The Black Lion Audio B173 MKII Preamp brings classic British-style mic preamp attitude into a compact, affordable half-rack format.
Loaded with Cinemag transformer tone, 70 dB of gain, and a front-panel Hi-Z input, this single-channel preamp is ready to add weight, punch, and vintage-inspired color to vocals, guitars, bass, synths, drums, and more. Designed for engineers who want big-console character without giving up precious rack space, the B173 MKII delivers the muscular lows, forward mids, and polished highs associated with beloved ‘73-style preamps. Its transformer-coupled input and output stages let you shape everything from clean, full-bodied capture to harmonically rich saturation, while stepped input gain and variable output attenuation make it easy to dial in the right amount of drive. The B173 MKII also shines as a DI for instruments. Plug guitars, keyboards, basses, or synths directly into the front-panel Hi-Z input and give them the same bold transformer-driven personality that makes this preamp such a useful studio workhorse.
Joining Plate
This is a half-rack unit and Black Lion has a handy Joining Plate that will allow you to easily connect any two Black Lion Audio half rack units together to fit in a 1U rack space.
Black Lion Audio B173 MKII Preamp Features
- Single-channel British-style mic/DI preamp
- Cinemag transformers on input and output stages
- Delivers vintage-inspired ‘73-style tone and color
- 70 dB of gain for dynamic, condenser, and ribbon microphones
- Low-noise design with plenty of headroom
- Front-panel Hi-Z input for guitars, basses, keyboards, and synths
- Stepped input gain for repeatable settings
- Variable output attenuation for controlling transformer saturation
- Phantom power for condenser microphones
- Polarity switch for phase alignment
- Compact half-rack format
Black Lion Audio B173 MKII Preamp Includes
- Black Lion Audio B173 MKII Preamp
Power Supply
Owner’s Manual
Manufacturer Warranty
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Awesome Tone
Sep 11th 2025I’m running this preamp through an Apollo Twin X. Let me just say, this thing adds major analog heft to DI signals, and warmth to mic signals. Makes a DI guitar tone thicker and more present, much better than the stock Apollo pres. It rounds off the highs subtly on a mic (I’m using a Townsend Labs Sphere) and adds a three dimensional character to it. I can’t recommend this preamp enough. I’m going to buy a second one for stereo capability. If you want Neve 1073-style tones, this preamp will get you there, and the price is right too.
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