TC Electronic EQ4 and EQ8
EQ -Station

Features

• 6 band Parametric EQ
• 29 Band Graphic EQ
• 3 band Dynamic EQ
• Delay (600mS)
• Peak Limiter
• Store/recall of settings (250 User Preset locations)
• Extremely bright QVGA full color TFT display (320 x 240 pixel resolution)
• Separate display views and bypass buttons for Graphic, Parametric and Dynamic EQ's.
• Individual Frequency, Bandwidth and Gain Encoders
• Linkable channels for stereo and In-Ear Monitor applications
• Available in 4 and 8 channel configurations
• 8 channel AES/EBU I/O is optional

The display is accompanied with lots of large direct access buttons for accessing features and menus. Several dedicated encoder wheels for adjusting processing is also present. In total this creates an incredibly intuitive user interface that will make even the most analog thinking sound engineer feel comfortable - within a few minutes he will be able to solve even the most critical situations in a hectic live-event.

To counteract harsh sound and listening fatigue often associated with digital processors, EQ Station is an industry first to incorporate headroom for reconstructed peak signals exceeding digital full scale. The maximum operating level can be set at 4 positions, +15, +18, +21 and +24 dBu, each with additional Full Scale Safety Margin.

For more exotic level handling requirements, the analog inputs may take in signals as hot as +30 dBu, and both inputs and outputs can have the max level set as low as +3 dBu. Analog gain scaling is performed in steps of 3 dB between these extremes, and can of course operate under automated control.

Digital I/O (Optional)
A unique feature of the EQ Station is the ability to add digital I/O's in addition to the analog I/O's . The I/O format is standard AES/EBU. The connection is 8ch.'s I/O on 25-pin D-SUB, following industry standard pin-out configuration.

Word Clock input on a BNC connector is present, enabling connection to an external clock generator as a master-clock.

Control I/O
High-speed standard Ethernet running TCP/IP protocol makes it possible to setup a multitude of EQ Stations in a network. Connecting external computers for remote control using the PC/Mac editor software is a breeze.

The standard TCP/IP based network enables the use of any standard computer network component. This can e.g. be used to ad standard wireless network (LAN) to the system, giving full wireless remote control of all features in the EQ Station from any standard PC, Mac or Tablet PC that has a built in wireless LAN-card.

A built in Link-connector works as a passive HUB and makes it very easy to daisy chain multiple EQ Station's to quickly establish a network. This way you do not need an external HUB or network-switch to connect multiple EQ Stations.

MIDI input and output is available, enabling remote Program change and Control change of all processing features in the EQ Station.

A 9-pin D-SUB connector located next to the MIDI I/Os, is primarily used for connecting the Motofader-64 flying-fader remote.

Select between following types:
TC1128
Classic960 Narrow-Q
Classic960 Broad-Q
Classic27

Behind these four EQ types are not just a mapping of the bandwidth/Gain response, but three basically different ways of combining 29 EQ filters. The TC1128 is a parallel construction; the Classic960 types are combinations of parallel and cascaded filters; and finally the Classic27 is a fully cascaded filter-structure.

The different structures give very different response curves. Compare the types and choose the one you like, or the one best suited for a specific application.

Parametric EQ
Six band high-quality parametric/shelving EQ is available in the EQ Station. Lo and Hi bands are selectable between fully parametric or shelving filters, band 1-4 are selectable between fully parametric and notch filters.

Impressive +/-24dB gain per band enables any adjustment needed to reach the desired response.

A unique way of selecting and displaying the EQ filters with six small boxes makes it very easy to keep an overview of settings and fast switching between filters.

Dynamic EQ
Dynamic EQ enables you to shape your sound depending on the energy of the signal, or to notch out specific level dependent problems. Dynamic EQ processing is not yet widespread in live-applications, but it can be a really powerful tool when set up according to the source material.

Two different types of Dynamic EQ can be selected: Three band full-range or two band individual.

Full-range Dynamic EQ means that the entire signal from 20Hz to 20kHz is affected. Two crossover points and three sets of parameters, enables individual setting of Lo, Mid and Hi performance for the Dynamic EQ. This type of Dynamic EQ should be used as a creative tool that shapes the entire signal. This is similar to what Mastering engineers often do when treating a master-mix.

The two-band individual Dynamic EQ enables the tweaking of two fully independent dynamic notch filters. As a parametric EQ filter, you can set the center frequency and bandwidth as target area, and then find a matching Threshold and Ratio to dynamically notch out level dependent problems in the signal.

Delay and Limiter
600 ms of Delay per channel, and a high-quality Brickwall output peak limiter is also present in EQ Station.

The Brickwall limiter can be used as safety limiter, e.g. for In Ear Monitor protection.

Signal Flow
The signal flow per channel that comes with the EQ Station is fixed with Parametric, Graphic and Dynamic EQs followed by Delay and the Brickwall limiter.

All processing blocks are present at each channel at any time, and no matter how many features that are applied to the signal the processing quality will not decrease.

The I/O routing between the channels can be switched between two different modes:
1) All I/Os straight through mode
2) Mixer/Matrix mode

All I/Os straight through routing mode
When this mode is selected, the I/O channels are connected directly; meaning what e.g. comes in on channel one is also output on channel one, and no interaction between channels takes place. This routing mode is primarily made for the monitor-mix application with lots of insert channels.

Mixer/Matrix mode
When this mode is selected, the Input channels are turned into stereo input pairs. The stereo inputs are then mixed together into one stereo mix. Individual level parameters for each stereo pair are available. On each processing output (pre processing) it is possible to select between the stereo-mix Left or Right (or a sum of L+R) as the source.

This routing mode is made for the Front Of House application where one (or more) stereo mix inputs can be processed and distributed individually of up to eight output channels.

Recall/Store
EQ Station offers a comprehensive set of functions that enable Storage and Recall of settings. Such a diversity of functionality is not normally found in live EQs, and therefore the EQ Station will solve tasks not normally possible or associated with a live EQ:

- Save and restore settings for different applications and venues, or recall snapshots through a show or musical, recalling all settings in the machine with just a single Program change.

- 250 Channel user-preset locations and 127 Scene-preset locations are available.

- User-presets can be password protected and back-up on PC/Mac computers can be made, making sure you will not loose your personal settings.

Networked EQ's
Using the Ethernet connections to daisy chain multiple EQ Stations, enables you to create a group of up to 64 channels. When a network group is created, it is possible to adjust any channel in the network from any of the front-panel user-interfaces or the PC/Mac editor software. This makes is very easy to monitor and adjust a huge number of EQ channels in large setups.

Multiple network groups of up to 64 channels can be created, and therefore there is literally no limit to the number of channels in a network.

The PC editor software is based on the established TC ICON user interface originally made to control System 6000.

The editor enables control of ALL features in the EQ Station, and because it is running on TCP/IP network protocol, standard LAN-components can be fully utilized when creating a network.

Wireless LAN can easily be set up, using your laptop or Tablet PC with wireless LAN-card as a full-featured wireless control interface, including two-way communication.

The TC ICON editor is handshaking with the EQ Station on the network, and will therefore always display exactly the settings currently running in the selected machine.

Click to view Specification

Dimensions: 19" x 3.50" x 11.5"

TC Electronic  |  EQ-4  |  EQ-8  |  Motofader 64