Top 10 ⌛ IK Multimedia T-RackS Master EQ 432 – Electronic Delivery ⌛

The IK Multimedia T-RackS Master EQ 432 is based on what is considered to be the “golden reference”, the absolute standard in mastering equalizers. This piece of hardware was the brainchild of two of the most ingenious minds in music recording technology, true pioneers (whose ideas were key to many other designs) who joined forces to create what was the first parametric EQ ever invented. The design quickly became the basis for most of the following parametric EQs from manufacturers the world over.

On top of the fully parametric and totally independent bands with almost no interaction (something that was not available until this circuit topology invention), its success derived from its no compromise quality level, based on discrete high-performance custom op-amps and totally transformer-less signal path which made for a transparent and pristine audio quality: this level of sonic excellence, superior transient response, almost non measurable non-linearities and extremely low distortion together with some perceivable “magic” in the circuit design makes it practically ubiquitous in mastering engineers’ set of tools, from its origin to present days. The latest and advanced techniques used in the DSP design of this module allowed the perfect rendition of this major league audio quality in the digital DAW format, a level of a sonic sameness that simply wasn’t possible before. The instantaneously noticeable result is that the EQ has a pleasing sound of its own, its high transparency notwithstanding, which is far over the standard “digital” EQ called to perform the same tasks.

On top of this, the analog nature of the hardware is empowered by some digital-world handy features like total recall, full automation, and switchable gain ranges, originally available as three different hardware versions, and now included in a single model.

This last feature is particularly powerful as it allows the use of the best resolution of each band’s gain range with extreme precision.

Mastering engineers favor some separate channels processing techniques, such as the possibility to switch from L/R over to M/S mode, which is key to equalize Mid (center) content in a different fashion than the Side content of a stereo program: they will feel right at home with this feature instantaneously recallable on the Master EQ 432.