The just-released Allen & Heath CQ series is a trio of compact digital mixers for musicians and bands, audio engineers, home producers, small venues, and AV installers that place ease of use and speed of setup at the heart of the user experience.

“CQ takes our renowned processing and effects, adds exciting new assistive mixing tools, and packages it all up into our smallest, and most affordable, digital mixer series yet,” says Keith Johnson, product manager at Allen & Heath. “Usually at this price point, users are forced to choose between a mid-range analogue mixer, lacking in modern features, or an entry-level digital mixer, where corners have inevitably been cut. With CQ there are no compromises. It’s a fully featured 96 kHz mixer with stunning audio quality and intelligent tools that, regardless of your experience, lets you mix smarter, sound better and work faster. Just add sound!” 

Built around a new 96kHz processing engine, the series comprises the CQ-12T and CQ-18T desktop mixers offering tactile controls and a 7-inch multi-touch screen as well as the portable CQ-20B stage box mixer — all controllable via the companion CQ apps. 

The processing engine utilizes Allen & Heath’s proprietary FPGA technology that helps deliver several time-saving tools to speed up and simplify common tasks. Gain Assistant automatically sets preamp gain to the optimal level and monitors and adjusts for any unexpected peaks in the signal, while Feedback Assistant identifies and filters out problem frequencies across all outputs via simple one-button operation, with more in-depth control available for challenging acoustical environments.  

Input channels can be switched between a Quick Channel, a source-specific set of controls with single-knob control of channel processing, or a Complete Channel for full control of all channel processing parameters. Additionally, an Automatic Mic Mixer (AMM) is present on all input channels, improving clarity and reducing background noise in speech-based applications. 

The CQ range also introduces a new suite of user-friendly reverb, delay and modulation algorithms with instrument-specific presets for faster setup, while the FX Assist tool shapes the FX by dynamically responding to the input signal for added clarity. The CQ-18T and CQ-20B offer four FX engines and the CQ-12T supplies 2 FX engines. 

All three mixers also provide recording and playback options, including a multichannel USB audio interface, multitrack SD card playback and recording, straightforward stereo recording and playback via an external USB drive, plus stereo Bluetooth playback. 

SD card recording was chosen because the format provides more control over which type of card (or class) Allen & Heath supports, and devices within a certain class typically exhibit more reliable, sustained transfer rates than comparable USB flash drives. As a minimum, the company recommends Class 10 SD storage with at least UHS speed class 1 to attain minimum write speeds of 10MB/s. Higher speed cards will also work, though the benefit of this extra speed will only be when transferring data from the device to a computer.

The series is supported by a pair of free multi-platform apps: CQMixPad app enables remote control of the mixer from anywhere in the venue, while the CQ4You app allows performers to take control of their personal monitor mix via their mobile devices.  The CQ-18T and CQ-20B also have integrated high-performance dual-band Wi-Fi for quick connection of control apps without additional network equipment. 

Here’s an overview of the three models:

CQ-18T

• 16 Mic or Line (8 of which combi), plus stereo line input
• Built-in 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Wi-Fi with auto channel
• 24×22 USB interface
• 24×22 SD record/playback
• Stereo Bluetooth input
• 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with associated rotary control
• 4 FX engines
• 3 custom SoftKeys plus 3 custom SoftRotaries
• The SoftRotaries can be assigned to user functions just like rotaries on the company’s SQ or Avantis, but can also be set to auto map to parameters on screen so that no matter what the user is adjusting, hands-on control is always available. In this mode, colored dots on the screen indicate which functions are mapped to the rotaries at any given time.
• U.S. “street” price: $1,199.99

CQ-12T

• 10 Mic or Line (5 of which combi), plus stereo line input
• 16×16 USB interface
• 16×16 SD record/playback
• Stereo Bluetooth input
• 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with associated rotary control
• 3 custom SoftKeys
• U.S. “street” price: $899.99

CQ-20B

• 16 Mic or Line (8 of which combi), plus two stereo line inputs
• Built-in 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Wi-Fi with auto channel
• 24×24 USB interface
• 24×24 SD card record/playback
• Stereo Bluetooth input
• Stage box format, rack mountable
• U.S. “street” price: $999.99

Go here for more specifics on the new Allen & Heath CQ series.