Allen & Heath SQ-5 48 Channel / 36 Bus Digital Mixer

Product Description

48 channel / 36 bus digital mixer

Powered by Allen & Heath’s revolutionary XCVI 96kHz FPGA engine, SQ-5 is built for professionals in demanding live sound, recording and streaming applications. Delivering class-leading high-resolution audio with an ultra-low <0.7ms latency, the SQ-5 gives you unrivalled power and audio fidelity.

•  96kHz FPGA Processing
• 48 Input Channels
• 16 Onboard Preamps
• DEEP Processing Ready
• 12 Stereo Mixes + LR
• 3 Stereo Matrix
• 8 Stereo FX Engines + Dedicated Returns
• 64ch I/O Port for Audio Networking
• 32×32 USB Audio Interface
• Range of Remote Expanders
• Suitable for:
  • Live
  • Studio
  • Streaming
  • A/V Install
  • Corporate Audio
  • Houses of Worship

MIXING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER

With each new design, the Allen & Heath team strives to get closer to the ultimate mixing experience.

SQ’s dashboard is centred around a high-res 7” capacitive touchscreen, framed by an array of high-grip, illuminating encoders to create an intuitive, integrated blend of clear visual feedback and immediate, hands-on control.

Channels and mixes can be dragged and dropped to any strip, with custom naming and colour coding on the colour strip displays, allowing you to build a mixing environment that works for you.

Each strip features our patented Chromatic channel metering system, giving you at-a-glance level indication thanks to LEDs with variable brightness and colour.

ALL THE TOOLS FOR THE PERFECT MIX

POWERFUL PROCESSING

SQ comes equipped with all the processing you need to craft the perfect mix.

Every input has HPF, a super-fast gate with sidechain and filter, a musical 4-band parametric equaliser, and Peak/RMS compressor for control and shaping of levels and transients.

Mixes have both a parametric and 28 band graphic EQ along with compressor as standard, all ready to switch in when required.

WORLD-CLASS FX

SQ is armed with 8 stereo FX engines and comes complete with the acclaimed RackExtra library, featuring emulations of legendary classic reverbs, gated reverbs, delays, modulators and more.

Every engine has its own dedicated stereo return too, so you don’t need to use up any of your 48 input channels.

ADD-ON PLUG-INS AVAILABLE

DEEP

Proven on countless world-tours with international artists, the DEEP Processing from our award-winning dLive digital mixing system is now available within your SQ.

No 3rd party hardware, no added latency, no hassle – just studio-quality processing on every channel.

RackExtraFX

RackExtra FX Add-Ons expand SQ’s FX Rack with powerful new processors.

Pick the perfect processing suite, tailored to your specific requirements.

RECORD. STREAM. MIX.

The built-in 32x32 96kHz audio interface enables easy multitrack recording, backing-track playback, livestreaming and virtual soundcheck.

The interface is class-compliant on Mac OS X making it truly plug ‘n play and will be recognized straight away by any DAW supporting Core Audio, including Logic, Cubase, Reaper, and Pro Tools. An ASIOTM and WDM compatible driver is available for Windows computers.

Standard MIDI control is tunnelled over the USB and network connections, this can be mapped to the faders of your favourite DAW using the A&H MIDI Control app which provides easy setup and emulation of HUI or Mackie Control protocols on Mac OS X and Windows systems.

DANTE, WAVES, MADI & MORE

SQ is compatible with the leading audio networking standards, simply add a Dante, MADI or Waves to SQ’s I/O port and you’re ready to integrate with third-party hardware for digital splits, streaming, recording, broadcast and install applications.

EVERYTHING I/O

SQ-5 has all the onboard I/O you need for standalone operation.

Thanks to its SLink intelligent port, SQ can also be expanded up to a total of 48 mic inputs via a family of 96kHz and 48kHz rack and stage box expanders making it a flexible, mix ‘n’ match solution for owners of other Allen & Heath digital systems.

You can also link your SQ directly to another SQ, an Avantis or even a dLive system.

MONITOR WORLD

Give Performers Control

SQ is fully compatible with the ME Personal Mixing System, allowing the performers to take control of their own monitor mixes.

Any number of ME-1 and ME-500 personal mixers can be daisy-chained from the mixer’s SLink port, or from a connected remote expander.

The Ultimate IEM Mixer

SQ is the perfect companion for in-ear monitoring setups featuring no less than 12 stereo mixes, super-low latency, and both parametric and graphic EQ on every mix.

SQ’s airline-friendly compactness and rugged build quality mean there’s no reason to gamble on house monitor consoles again.

DESIGNED FOR THE PRO

We know that the live environment can be tough on gear – so for SQ we devised our most punishing regime of testing and retesting yet.

From its 3-tier, all metal chassis to its extruded aluminium light bar, SQ has tremendous strength and rigidity underlying its good looks.

MAKING THE JOB EASIER

SQ-Drive: Record to USB

The integrated SQ-Drive makes it quick and easy to capture and playback 16 channels (96kHz), 32 channels (48kHz), or a stereo recording of the performance direct to a USB key or drive.

No software setup, no soundcard driver issues and no extra laptop to bring to the performance. SQ-Drive is also a smart way to manage walk-in music.

AMM: Automatic Mic Mixer

SQ’s advanced automatic mic mixers (AMM’s) make it a natural choice for mixing conferences, panel talks and TV shows. They’re fully integrated in the mixer too, with no extra latency, so you don’t need to route the audio to an internal DSP rack or an external plugin system.

Two fully independent 24 channel AMM’s can be utilised for two zones or combined into a single 48 channel AMM for larger events.

FEATURE SUMMARY

• 96kHz FPGA processing
• 48 Input Channels
• DEEP Processing ready
• 17 Faders / 6 Layers
• 12 Stereo mixes + LR
• 3 Stereo Matrix
• 8 Stereo FX Engines + dedicated returns
• 7” capacitive touchscreen
• SLink port for remote audio / expansion
• 64ch I/O Port for audio networking
• 32×32 USB audio interface
• SQ-Drive direct recording to USB
• AES output
• Chromatic channel metering
• Integrated LED illumination
• Dedicated physical controls
• 8 Assignable SoftKeys
• Channel LCD displays
• 19” rack mountable