware, signal a new chapter in sound technology. This cutting-edge technology is set to transform sound quality, with more innovative products on the horizon.

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