Malcolm Toft Equate

Power supplies are often overlooked and taken for granted. However a good power supply can often bring the best out of circuitry and conversely a bad supply can be detrimental, especially if they run hot. This often means that not only is it not capable of delivering 'clean' power, but it can cause capacitors and other critical components to dry out.

Having had extensive experience in designing a range of power supplies for large format SSL and Neve consoles, Malcolm has put this knowledge into designing a highly energy efficient and cool running power supply that consumes no more electricity than a light bulb! Long term reliability is therefore assured.

Malcolm Toft has always been credited with designing musical sounding eq due in no small part to his background as a recording engineer as well as console designer.
The Equate takes this to another level, since it is the first design which includes swept high and low pass filters together with individual control of four other bands ranging from low to high frequency.

The Equate takes this to another level, since it is the first design which includes swept high and low pass filters together with individual control of four other bands ranging from low to high frequency.

During extensive beta testing it soon became apparent just what versatility the high and low pass filters added to the already very effective control the rest of the eq provided. Especially effective is when the high pass filters are used in conjunction with the low and high frequency shelving boost and cut sections. The combinations are endless! When large amounts of low frequency shelving boost are added, it often causes too much very low frequency emphasis which speakers can have trouble reproducing. It can often sound 'woolly' as a consequence. By tuning out some (or a lot!) of the low frequencies with the high pass filter, this can be avoided.

Similarly, when large amounts of high frequency shelving boost are added, it can often emphasise too many ultra high frequencies which can also be objectionable. Use of the low pass sweep filter can remove too much ultra high frequency emphasis.

As will be seen from the eq curves shown further on in this manual, broad and musical frequency shaping can be achieved that would not be possible even with a fully parametric design, since these would never be able to provide such a broad bandwidth.

Needless to say, we are real advocates of analogue eq rather than 'plug ins', but as you will se from using the Equate, being able to turn more than one control at a time makes it far more intuitive to get the exact sound that you are looking for. Enjoy!

Each channel of the Equate provides control over six individual bands within the range of 20Hz to 20kHz and uses three different types of frequency control. The first is high and low shelving. It is called this because once boost or cut is applied, it affects all frequencies beyond a certain point Reference to the Signal Flow page of this guide shows this in graphic form. Shelving eq can be useful when a wide range of either high or low frequencies need to be amplified or attenuated. It can therefore be considered to provide overall rather than precise control.

The second type of control is called 'peaking' and is used for the low and high mid ranges. Like the shelving control, its name is descriptive, however its effect on the signal is quite different. It consists of two controls for each section. Like the shelving control one provides boost or cut, but another selects the frequency to be affected. This gives more precise control as the band of frequencies affected is more sharply defined. Instead of a broad control, the boost or cut rises quite quickly to the chosen frequency and then drops away afterwards. This can be very useful for tuning into a small area of frequencies that need to be affected. This is also shown in graphic form on the Signal Flow page.

The third type of control is high and low frequency filtering and consists of a single control for each range. The one affecting the low frequencies is termed 'high pass' and the one affecting the high frequencies is termed 'low pass'. Unlike the other two ranges, these controls only provide attenuation of the audio and the particular frequency point at which attenuation starts is selected by a continuously variable control. These are a particularly useful addition to the range of facilities provided and open up a whole range of possibilities, especially when used in conjunction with the high and low shelving sections. On their own, they can be used for tuning out unwanted low frequency 'rumble' in a particular range or unwanted high frequency 'sibilance' for example. Together with the high and low shelving sections, they can create endless combinations of tonal shaping.

The Equate is extremely versatile owing to the range of frequencies it can control. As it's applications can vary from use while tracking to mixing, it is virtually impossible to guide the user precisely in it's use and application. Equalisation (or tone control) should only be used when it is necessary to add or subtract frequencies to a signal that is already close to that which is required. The addage 'less is more' is very applicable to the use of equalisation. It can often be more effective to attenuate frequencies rather that amplify them. A common mistake in over use of equalisation is to think it sounds better when in fact all you have really done is amplify virtually all frequencies and it is simply louder!
The circuit has been designed as unity gain. This means that when added to a signal chain it will not amplify or attenuate the signal when all controls are in their default position and the equaliser is either in or out of circuit.

All inputs and outputs are 'balanced' so as to reduce the possibility of stray interference from other equipment should it be necessary to connect the signals over long distances.

Features
• 8 channels of six band EQ with +/-15 db gain
• Malcolm Toft Classic legacy sound
• Swept high and low pass filters increase versatility
• 500 Series spacing between channels
• Jack and Dsub connectors
• 3U rackmount unit with internal power supply

Specifications
ELECTRICAL
• INPUT
- Impedance: > 10k ohms
- Maximum input level +22dbu
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz ±1db

• OUTPUT:
- Impedance: > 10k ohms
- Maximum input level +22dbu
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz ±1db

• NOISE: <-80dbu 20Hz to 20kHz

• A.C. Input:
- 100 to 240 volts
- Consumption: 30 Watts

• MECHANICAL
- SIZE:48 cm wide (19") x 13.2cm high (5.2") x 17cm deep (6.5")
- WEIGHT: 2.5kgs. (4.7lbs)