The Baxandall EQ has been around for over 70 years now. With the SYMPH Stereo Asymptotic Equalizer, Heritage Audio
has decided to release a version ready to take your mixes to a new level."As usual, with the team at Heritage Audio, simply
precisely recreating its curves and responses wouldn´t be enough… It would also need an improvement…or two.
Heritage Audio has successfully replaced the Baxandall topology with a functional equivalent, a much more musical one.
The SYMPH EQ, takes its name from the shape obtained by its shelf curves; where the boost or cut amplitude grows up
until the asymptotic value is reached, keeping the ultra highs and sub lows always controlled. Its sound can be described
as tight, sweet, natural & pure, and its use of parallel equalizing to obtain the desired response curves ensures it has
exceptionally low phase deviation and undesired artifacts.
Although the interface is deceivingly clear and simple, the results can be stunning. Tiny adjustments can produce huge
changes in clarity, focus, depth and overall impact. Using a combination of the different features available you can also
drastically change the way your music sounds and feels.
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A clever circuit layout allows for a maximum boost/cut of 10.5 dB in 0.5 dB steps. The main rotary switch sets 1dB steps
whilst the 0.5 button adds half a dB to the main reading so you´ll be able to achieve exactly what you´re after. The
convenient CUT button turns the boost amount into cut to determine problematic frequencies and quickly eliminate them.
A generous six strategically selected frequency choices per band are available: 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 24 kHz on the high
shelf and 470, 360, 220, 110, 60 and 20 Hz on the low shelf.
In order to keep the sub-low and ultra-high frequency content well under control, additional high-quality high-pass and low-
pass filters have been added on dual concentric rotary switches, at 12 dB/octave (2 Pole). There are 5 frequency choices
plus OFF available on each filter. Frequencies available are: 10, 12, 18, 22 and 30 kHz on the low-pass and 160, 82, 47,
20 and 15 Hz on the high-pass filter. What´s more, the response of the Side high-pass filter has been made elliptical, just
as it is in the vintage disk cutters for a precise frequency response.
These filters can be critical on your main stereo bus, especially when you´re doing some healthy increases to the high and/
or low shelf as sub low frequencies are not heard but will eat up your headroom and while ultra-high frequencies do not eat
up your headroom that much, they will make your converters work unnecessarily, especially at the higher resolution
sampling frequencies. Get rid of the information that you do not need in the analog domain… your converters will love it. +
