NU9N SSB Audio News Editorial - May, 2004

NEW GEAR IN THE NU9N SHACK

Behringer DEQ 2496 and Inovonics 222


- Behringer DEQ 2496 Mastering Processor

Wow!!! ... Behringer impresses me once again. When I first tried the Behringer DSP-1100P four years ago, I thought that I would never part with it. But after using their DEQ 2496 for a week, the DSP-1100 will permanently be retired!

The DEQ 2496 is truly a "Dream Machine" for those who need absolute EQ and dynamic control with speech or music in any studio or Amateur Radio application. And with a price tag of around $300 from Musician's Friend, it's a steal.

For those of you who are not familiar with the DEQ 2496, it is considered by Behringer as a "Mastering" processor. It is a stereo unit and each stereo channel includes an excellent expander / noise-gate, a 31 band digital graphic EQ, 10 bands of digital parametric EQ or feedback destroyer filters, a 3-band "Dynamic EQ" module which was the selling point for me because essentially, this is a 3-band compressor with each band individualyl adjustable. Additionally, the 2496 includes a mono-band compressor, a mono-band limiter, a "Real-Time-Analyzer" (RTA) which allows you to monitor either your own audio spectrum or the station you are receiving and a very nice front-panel display that lets you monitor any operation with the push of a button. Also, the DEQ 2496 supports SPDIF and AES/EBU (now designated AES3) digital optical inputs and outputs. (See a good tutorial on digital input/output standards by clicking here.)

The 2496 is a 24 bit / 96 kHz processor and is "Hard-Wire-Bypassed" when shut off !!! A great feature. Of course it supports balanced XLR inputs / outputs and is good as usual at rejecting RF interference. I created a new page outlining the basic setup of the 2496, since it has a very rich menu system and takes a bit of patience to learn. But after a few hours of playing, it gets very intuitive to navigate.

See the Behringer DEQ-2496 Setup Page by Clicking Here...

- Inovonivs 222 AM Processor

The Inovonics 222 AM processor is a jewel if you are looking for tight asymmetrical peak limiting and premphasis processing as well as brick-wall low-pass filtering for use on AM.

The asymmetrical peak-limiter is capable of up to 130% positive modulation peaks in respect to the negative modulation peaks and really takes advantage of the asymmetry common in speech.

Another nice feature of the 222 is the ability to bypass any or all processing sections effectively placing the unit in "Proof" mode. The price of the 222 is much more affordable than an Orban or Omnia AM processor making it a more attractive processor for the Amateur AM operator on a tight budget. You can find the 222 at Broadcast Supply Worldwide (BSW) for around $550. They have a good return policy too.

WARNING ... Beware of buying anything from any broadcast supplier who has a "NO RETURN POLICY" ... If you change your mind for whatever reason, you will experience nothing but grief with a distributor like this. Make sure you ask before you buy... If they say "No Returns", hang up!


73,

-John Anning, NU9N