In this video I review the Buzz Audio REQ 2.2 EQ, an exceptionally good EQ that is by far one of my favourite EQ’s I have ever used.
The Resonance Factor
The REQ-2.2 equaliser utilises parallel resonant circuits in a clever configuration whereby the bandwidth (Q) of the circuit can be adjusted like an active filter, but without any complex relay switching. The inductor/capacitor resonant “tank” eq circuit runs at a low internal signal level which avoids any inductor saturation effects. The overall result is the sound of real choke based filters with a big open sound, but without the limitation of only a few – or no bandwidth selections as found on traditional choke EQs.
Audio Path Quality
As you would expect, the REQ uses our BE40 True Class A circuits developed for the MA-2.2 microphone amplifier for the best possible audio performance that mastering engineers desire. But sometimes you might need a bit more colour, so we have included a saturation section that introduces measured amounts of low frequency harmonic distortion via a steel audio transformer driven by a single ended transistor amplifier. The High Pass Filter is placed in the beginning of the eq chain and the Low Band eq section is placed last in the chain. This layout produces the best overall equaliser coherency.
Active Low Band
This option replaces the Choke based eq filter with an Active filter which provides a “tighter” bass sound. This option has come about from requests from some users who work with modern music styles in mastering. The only operational difference between the Active and Choke filters is that in Shelf mode, the Bandwidth control does not work as a slope control and is disabled.
