If you ve put off adding a Graphic EQ to your live sound system, waiting for the perfect "do-everything" device, the wait is finally over. The new Mackie QUAD EQ fits that bill and then some with not just two, but four 30 band, precision digital "Adaptive-Q" Graphic Equalizers. The QUAD EQ can store and recall up to 99 user-definable presets, ensuring consistently great sound from venue to venue. And if you need Real Time Analyzer (RTA) functionality, it has built-in EAW SMAART? Analysis Tools including RTA, SPL meter, Pink noise generator and dedicated reference mic input and included RTA420 mic.
Additionally, the QUAD EQ is the only four-channel equalizer in this class that offers simultaneous display of both EQ and RTA. Housed in a rugged metal chassis, the Mackie QUAD EQ is ready to tame any acoustic environment and is equally at home in your studio or on the road.
The QUAD EQ employs four 30-band, graphic equalizers that provide +/- 12dB using 30 individual Adaptive Q filters. These innovative filters utilize Mackie designed digital algorithms to overcome the ripple and additive artifacts found when utilizing adjacent constant-Q filters. Read more on Adaptive-Q filters here . These high-resolution filters, along with super-accurate LED display ladders, paint an extremely detailed picture of the QUAD EQ in action. As you dial in EQ changes, you instantly see the impact those changes have on the output. In other words, what you see is what you get. Of course, if you re the type of person who likes to measure and analyze, you d really want to get a mic and an RTA unit, which brings us to...
For the first time, a pink noise generator, sound-pressure level (SPL) and SMAART? RTA meters are no longer expensive add-ons, but part of a fully integrated, user-friendly package. The QUAD EQ includes a bundled RTA-420 reference microphone, as well as a dedicated reference mic input. Once plugged in, SPL can be displayed via a bright 3-digit display in the upper right corner (at high SPLs, this meter also serves to warn you of oncoming police officers). Or simply press the Mic button and the built-in RTA will display what s going on in the room, on the same ultra-bright* ladders as the EQ filters.
We use bi-color LEDs to display the EQ function in red, and the RTA in green, so you can see how an EQ change affects the output signal. Such simultaneous display of RTA and EQ is practically unheard of, especially from a processor in this price range. You get instantaneous visual affirmation that your EQ changes are getting the job done. And since the RTA data is post EQ, should you encounter feedback, you can quickly find it, cut it, and view the results. Now that s progress.
Of course, even with the QUAD EQ s superior processing power, thanks to its SHARC? (Super Harvard ARChitecture) chipset, we just couldn t leave well enough alone. So, we added some features live sound folks will really appreciate: 99 user snapshots to store and recall your EQ settings; a built-in pink noise generator; variable Hi and Low pass filters with multiple slopes on all four channels; Stereo Linking of channels A/B and C/D; lockable parameters; high-quality TRS and XLR input/output; and a Planet Earth power supply for use anywhere between 100 and 240v.
Ideally suited for live environments, the QUAD EQ can be configured for a variety of specific applications. Since channels can be stereo-linked, a typical application might have channels A/B linked for stereo front of house, with channels C and D running independent of each other. In this manner, EQ changes to FOH occur simultaneously, while channels C and D are free to function as separate monitor EQs. Or, you could opt to run mono front of house with three separate monitor feeds. No matter what type of configuration you run, you still have access to the RTA and SPL meter tools. Lots of options... that s what the Mackie QUAD EQ is all about.
*People are really attracted to sound engineers who know how to operate equipment with lots of flashing lights, so the QUAD EQ was especially designed with plenty of lights on during operation.
CALIFORNIA WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, and to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
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