SPL EQ Magix

[monkey]

Has anyone used an EQ Magix?

Whats it like and what do you think i should pay for one?:banana:

[Michael]

I haven't used the EQ Magix but I do have SPL's Stereo Vitalizer, and I wouldn't put one thing out of my studio that hasn't been through it. It's a psychoacoustic EQ. I have heard nothing that comes within a league of it. It makes everything quite transparent and has a bass processor that has to be heard to be believed. What it does cannot be done with any equalizer no matter how many parameters; it's in a different class of processor.

I got one after reading an article in Recording about enhancers a long time ago. The others I've heard (dbx, BBE Sonic Maximizer) are distant relatives.

A friend brought over his Grammy-nominated CD to my studio and I gave him the Vitalizer demo I give everyone: I started the CD with the Vitalizer in the circuit, let it play for a minute, then took the Vitalizer out of the signal path. My friend looks at me and says with dismay, "What did you do to my CD?" Music and vocal processed through the Vitalizer sounds 'normal'--the way you'd expect the music to sound. Turn the Vitalizer off and the music magically turns rather dull, loses its subtle sparkle, and the bass loses its warmth. This has to be heard to be appreciated. BTW, signal run through the machine with the processor bypassed is not changed in any way from what you'd hear if you bypassed the machine entirely. I don't want you to get the idea that bypassing the process changes the material; it doesn't.

The Vitalizer comes in several iterations including a tube version; the one I have is the Stereo Vitalizer. They've quit making the model I have but have replaced it with a newer version with a bit more control.

If you have a chance to hear one, put the Mid-Hi Tune, Harmonics, and Process controls at 12 o'clock. The bass process knob detents at 12 o'clock, which is Off. Turning it to the left is marked "soft"; to the right, "Tight." Soft is supposed to be for acoustic music and Tight for electric, but I use Soft exclusively, between 9 and 11 o'clock depending on need. This machine can be used for final mix, which is what I use it for, or individual tracking, though it sounds so good with everything I wouldn't single track with it then process the whole mix because then whatever was singly processed will get re-processed and won't sound good. You can overdo it easily. I find that Mid-Hi Tune and Harmonics work fine at 12 o'clock for everything; I vary the amount of Process, which actually affects just the bass and Mid-Hi Tune amounts; the Harmonics knob is not affected by it.

I can tell you more if you get one. It's especially good at cleaning up old recordings, though if an old recording has a lot of hiss the Vitalizer will increase the hiss; you have to strike a balance.

SPL also makes a "Vitalizer Jack" which I don't have experience with. It is lower priced.

As I say, nothing goes out of my studio without having gone through this great machine.

Cheers,
Mike