QU16 22IN / 12OUT Rackmountable Digital Mixer exc Rack Kit

Product Features

• QU Ecosystem: Qu provides much more than just a mixer. Qu is an entire ecosystem with Remote AudioRacks allowing I/O to be placed where it’s needed, ME Personal Mixers expanding monitor mixes and enabling simple, time-saving local control, Qu Apps for complete remote setup and wireless mixing on stage or anywhere else in the venue, ProFactory Mic presets to speed up preparation time and ensure the best sound, plus USB recording and DAW integration for powerful workflow optimisation from one centrepiece device.
• Analogiq^TM Preamps: Qu-16 features sixteen AnalogiQ^TM digitally controlled preamps with advanced zero-crossing detection and a padless 1dB-step gain stage, which have been closely allied to the DSP for optimal gain accuracy and audio transparency. The analogue signal is captured by high-class, low latency 24bit analogue to digital converters, which are matched to 24bit digital to analogue converters to deliver the required high quality output. The AnalogiQ^TM preamp design has been refined to offer superb transparency, minimal distortion and an ultra-low noise floor, with a warm, musical sound that is missing from some digital consoles.
• The Mixing Experience: Having massive processing power and advanced functionality counts for nothing if you can’t access the controls you need in a heartbeat.The 800×480, True Colour Touchscreen and its dedicated rotary encoder form the heart of Qu-16’s interface, providing super-fast access to all settings and parameters. Dedicated keys and screen tabs quickly guide you to meter and RTA views, FX racks, channel processing, USB audio control, scenes, setup menus and much more. Complementing the touchscreen is the SuperStrip – a set of single function physical controls for instant access to gain, HPF, 4 band PEQ, gate, compressor, GEQ and pan. The screen overview also follows the control being turned.
• One Channel/One Fader: Qu-16 has a fader per mono input channel and fewer fader layers for simpler, quicker workflow. Some digital mixers don’t offer a fader per physical input, meaning you have to access an additional fader layer to control these channels. This can be confusing and time consuming. Because every mic input is presented on its own fader for fast, easy control, this makes Qu-16 the perfect mixer for first-time converts from analogue to digital and those not comfortable working with several layers of faders.
• Total Recall: True digital mixing is about being able to save and recall Scenes (snapshots) at the press of a button. Qu can store up to 100 full Scenes for recall and Channels or Mixes can be made Safe from being overwritten. Qu-16 features 17 motorized ALPS faders – 16 allow instant access to all input channels and masters over 2 layers, and a dedicated master fader dynamically follows the Mix selection. A third user-defined Custom layer is available for ad-hoc strip layout, where any combination of Inputs, FX Sends, FX Returns, DCA’s and Mix masters can be assigned.
• Profactory MIC Presets: Allen & Heath has teamed up with leading microphone manufacturers and top engineers at Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, and Shure to provide EQ Library presets for a large number of popular and industry standard microphones. Presets for vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, brass and woodwind have been painstakingly crafted to offer you the best possible starting point for the source and your microphone of choice. Whether you’re a keen amateur or a seasoned professional, you can get to work quickly and easily, saving valuable time so you can concentrate on EQ’ing the source and room acoustics.
• iLive FX: Qu-16’s dynamics and FX are derived directly from the algorithms in the iLive pro touring series. Some of the world’s most respected audio engineers have chosen to use iLive’s FX on tour in preference to top-end plug-ins and external FX units. Qu-16 boasts 4 stereo iLive FX engines, featuring lovingly crafted emulations of legendary classic reverbs, gated reverbs, delays, modulators and more.
• QU-Drive: Qu-16 has an integrated multitrack USB recorder, providing 18 channels of 48kHz, 24bit recording and playback straight to / from your USB key or hard drive. Capturing multitrack recordings of your shows has never been so easy. A selectable stereo pair can be recorded alongside the 16 Mono channels, and multitrack audio can be played back to the 16 Mono inputs plus ST1. On top of this, Qu-Drive also provides stereo recording patchable from any pair of Mix outputs, the Main LR (pre, post, or summed to mono) or even the PAFL bus, with 2- track stereo playback to ST3.
