Wunder Audio Cobalt PRE

Wunder Audio Cobalt Pre

The Cobalt Pre is a single-channel microphone preamplifier in 500 Series format, built on the same circuit, input transformer, and output transformer as the Wunder Audio PEQ2. The name is a direct reference to the Ni/Fe/Co laminations used in its transformers — the same laminations that were used in the original 1971 Allotrope console modules of John Paul Jones, which became the founding reference for the entire Wunder Audio line from the PEQ1 onwards. The Cobalt Pre answers one question precisely: how to deliver the full preamp character of the PEQ2 in a single 500 Series slot with no technical simplification.

PEQ2 Preamp in a 500 Series Slot — No Compromises

Every aspect of the Cobalt Pre's design — from the metalwork to the component selection at every junction in the circuit — mirrors the PEQ2 standard, realized in a 500 Series enclosure. The transformers are wound from the same Ni/Fe/Co laminations as the original Allotrope modules, and they are large enough that they barely fit inside the module's case — there is no scaling down of the transformer specification for the format change. This is not a reworked version of the PEQ2 circuit adapted to a smaller chassis: it is the same discrete Class-A topology with identical input and output transformers. Wiring is precise, soldering is meticulous, and components throughout the circuit meet the same top-tier specification as the full-size console modules and 19" rack units in the Wunder Audio line.

Cobalt Pre and Allotrope EQ as a 500 Series Pair

The Cobalt Pre and the Allotrope EQ form a complete channel strip in the 500 Series format: the PEQ2 preamp circuit in one slot, and the PEQ2 inductor-based Baxandall EQ circuit in the adjacent slot. Together they deliver the full PEQ2 character — preamp and EQ — in two 500 Series slots, without requiring a console module or a 19" rack unit. As a standalone preamp, the Cobalt Pre is the right tool wherever EQ is handled at a different stage of the chain or inside the DAW, and the priority is the transformer-driven character of the preamp itself.

KEY FEATURES

• 500 Series mic preamp — same circuit, input transformer, and output transformer as the Wunder Audio PEQ2
• Transformers wound from Ni/Fe/Co laminations — same as the original 1971 Allotrope modules (John Paul Jones' console)
• Discrete Class-A signal path — meticulous wiring and soldering to console module standard
• Metalwork and components: PEQ2 standard at every junction in the circuit
• 500 Series format: single slot, compatible with all 500 Series racks
• Natural partner for the Allotrope EQ — together form a 500 Series channel strip with full PEQ2 character
• Hand-built in Austin, TX

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Type: single-channel mic preamp, 500 Series format
• Circuit: identical to the preamp section of the Wunder Audio PEQ2
• Input transformer: Ni/Fe/Co — same laminations as original 1971 Allotrope modules
• Output transformer: Ni/Fe/Co — identical to PEQ2
• Signal path: discrete Class-A
• Metalwork and components: PEQ2 standard throughout
• Format: 500 Series (single slot)
• Production: hand-built, Austin, TX