Instead of dealing with room ‘treatments', searching for speaker placement or even rearranging the entire room to optimize its acoustics, the MQ112 equalizer – says McIntosh – can be used to fine tune the balance of frequencies. to create the right sound profile for each listening space or to compensate for the imperfections of vintage recordings for clear sound reproduction.
The McIntosh MQ112 is an 8-band stereo equalizer that allows listeners to adjust audio signal levels by ±12dB using eight sliders between 25Hz and 10KHz. That is 25Hz, 50Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz, 400Hz, 1KHz, 3KHz and 10KHz.
The device has balanced XLR and single RCA inputs and outputs, so it can be used in any sound system. It can be connected between the preamplifier and the power amplifier.
There is also a second pair of outputs which allows the equalizer to be connected to two separate stereo systems or subwoofer setup. In more complex stereo systems, the MQ112 can be connected via the tape loop provided by many integrated amplifiers.
The front of the MQ112 has an illuminated ‘McIntosh' logo. It is a black glass front with aluminum rotary sliders.
The device also includes a TILT slider with a ±6dB tonal balance shift to boost or cut the bass or treble, and an equalizer EQ override circuit for easy comparison of the output EQ with the original signal.
The McIntosh MQ112 is on sale from October 2023 at $3,000.
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