• Automatic MIX Mixer (AMM): AMM is vital in applications such as conferences, meetings and panel discussions where a number of microphones are open at the same time. Reducing background noise and minimising the risk of feedback, the Automatic Microphone Mixer helps the engineer to manage the levels of multiple mic inputs, ensuring that each speaker’s contribution is heard clearly. The D-Classic dynamic gain sharing algorithm is inspired by industry standard automixers. Up to 16 microphone sources can be mixed at once, with each channel having a priority setting which determines its ‘weight’ in the total system gain.
• MAC OS and Windows DAW Integration: Qu-16’s built-in audio interface streams up to 24 selectable tracks to your Mac or PC and returns from the computer can be easily assigned to the Input channels. 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 ASIO and WDM compatible driver is available for Windows computers. Standard MIDI control is tunnelled over the USB connection so you can map the faders to the tracks of your favourite DAW. A DAW Control driver is available for easy setup and emulation of HUI or Mackie Control protocols on Mac OS X and Windows* systems.
• QU Apps for Greater Wireless Control: Add the fully-featured Qu-Pad app for iPad to your Qu-16 and you’re free to EQ and mix monitors on stage, roam around the venue whilst adjusting the PA, and mix the show from the heart of the audience. Qu-Pad connects to the mixer over Wi-Fi and gives instant access to all live mixing parameters and settings.
• dSNAKE^TM Remote Audio Racks: Qu-16 is a self-contained mixer, so if you’ve already got the analogue cables you’re good to go. If you’re thinking of trading in the copper multicore for a Cat5 digital snake, Qu-16’s built-in dSNAKE™ port has you future-proofed, allowing connection to a remote AB168, AR2412 or AR84 Stagebox. dSNAKE™ is our proprietary networking solution, boasting a transport latency of only 105us over cable runs of up to 120m / 390’. So if you’re mixing FoH you can place your I/O on the stage and run a single Cat5 cable back to the Qu-16 in the mix position.
• ME Personal Mixing System: Qu-16 is fully compatible with our ME Personal Mixing System. ME-1 expands available monitor mixes and gives each performer tailored control over their own mix, leaving the engineer free to focus on the audience experience. Any number of ME-1 personal mixers can be chained from the dSNAKE™ port (or from an AR2412 or AB168 Stagebox connected to the dSNAKE™ port).
• Digital Mixing Reshaped: Made from 18 gauge, cold-rolled Zintec steel, Qu’s distinctive frame is designed for strength and rigidity. We’ve done unspeakable things to that chassis in the lab and it’s taken everything we’ve thrown at it – even being stomped on by our resident ex-tank commander! Silence is a precious commodity in the live or studio environment, which is why nobody wants those moments of stillness ruined by whirring coming from the mix position. Qu’s sleek profile generates optimal airflow through the mixer, eliminating the need for any fans.
• Armed to the Hilt: Qu-16 is equipped with 5 high efficiency ARM core processors. Between them, the ARM cores provide state-of-the-art processing, working in parallel to deliver extensive control, instant-on operation, and lightning-fast response, with dedicated cores running the touchscreen and surface, USB streaming, Qu-Drive multi-channel recording / playback, Ethernet control and fader automation. The mixer’s DSP farm exploits next generation dual-core DSPs, giving 10 DSP cores, 8 of which are dedicated to channel and mix processing alone. Qu-16’s DSP architecture employs varied bit depths, tailored to specific algorithms, with 48 bits on critical EQ functions and a 56-bit accumulator on the mix bus where it really counts, allowing every nuance of the audio to be captured in the final mix.
• 19” Rack Mountable
• 16 Mono Mic/Line Inputs (TRS + XLR)
• Recallable AnaLOGIQTM Preamps
• 3 Stereo Inputs (TRS)
• 12 Mix Outputs (XLR)
• 7 Monitor Mixes (4 mono + 3 stereo)
• 4 FX Engines
• 2 dedicated FX Sends / Returns
• 4 Mute Groups
• 4 DCA Groups
• AES Digital Out
• 24×22 USB Audio Interface
• dSNAKETM Remote Audio Port
• 17 Motor Faders
• 800×480 Touchscreen
• 4 Soft Keys
• Trim, polarity, HPF, gate, insert, 4-band PEQ, compressor, delay on all Inputs
• Insert, 4-band PEQ, 1/3 octave GEQ, compressor, delay on all Outputs
• Channel Ducker on all Inputs
• iLive FX Library
• Built-in Signal Generator
• RTA with Peak Band indication
• Spectrogram to aid feedback elimination and room acoustics
• Automatic Mic Mixer
• Qu-Drive Direct Multitrack Recording / Playback on USB drives
• DAW MIDI Control
• Qu-Pad iPad App
• Qu-You iPhone / Android personal monitoring app
• Compatible with ME Personal Mixing System
• High contrast metallic finish controls, matching premium GLD Chrome series

