Allen & Heath's New SQ Series Is a Compact, 96kHz Digital Mixing Powerhouse

	Allen & Heath's New SQ Series Mixers

With their 96kHz XCVI FPGA engine, Allen & Heath's new SQ Series digital mixers bring the high-resolution audio performance of the company's highly acclaimed dLive Digital Mixing System to a compact and cost-effective platform that's both easy-to-use and highly customizable.

SQ Series mixers are designed for a wide range of applications. Live sound engineers can customize the mixer's workflow using a capacitive touchscreen, illuminated rotary controls and softkeys with custom naming on fader strips. Houses of worship can use scenes and layers to configure the mixer for worship, broadcast, and special events while simplifying setup for volunteers. Rental and production companies will find SQ Series mixers well suited to music festivals and touring artists and can use the integrated auto-mixer for corporate events and conferences.

With the built-in "SQ-Drive," recording engineers can capture high resolution stereo and multitrack to a USB drive. In the studio, an SQ Series mixer can become a plug and play, Core Audio or ASIO compliant, 32x32 96kHz audio interface, with MIDI and DAW control capabilities. To complement the SQ Series built-in EQ, compression, and effects, users can add Allen & Heath's optional boutique plug-ins while the mixer's DEEP processing architecture maintains class-leading <0.7ms latency.

Two models offer a choice of size and control configuration. The rack-mountable SQ-5 has 16 onboard preamps, 17 faders, and eight softkeys while the SQ-6 provides 24 preamps, 25 faders, four assignable rotary controls, and 16 softkeys. Both models support up to 56 input channels via remote expanders and both feature a networking slot for optional Dante, Waves, and other cards, expanding the applications for installed systems, front-of-house-to-monitor splits and multitrack recording. An ecosystem of apps, remote expanders, networking cards, and personal mixers multiply the SQ Series' expansion and integration possibilities. The new SLink intelligent port allows connection to Allen & Heath's 96kHz and 48kHz expanders and can link to another SQ Series mixer, or to a dLive system.

"SQ is a great solution for all kinds of applications," commented Allen & Heath's product manager, Keith Johnson. "It's capable of mixing anything from a panel discussion to a full live performance, all with incredibly low latency and pristine 96kHz audio. When users register their SQ they'll receive a stunning tube preamp emulation worth $149 for free, and we'll be offering many more Allen & Heath DEEP plug-ins in the future."

SQ Series will be available November 2017.