Allen & Heath SQ-5, 48-Channel Digital Mixer with 16+1 Motorized Faders

The Allen & Heath SQ-5 is built for professionals in demanding live sound, recording and streaming applications. Delivering class-leading high-resolution audio with an ultra-low <0.7ms latency, the SQ-5 gives you unrivalled power and audio fidelity.

Mixing Has Never Been Easier

With each new design, the Allen & Heath team strives to get closer to the ultimate mixing experience.SQ’s dashboard is centred around a high-res 7” capacitive touchscreen, framed by an array of high-grip, illuminating encoders to create an intuitive, integrated blend of clear visual feedback and immediate, hands-on control.Channels and mixes can be dragged and dropped to any strip, with custom naming and colour coding on the colour strip displays, allowing you to build a mixing environment that works for you.

Each strip features our patented Chromatic channel metering system, giving you at-a-glance level indication thanks to LEDs with variable brightness and colour.

Powerful Processing

SQ comes equipped with all the processing you need to craft the perfect mix. Every input has HPF, a super-fast gate with sidechain and filter, a musical 4-band parametric equaliser, and Peak/RMS compressor for control and shaping of levels and transients. Mixes have both a parametric and 28 band graphic EQ along with compressor as standard, all ready to switch in when required.

World-Class Fx

SQ is armed with 8 stereo FX engines and comes complete with the acclaimed RackExtra library, featuring emulations of legendary classic reverbs, gated reverbs, delays, modulators and more.

Every engine has its own dedicated stereo return too, so you don’t need to use up any of your 48 input channels.

Deep

Proven on countless world-tours with international artists, the DEEP Processing from our award-winning dLive digital mixing system is now available within your SQ. No 3rd party hardware, no added latency, no hassle – just studio-quality processing on every channel.

RackExtraFX

RackExtra FX Add-Ons expand SQ’s FX Rack with powerful new processors. Pick the perfect processing suite, tailored to your specific requirements.

Record. Stream. Mix.

The built-in 32x32 96kHz audio interface enables easy multitrack recording, backing-track playback, livestreaming and virtual soundcheck.

The interface is class-compliant on Mac OS X making it truly plug ‘n play and will be recognized straight away by any DAW supporting Core Audio, including Logic, Cubase, Reaper, and Pro Tools. An ASIOTM and WDM compatible driver is available for Windows computers.

Standard MIDI control is tunnelled over the USB and network connections, this can be mapped to the faders of your favourite DAW using the A&H MIDI Control app which provides easy setup and emulation of HUI or Mackie Control protocols on Mac OS X and Windows systems.

SQ Mixpad

SQ MixPad app is available free on iOS, Android, Windows and macOS platforms, providing offline editing and online wired or wireless control of the main mixing functions.

SQ4 You

SQ4You is a personal mixing app to accompany SQ series mixers, allowing up to 8 performers to control their own monitor mixes from their Android or iOS devices and freeing the audio engineer to focus on the front-of-house sound.

Dante, Waves, Madi & More

SQ is compatible with the leading audio networking standards, simply add a Dante, MADI or Waves to SQ’s I/O port and you’re ready to integrate with third-party hardware for digital splits, streaming, recording, broadcast and install applications.

Everything I/O

SQ-5 has all the onboard I/O you need for standalone operation. Thanks to its SLink intelligent port, SQ can also be expanded up to a total of 48 mic inputs via a family of 96kHz and 48kHz rack and stage box expanders making it a flexible, mix ‘n’ match solution for owners of other Allen & Heath digital systems. You can also link your SQ directly to another SQ, an Avantis or even a dLive system.

Give Performers Control

SQ is fully compatible with the ME Personal Mixing System, allowing the performers to take control of their own monitor mixes. Any number of ME-1 and ME-500 personal mixers can be daisy-chained from the mixer’s SLink port, or from a connected remote expander.