Product Specifications

General

• Inputs
  • Mic/Line Inputs:  Balanced, XLR and 1/4" TRS jack, fully recallable
  • Input Sensitivity: (XLR / TRS) -60 to +5dBu / -50 to +15dBu
  • Analogue Gain: -5 to +60dB, 1dB steps 
  • Maximum Input: Level (XLR / TRS) +19dBu / +29dBu 
  • Input Impedance: (XLR / TRS) >5kΩ / >10 kΩ 
  • THD+N, Unity gain 0dB: 0.0005% -89 dBu (20-20kHz, Direct Out @0dBu 1kHz)
  • THD+N, Mid gain +30dB: 0.001% -83dBu (20-20kHz, Direct Out @0dBu 1kHz)
• Stereo Line Inputs
  • ST1, ST2 connector: Balanced, 1/4" TRS jack, half-normalled
  • ST3 connector: Unbalanced, stereo 3.5mm Mini Jack
  • Input Sensitivity (ST1, ST2 / ST3): Nominal +4dBu / 0dBu
  • Trim: +/-24dB
  • Maximum Input Level (ST1,ST2 /ST3): +22dBu / +18dBu 
  • Input Impedance: >7kΩ
• Outputs
  • Mix1-10 and LR Out: Balanced, XLR
  • Output Impedance: <75Ω
  • Nominal Output: +4dBu 0dB meter reading
  • Maximum Output Level: +22dBu
  • Residual Output Noise: -90 dBu (muted, 20-20kHz)
  • Stereo Alt Out & 2Trk Out: Balanced, 1/4" TRS jack
  • Source (Alt Output /2Trk Output): Patchable / LR post-fade
  • Output Impedance: <75Ω
  • Nominal Output: +4dBu = 0dB meter reading
  • Maximum Output Level: +22dBu
  • Residual Output Noise: -90 dBu (muted, 20-20kHz)
  • AES Digital Output: 2 channel, 48kHz sampling rate, XLR, 2.5Vpp balanced terminated 110Ω
• dSNAKE
  • Inputs: Remote source for CH1-32, ST1, ST2, ST3
  • Outputs: Patchable from Mix1-10, LR, Grp1-8, MTX1-4; Compatible with AudioRacks AR2412, AR84, AB168; Compatible with ME personal mixing system
  • System: Measured balanced XLR in to XLR out, 0dB gain, 0dBu input
  • Dynamic Range: 112 dB
  • Frequency Response: +0/-0.5dB 20Hz to 20kHz
  • Headroom: +18dB
  • Internal operating Level: 0dBu
  • dBFS Alignment: +18dBu = 0dBFS (+22dBu at XLR output)
  • Meter Calibration: 0dB meter = -18dBFS (+4dBu at XLR out)
  • Meter Peak indication: -3dBFS (+19dBu at XLR out), multi-point sensing
  • Meter Signal indication: -48dBFS (-26dBu at XLR out)
  • Meter Type: Fast (peak) response
  • Sampling Rate: 48kHz +/-100PPM
  • ADC, DAC: 24-bit Delta-Sigma
  • Latency: 1.2 ms (local XLR in to XLR out), 0.7 ms (local XLR in to AES out)
  • Operating Temperature Range: 0 deg C to 35 deg C (32 deg F to 95 deg F)
  • Mains Power 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz
  • Maximum Power Consumption: 82W
• USB Audio
  • Qu-Drive: USB A
  • Stereo Record: 2 channel, WAV, 48kHz, 24-bit, patchable
  • Stereo Playback: 2 channel, WAV, 44.1 or 48kHz, 16 or 24-bit, to ST3
  • Multitrack Record: 18 channel, WAV, 48kHz, 24-bit, patchable
  • Multitrack Playback: 18 channel, WAV, 48kHz, 24-bit
  • USB Audio Streaming: USB B, Core Audio compliant
  • Send (upstream): 24 channel, WAV, 48kHz, 24-bit
  • Return (downstream): 22 channel, WAV, 48kHz, 24-bit
• Control
  • Faders: 100mm motorised
  • Touch Screen Qu-16, 24: 5" TFT, 800x480 resolution
  • SoftKeys: 4
  • Mute Groups: 4
  • DCA Groups: 4
  • Network: TCP/IP Ethernet for MIDI and iPad app
• Input Processing
  • Source: CH1-32 Local, dSNAKE, or USB; ST1, ST2 Local, dSNAKE, or USB; ST3 Local, dSNAKE, or USB Stereo; USB Global Source Qu-Drive or USB B Streaming
