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z-Qualizer manual

Z-Systems Audio Engineering

1

z-Qualizer Operations Manual

Welcome!

Congratulations  on  purchasing  the  z-Qualizer,  the  first  low-cost  outboard  digital  EQ 
capable  of  world-class mastering  performance.  The  z-Qualizer  comes  from  a  distin-

guished lineage of mastering processors that Z-Systems has been making for nearly 

a decade. You’ve already heard our EQ algorithms on countless recordings and now 
you have the chance to hear what they can do for your very own projects.

We  urge  you  to  read  the following  manual  before  using the  z-Qualizer.  We’re  confi-
dent that anyone can learn to use it on their own, but it might be helpful to read the 

manual and learn some of the finer points before diving in.

S  - 02. 4    2k50    0. 8

4

gain

3

z-Qualizer

signal

gain

freq

Q

byp

load

save

S

R

L

m-s & dither

MIDI

2

Z

.

SYS

MIDI in

MIDI through

1

9V DC

@500 mA

ATTENTION/AVIS:
Risque de choc electronique.
Ne pas ouvrir.

To minimize risk of fire, use only the 
specified power adapter.

AES/ EBU

output

input

Designed and manufactured in 
the US by Z-Systems Audio 
Engineering.

Do not open. Risk of electrical 
shock. No user-serviceable 
parts inside.

Powering Up

Plug the DC power adapter that was included with the unit into an AC power outlet 

and connect the other end of the DC power adapter to the DC power inlet on the back 
of  the  unit.  The  z-Qualizer  will  power  up quickly.  Next,  connect  the  z-Qualizer to  an 

AES/EBU standard digital audio source. The signal LED will light to indicate the pres-

ence of a valid  incoming signal. 

Gain and Channel Offsets

We should mention a general rule at this point. The z-Qualizer is a stereo unit and it 

can be operated in either dual-mono or stereo-linked modes. Dual-mono means that 
the EQ parameters can be adjusted independently for the left and right channels. In 

stereo-linked mode, the left- and right-channel EQ parameters track one another. The 

L  and  R  positions  on  the  left  knob  are  used  to  select  between  the  left-  and  right-

Summary of Contents for z-Qualizer

Page 1: ...e choc electronique Ne pas ouvrir To minimize risk of fire use only the specified power adapter AES EBU output input Designed and manufactured in the US by Z Systems Audio Engineering Do not open Risk...

Page 2: ...for the right channel If you turn the left knob back to S you ll see that the stereo gain is still the same as before The z Qualizer is designed so that the left right and stereo gains can be differe...

Page 3: ...qualiza tion The freq knob controls the frequency above which action occurs The four bell shaped parametrics are numbered as 1 2 3 and 4 on the right knob Turn the right knob to any of these positions...

Page 4: ...ording is rarely better than about 70 dBFS excluding fadeouts However the ear can easily hear signal as much as 20 dB or better below the wide band noise level depending on the frequency and masking T...

Page 5: ...N DEC N The middle knob changes encode from no to yes the right hand knob changes MS decode from no to yes The MS encoder in the z Qualizer is located in front of the gain left and right channel adju...

Page 6: ...See what happens if you turn down the R gain instead For equalization you can cheat the frequencies for the M channel up or down sepa rately from the S channel to manipulate the recording in creative...

Page 7: ...to the save position The alphanumeric display will look some thing like this a 01 save You cannot save anything into preset 00 To save the current equalizer state into any memory rotate the gain knob...

Page 8: ...alizer sees a program change whose value is from 00 through 99 it will load the corre sponding memory In the preset load mode the memory number will change to the one sent by the MIDI program change c...

Page 9: ...m the date of purchase Z Systems will without charge replace or re pair at its option defective products or component parts upon delivery to the manu facturer This warranty does not apply in the event...

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