Allen and Heath ZED 14

Reviews | Allen&Heath ZED14
86
W
hile sound quality is
obviously an important
issue, it’s more than
likely that it’s a
particular mix of facilities that draws
us to one mixer rather than another.
Versatility is the name of the game in
choosing a mixer that you can use for
both live sound and recording tasks.
Allen & Heath’s compact new ZED 14
would be equally at home in both stage
and studio environments but aims to
take that versatility just a little bit
further by having a USB stereo
connection for transferring audio to
and from a computer.
A to ZED
First impressions of the ZED 14 are
that it has been constructed to a high
standard with sturdily fi xed sockets,
knobs that show no sign of wobbling
and 100mm long throw faders rather
than the shorter variety. You get six
main mono channels with both mic
and line inputs plus a further four
stereo channels with line inputs. Add
to that two basic stereo returns and the
stereo return via USB and you have 13
sources to the mix.
Each of the six main mic channels
is fi tted with the DuoPre preamps,
which use a two stage design with
carefully controlled amounts of gain in
each stage for optimum results
whether a line source or a mic is
plugged in. This obviously works well,
as the sound through these is nice and
clean with plenty of clarity. EQ is taken
care of by high- and low-frequency
shelving fi lters and a swept midrange
offering 15dB of cut or boost over a
frequency range from 120Hz to 4kHz,
offering plenty of tweakability in the
critical areas. Each channel also has
four AUX sends, two being pre-fade for
use as monitor or cue sends, while the
other two are post-fade for accessing
any external effects. Monitoring is
available via headphones with both a
standard quarter-inch stereo socket
and a mini jack socket and there is a
separate ‘ALT’ output that can be used
for connecting speakers.
I have the power!
The computer connection is USB1.1
rather than the more powerful USB2 so
just supports transfer of two channels
(stereo) from the main mix buss. This
is completely viable for recording one
instrument at a time or a balanced mix
of several channels. However, anyone
with a separate multi-channel audio
interface would still be able to record
several channels, (perhaps the output
of each mic on a multi-miked drumkit),
on to separate recording tracks by
taking advantage of the AUX sends or
direct feeds from the insert points of
the relevant channels.
There are actually three options for
routing audio via USB from the ZED
14 – besides the main mix you can
send from either of the two sets of AUX
sends which, with the pre-fade sends,
could allow the recording to computer
of a different mix than you’re hearing
from the main faders. An example of
that might be in recording a live gig
where a different balance is needed for
the recording than the main output
feed to a PA, which will more than
likely be vocal-heavy. The post-fade
AUX sends to USB connection also
opens up the intriguing possibility of
accessing computer-based effects
plug-ins during a live gig and bringing
their output back into the desk.
Overall, the ZED 14 is a success on
all fronts – the sound quality is good;
it’s easy to use with all the controls
logically laid out and within easy reach
and it has a set of facilities that lend
themselves to a variety of both live
sound and recording tasks. Coming
complete with a bundled copy of Sonar
LE it’s a quality act for the outlay.
WHAT IS IT?
Compact live and studio
mixer with USB stereo
connection
CONTACT
Who: Allen & Heath
Tel: [phone]
Web: allen-heath.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 USB connection
2 Build quality
3 Nice sounding preamps
SPECS
Input channels: 6 x mono
input channels, 4 x stereo
input channels, stereo
return, two-track return
EQ: 3-band on main mono
channels, 2-band on stereo
channels
Aux sends: Four (two pre-
fade, two post fade)
Outputs: Main L&R (XLR),
Mono Out (quarter-inch
jack), Alt L&R (phono), Rec
Out L&R (phono), Aux Out 1
– 4 (quarter-inch jack),
Headphones out (quarter-
inch stereo and mini-jack)
Computer connection: Bi-
directional USB1.1 (fully
compliant with USB2 ports)
Dimensions:
384 x 465 x 110mm
Weight:
6.5kg
A compact mixer with built-in USB audio interface?
Trevor Curwen asks if it’s time to catch some ZEDs
VERDICT
BUILD
VALUE
EASE OF USE
VERSATILITY
RESULTS
A rugged and versatile compact
mixer that will fi t seamlessly into
many situations.
Allen & Heath
ZED 14
| £352
FMU197.rev_allen 86 21/12/07 10:48:46