Maat Digital thEQblue 4

thEQblue — Paramount MP Mastering EQ

A dozen precision variations on “analog,” all in one equalizer.

Yes, Your Blueness

The equalizer is perhaps the oldest and the most popular of sound processing tools. From its earliest days, the main function was correction or enhancement by boosting or cutting certain frequencies.
For a century, engineers have developed countless equalizers. A few became legend, our thEQorange is one. The most popular version in recording and post is the parametric equalizer or PEQ, first perfected by Massenburg in 1972. It offers maximum flexibility with only three controls. Properly used, the PEQ is a powerful tool and the best friend of every audio engineer in the quest for perfect sound. As Spidey (and Voltaire) always reminds us though, “With great power comes great responsibility.” When designed by a clueless or cost–constrained software engineer, it can truly degrade your work.
Why develop yet one more parametric equalizer (PEQ) when there’s already hundreds on the market? The answer is simple…’Cuz there was room for improvement! It was customers of the original LinearPhase PEQ Red and Orange who asked Algorithmix to develop a classic EQ, for recording and mixing tasks, with unparalleled purity and transparency. Over several years, our Dr. Christoph closely analyzed many of the best out there, and compiled a vast knowledgebase of analog EQ best practices. Cherry picking from that, he implemented not just one or two, but an entire collection of trad minimal phase EQs. The result? A distillation of analog antecedents, while others are based on new ideas.
We know you’ll enjoy our dozen variations of blue, newly revised by MAAT, and will find your favorite sound. We’ve also added subtle but important touches, like the ability to freely assign Sections to either stereo [left/right] or sum/difference [L+R/L-R] at the same time, and to “group” all Sections and make a global gain change without disturbing the relationship of individual Sections.

The Twelve

We wanted to lift analog to another level, so we reverse engineered a variety of well respected hardware EQs, creating idealized digital versions from that inspiration. Rather than models or simulations that carry analog baggage, thEQblue has no noise, distortion or other secondary effects inherited from analog.
All minimum phase equalizers work by summing a phase shifted version with the original. thEQblue is the most complete collection of classic. minimum phase equalizer Architectures ever assembled into one package. You get precise, idealized examples of legendary analog equalizer circuitry, complemented by progressive new models. Whether it’s vintage, modern, or experimental, thEQblue is a sonic sandbox for every mixing and mastering engineer to play in.

Dither…For Your Brain

Even though thEQblue is lauded by the top echelon of audio pros, we weren’t satisfied. The sound quality was as good as anything available, but benchmark analog still had an edge. So, we added a radical new tech to thEQblue. It’s called FiDef and it adds that indescribable beauty lent by the best of analog.
FiDef by FideliQuest is a very low amplitude, psychoacoustic stimulus designed specifically for audio engineers. FiDef can be thought of as dither for your brain. It makes a receptive brain relax and pay closer attention to an incoming audio stimulus. In brain physiology laboratory tests using functional neuroimaging techniques, FiDef has proven to excite brain activity related to perception and attention, and to enhance the subjective processes of listening and engagement.
You have to simply try FiDef and see if you hear an improvement. You may, or maybe not. Better yet, give your customer two almost identical versions of a song, the only difference being FiDef or no FiDef, and let them decide.