OK...so what does that really mean "no match"...?
For me, it's about the sound and the cost, and good build quality backed by a warranty and a customer service department...and not about having identical components to match a vintage unit, but YMMV....
When I said no match, I meant the sound not about matching components
That'S just a saying - no match... like different leagues - night & day?
The WA is a nice sounding passive EQ - the Pultec EQP1A sounds f***in AMAZING - it's like grandma's finest hand-whipped cream - it sounds INSPIRING!!
That's what makes the difference. You know, if you use a piece of gear that inspires you to do things or get ideas or try things you otherwise wouldn't?
Like I remember singing through my U47 for the very first time - I was blown away!!
It was about the same with the first vintage LA2A and Pultec I heard and sang through in that studio in LA back then where I was blessed work with my band back in 2011.
From that very day I was like obsessed. I wanted to be able to create that sound at my studio. And after trying several kind of clones, always ending up disappointed, for me the only way to get there was studying what makes these legendary pieces of gear so special and how they exactly work (which actually took me years) and finally build them myself from scratch.
And I eventually made it. When finished my first "real" Pultec and switched it on for the very first time - there was that instant "Yeeeeesssss - finallyyyyy that sound!!"
It might sound ridiculous to you but from my personal experience I am convinced - once you heard them, there's no turning back. And if you then one day managed to create such a wonderful piece of gear with your own two hands and you switch it on for the very first time - I'm not shitting you - I was exactly like Tom Hanks in that movie "Cast Away". It might be you're a lot less emotional about things like that
But for me that completely changed my perspective on things, because I knew I could pull it off.
Anyway, it's fun discussing with you Miroslav, but I certainly don't want to spoil the 300$ EQs for you - if it works for you - cool!
I'm just sharing my experience here
This video is only on youtube so it's not really perfect for judging the sound, but it compares a vintage EQP-1A to a (very pricey $1500) clone - the EzP1-A:
YouTube
And even though it's a compressed audio format, it gives a pretty good impression of why the EQP-1A is the "holy grail" of vintage tube equalizers...