Golden Age Projects? (yay or nay)

They're good.
If on a budget they certainly will do the job.
I think their Premier Line is definitely very interesting and won't stand in the way of a good performance.
I don't think they're punching above their weight or falling short, I'd say they're at the right price for what you get.

Ultimately it all comes down to taste, I like AML better than BAE but BAE is way more expensive, you might like the Premier better over others it's hard to tell.

The only thing I've noticed rather consistently with the Golden Age stuff and most lower end clones for that matter is that they are often more colored than the gear they're emulating.
Some stuff I've tried is on the border of caricature I find sound wise. I find most high end gear to be generally more hifi compared to cheaper clones and the color more subtle.

I've got one of their ribbon mics that I like a lot. I tried one of their La3a clones once and wasn't impressed.

Great quality, great customer service. If you can’t get the sounds you are after with the 73 preamp or the 3A, it’s not the gear. The downside? They are too affordable and they don’t use the “original” Neve knobs.

Edit: there are no “cheap” parts in the regular line. It’s true that the premier line uses more “expensive” parts but they are catering to a certain audience.

This is coming from a guy (me) that recently sold his 73 Pre because it didn’t look impressive enough to some clients!

Man who care about knobs as long the hardware can deliever sonic results. Even it came without a paint job, or housed In a tin can 🥫 the beauty lies on the inside lol.. What did u compare it too btw if anything? 

Good to know customer service and reliability is there. In that case I will keep the 73 to try out since my stam is on backorder. I need something now. I want to make sure it's the best quality (regardless of price) , not just a budget alternative 

I can't imagine it comes close to the AML , the AML is amazing.

Which version did you have?

Pre 73 MkIII and they I did the Carnhill upgrade, which made a small but noticeable improvement in the low end. Plus I got the EQ module to have the complete circuit. The EQ was cool but I've come to realize I don't like to EQ on the way in.

Cool, it'll be interesting to know how much of an upgrade the Heritage'll be

Unfortunately I won't be able to test them side by side, sold the kit to partially fund the Heritage. But I "know" the sound.

About the EQ: I got the 73 one and inserted it. I kept it in the circuit just out of respect for the hearsay that it's only a complete 73 if it's got the EQ. It performed as advertised. One thing though, the inductors in the EQ are sensitive to EMI, so it had to be carefully placed.

Wow those are great pieces. Expensive over here in the states. Where are you finding them for sale for that?

Caricature is a perfect description. A lot of them to me sound like hardware made from a Slate or IK "emulation" of a piece of equipment rather than a 1:1 clone. I feel that way about most of the cheaper clones too. Warm, Golden Age, Behringer Klark Technics, most SSL bus compressor clones (even many of the expensive ones screw up the GR detector circuit), China made UA pres, and current Focusrite ISA which is basically a Chinese clone with the Focusrite branding.

I'd rather use a good affordable pre. Something on the level of the FMR RNP or better software emulations. I had bad experiences with some Warm gear.

Also the transformers are the parts of these that can't be substituted or muntzed (what Focusrite did). But the cheap clones almost always get rid of them or use a cheaper one because they're by far the most expensive parts. There's a massive difference between good transformers and bad transformers.

Silk measured a few output transformers here: www.sacthailand.com/Transformer_TestOutput.html
Hammonds actually sound like that.