Calrec RQQ2200

The RQQ 2200 Twin Mono Equalizer and Filter has two independent balanced mono line I/O channels, each with a four-band equalizer and two-band filters. The rear panel of the RQQ 2200 is equipped with two female XLR connectors for signal input and two male XLR connectors for signal output.

The front panel of the RQQ 2200 has identical controls for both mono channels. The two parametric middle bands of the equalizer can be switched from normal bell (Q1.0) to high bell (Q3.5) and the two parametric outer bands can be switched from normal shelf to bell (Q1.0).

All four bands have gain of +/-16 dB at the selected frequency. The sweepable high-pass filter has an 18 dB/octave slope and the sweepable low-pass filter has a 12 dB/octave slope. The RQQ 2200 has a maximum input level of +28 dBu and distortion measures less than 0.005% (20 Hz to 10 kHz) at +20 dBu.

I've been a faithful user of the GML stereo equalizer for more than 10 years now and I rarely encounter an equalizer I believe is sonically comparable. The RQQ 2200 is one of the rare exceptions. I'm especially fond of the sound of the filters. I found both the low-pass and the high-pass filters very musical and I made frequent use of both filters when using the RQQ 2200.

Calrec's RQ series is made up of extremely high-quality and fantastic-sounding units, but they are on the costly side and possibly beyond the reach of many project studios. (The price of these units dropped considerably just prior to press time: The RQD 6400 lists for $2,785, the RQP 4400 lists for $3,360, the RQQ 2200 lists for $2,360 and the RQP 3200 lists for $2,899-Ed.)