The Coil Audio CA-286 modular tube mic/line amplifier is a preamp module inspired by classic 1950’s and 1960’s European two-stage circuit amplifiers manufactured by Telefunken, Langevin, Collins and Gates.

The Coil Audio CA-286 delivers a Hi-Fi tone with detailed and rich midrange often associated with vintage EF86 tubes. It is powered by Coil Audio’s PS6 power supply and uses NOS octal tubes, resistors and high-quality capacitors. It also uses Coil Audio’s own transformers.

The input section includes a 6-position gain which provides various 150/250Ohms mic pads from 0, -6dB, 12dB, 19dB. The final two positions allow for line-level signals. It also includes a phase reversal switch. An NF control is included which is used to brighten or darken the tone of the preamp by changing the amount of negative feedback in the circuit. The Low switch below works with the NF switch to boost or reduce the amount of low-frequency energy. At the top, the hi switch delivers smooth filtering of the upper frequencies. The output control knob is placed between the 1st and second stage EF86 tubes and id used to set the final output.