I get a Urei 1178 in silver from a friend, he want 2000$.
Good price?
Is this thing sound-wise as good or better as a Purple Audio MC 77?

And the main question...if it is broken...can it be repaired?? Where? Does it have any parts that can not be replaced without problems?

Does it have a switch to chose from 115 V and 230V (Europe)?

Thanks!!!!

You will find the manual here.

1178 are always silver... 2000 is ok, not the best deal though - I paid a little less for mine and didn't think it was a great deal. the 1178 has some similar behaviours to the 1176, but still it sounds different, some say worse, I say different, again. So I think it's not better or worse than your Purple as well, just another tool.
There are lotsa techs in Germany who can fix it if it's broken, dunno, he studiotechnik, vintagecity.de, vox-o-rama, cml, ...
It can be switched, but you'll need a different fuse (should be labeled on the backside).

yeah. our 1178 is also sounding way different then my 1176 (Rev. D I think..).

we can fix those stuff. it's relativly easy.

HE studiotechnik does a good job in Germany fixing things.

don't forget to recap it. and don't forget to take a photograph of the inside before shipping it to a repair service you dont know. also somethimes it's a good idea to mark certain elements inside the unit (such as transformers...).

is there something wrong with the unit?

2000$ is a good price.

the purples have more midrange. they push it. you can get vocals in your face sound with the needle sticking to the left

not so with an 1178. it's more on the lovely leveler side.

Personally I never got the punch and warmth out of an 1178
which I get from a 1176.

I actually managed to acquire an 1178 for about $1100 some months ago.
Boy was I happy. But I guess 2k is usually a pretty good price.
/Daniel

Wow a few years and the price is doubled already

Got a pair for oh and rooms

The 1178 wasn't meant to be a two channel 1176. It has less midrange and punch because it's used for 2 buss duty. Listen to Robert Plant's Band of Joy, 1178 on the two buss while mixing.

I'm not sure I would say less midrange. I find it to be tighter in the low end, which I actually kind of like about it for the bus. Rev D can feel a little flabby by comparison.

The thing I like about the Revs G and H, as well as the 1178, is that they can give you a more forward edginess, particularly when I'm doing some room crush, or if I want a little bite on a vocal. I actually much prefer them for that than their discrete brethren. I'd rather use the earlier ones for other purposes, but in terms of putting some teeth on something, or just feeling crisper, 1178s are really great.

No no, they're really ****e, and not worth much at all. And at some point I might still want to buy one, so stop lying about how great they are already, please.

The cheap train has passed karloff

I love mine. Overheads, rooms, drum parallel. Acoustic guitar sometimes. Got mine for $1800 and it’s one of the best purchases I’ve made.

You know what will give you similar sound, and have not moved in price for the last 25 years? The LA4. Slower attack time, but you can still get a stereo pair for like $900. No 4 button trick, but it does have variable ratios.

There you go again, trying to push prices.

Yes, used to have one. Might get one again and mod it this time. Standard was a little too dark for many things. But it moves very nicely and has un-toylike Urei tone.

Unlike the various earlier versions of 1176, the 1178 is all opamp in design. It's closer to a Distressor inside than it is to a 1176.

Has a MUCH nicer box tone than a Distressor though.

Jim, come on. You know that's not true. IC input, transformer output.

1178 don’t have that ‘plasticky’ sound like a distressor has. Btw not dissing EL8 as I have a few and the arouser and both get used every mix but to my ears there’s a big sonic difference.

Wiggy

I have two Rev H they sound excellent. They still do the overdrive thing with attack off too.

Upskirt, fat output transformer shot. Nice.

It's all opamp with the output transformer. 1176 is all discrete transistor with an input and output transformer. 1176's run on a single ended 30 volt power rail, 1178 is + - 18 volt bipolar.

Bypass the output transformer and it's essentially a Distressor signal path.

I have used both the Purple and the 1178 a lot.

I still own an 1178 and think its a great compressor.
It is very versatile and useful on many sources.

The Purple is cool for bass and drums, but I did not like it on vocals like I do 1178s or 1176s. It is brighter and more mid forward than an 1178 or 1176 and can bring out sibilance in vocals.

Overall I prefer the 1178.

It does have a voltage switch and repair of an 1178 is generally pretty easy.
I recapped mine when I got it and it has worked without issue for many years.
Every once in a while a meter bulb goes out..............

Right, but leaving the iron out of the equation in your first statement is a big deal to me.

Regardless, the distortion characteristics of the 1178, and even the rev G or H, are part of the appeal for me. Sometimes it's the texture that really helps it in the mix, whether it's on a vocal, guitar drum bus, room mics, etc. It does it in a way that's much more pleasing to me than the Distressor, and gets a sound that is evocative of the Compex for me,

Got both. To me, they're like opposite ends of the spectrum. If you can manage it, I'd suggest you get the Manley before you sell the 1178. There are certain things the 1178 does that the Manley won't and you pretty much need to have them side by side to get it.

I’ve also used both a fair amount and would agree with this...

I have never understood why some people would use a distressor on a vocal because of the plasticy sound of it. Glad to see that I am not alone in this.

Ej

It’s weird isn’t it?

An engineer pal of mine would track everything through a 1073-UA LA2A- distressor. Now on paper that’s a pretty Fark off signal chain but if we subbed out the distressor for a Urei 1176 it was a time honoured chain that pretty much worked on anything! Yet the distressor has some kind of weird undesirable sheen to my ears.

That being said I won’t ever sell my distressor as it really is a magical box on many things.

Ymmv
Wiggy

My 1178 seems to have gone wrong. Here is my thread about it. Does anyone have any idea what has gone in it? Please refer to my thread for details.

1178 badly broken?

The Distressor has a Tubescreamer kind of sound to my ears. I modded mine and that sound is gone. Now they rule!

I am interested in a 1178. Any of you guys have thoughts on a 1178 compared to a 160vu? Thoughts on differences and similarities. I have used plenty of 1176's and dbx units. I just haven't ever used a 1178.