  • Stereo Linking: Odd/even input pairs
  • Parameters linked: EQ, dynamics, insert, delay, assignments, sends
  • Link options: Preamp, polarity, Sidechain, fader/mute, pan
  • Polarity: Normal/Reverse
  • High Pass Filter: 12dB/octave 20Hz – 2kHz
  • Insert: Assign FX1-4 into Input channels
  • Delay: Up to 85ms
  • Gate: Self-key Sidechain
  • Threshold / Depth: -72dBu to +18dBu / 0 to 60dB
  • Attack / Hold / Release: 50us to 300ms / 10ms to 5s / 10ms to 1s
  • PEQ: 4-Band fully parametric, 20-20kHz, +/- 15dB
  • Band 1: Selectable LF Shelving (Baxandall), Bell
  • Band 2, Band 3: Bell
  • Band 4: Selectable HF Shelving (Baxandall), Bell
  • Bell Width: Non-constant Q, variable, 1.5 to 1/9th octave
  • Compressor: Self-key Sidechain
  • Threshold / Ratio: -46dBu to 18dBu / 1:1 to infinity
  • Attack / Release: 300us – 300ms / 100ms - 2s
  • Knee: Soft/Hard
  • Types: Peak Manual, RMS Manual, SlowOpto, PunchBag
• Mix Processing
  • Channel Direct Out to USB: Follow Fader, follow Mute (global options)
  • Source select (global): Post-Preamp, Pre-EQ, Post-EQ, PostDelay
  • Insert: Assign FX into Mix channels
  • Delay: Up to 170ms
  • GEQ: Constant 1/3 oct, 28 bands 31Hz-16kHz, +/-12dB Gain
  • PEQ: 4-Band fully parametric, 20-20kHz, +/- 15dB
  • Band 1: Selectable LF Shelving (Baxandall), Bell
  • Band 2, Band 3: Bell
  • Band 4: Selectable HF Shelving (Baxandall), Bell
  • Bell Width: Non-constant Q, variable, 1.5 to 1/9th octave
  • Compressor: Self-key Sidechain
  • Threshold / Ratio: -46dBu to 18dBu / 1:1 to infinity
  • Attack / Release: 300us – 300ms / 100ms - 2s
  • Knee: Soft/Hard
  • Types: Peak Manual, RMS Manual, SlowOpto, PunchBag
• FX
  • Internal FX: 4x RackFX engine, Send>Return or Inserted
• Audio Tools
  • Types Reverbs, Delays, Gated Reverb, ADT; Chorus, Symphonic Chorus, Phaser,Flanger
  • 4 dedicated Stereo FX returns: Fader, Pan, Mute, Routing to Mix/LR, 4-Band PEQ
  • PAFL: PFL or stereo in-place AFL, 0 to -24dB Trim, 85ms Delay
  • Talkback: Assignable to any mix, 12dB/oct HPF
  • Signal Generator: Assignable to any mix, Sine/White/Pink/Band-pass Noise
  • RTA: 31-Bands 1/3 octave 20-20kHz, follows PAFL source

Physical & Dimensions

• Width: 440mm
• Depth: 500mm
• Height: 186mm
• Weight: 10kg

What's in the Box?

• 1 Qu-16 Mixer
• 1 Mains Lead
• 1 Getting Started Guide
• 1 Safety Sheet

QU16 Accessories

• AR2412 – 24 inputs, 12 outputs AudioRack with dSNAKE connection and expansion port for personal monitoring.
• AR84 – 8 inputs, 4 outputs AudioRack with dSNAKE connection.
• AB168 – Portable, rugged 16 inputs, 8 outputs stagebox with dSNAKE connection and expansion port for personal monitoring.
• AH9650 – 100m drum of EtherFlex Cat5 with locking Neutrik EtherCon connectors.
• AH9981 – 50m drum of EtherFlex Cat5 with locking Neutrik EtherCon connectors
• AH9651 – 20m of Neutrik EtherFlex Cat5 with locking Neutrik EtherCon connectors.
• LEDLamp – variable brightness 18” gooseneck lamp.
• QU-16-RK19 – Rack mounting kit.
• AP9262 – Dust cover for Qu-16.
• AP9931 – Qu-16 Carry Bag.