The Ultimate IEM Mixer

SQ is the perfect companion for in-ear monitoring setups featuring no less than 12 stereo mixes, super-low latency, and both parametric and graphic EQ on every mix. SQ’s airline-friendly compactness and rugged build quality mean there’s no reason to gamble on house monitor consoles again.

Designed For the Pro

We know that the live environment can be tough on gear – so for SQ we devised our most punishing regime of testing and retesting yet.

From its 3-tier, all metal chassis to its extruded aluminium light bar, SQ has tremendous strength and rigidity underlying its good looks.

SQ-Drive: Record To USB

The integrated SQ-Drive makes it quick and easy to capture and playback 16 channels (96kHz), 32 channels (48kHz), or a stereo recording of the performance direct to a USB key or drive. No software setup, no soundcard driver issues and no extra laptop to bring to the performance. SQ-Drive is also a smart way to manage walk-in music.

AMM: Automatic Mic Mixer

SQ’s advanced automatic mic mixers (AMM’s) make it a natural choice for mixing conferences, panel talks and TV shows. They’re fully integrated in the mixer too, with no extra latency, so you don’t need to route the audio to an internal DSP rack or an external plugin system. Two fully independent 24 channel AMM’s can be utilised for two zones or combined into a single 48 channel AMM for larger events.

Suitable for:

Live

Studio

Streaming

A/V Install

Corporate Audio

Houses of Worship

Product Specifications:

Max I/O Capacity: 48x Input / 36x Output

Number of Analog Input Channels: No

Number of Mic Preamps: 16

Number of Analog Output Channels: 14

Mix Routing: 8x Stereo FX Return

Groups:

8x Mute Group

8x DCA Group

Presets: Yes

Display: 7" Touchscreen

Faders & Level Adjustment: 17x 3.9" / 100 mm Fader

Meters:

Main Meter: 2x 12-Segment LED

Channel Meter: Single LED

Signal Processing:

Input Pad: -20 dB

Input Polarity: Normal/Reverse

Dynamic Processing:

Input Channels: Compressor, Gate

Master:

Compressor, Limiter

EQ:

FX Returns: 4-Band Parametric

EQ Parameters:

1x HF Shelf: ±15 dB at 20 Hz to 20 kHz (Shelf or Bell Selectable)

2x MF Notch/Peak: ±15 dB at 20 Hz to 20 kHz

1x LF Shelf: ±15 dB at 20 Hz to 20 kHz (Shelf or Bell Selectable)"

Graphic EQ: 28-Band 1/3 Octave, ±12 dB 31 Hz to 16 kHz

Filters: High-Pass: 20 Hz to 2 kHz, 12 dB/Octave

Solo/Mute: Mute, PFL per Input Channel, Bus, Master

Built-In Effects: Reverb

Stereo Delay (Tap)

Reverb (Gated)

ADT

2x Chorus

Flanger

Phaser"

Audio Delay: Adjustable Up to 682 ms

Automatic Mic Mixing: Yes

Digital Audio:

Sample Rates: 96 kHz

AES3 Output: 44.1 / 48 / 88.2 / 96 kHz

Stereo Record: 96 kHz

Stereo Playback: 44.1 / 48 / 96 kHz

Multitrack Playback/Multitrack Record: 96 kHz

Bit Depth: Up to 96-Bit

Stereo Record: 24-Bit

Stereo Playback: 16 / 24-Bit

Multitrack Playback, Multitrack Record: 24-Bit

Performance:

Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +0/-0.5 dB

Max Input Level:

Mic/Line Input: +30 dBu

Aux Input:

+22 dBu (+4 dBu)

+18 dBu (0 dBu)

Analog Dynamic Range: 112 dB

I/O Impedance:

1/4"", XLR Output: < 75 Ohms

AES3 Output: 110 Ohms

Aux Input: > 7 Kilohms

Line/Mic Input: > 5 Kilohms

Noise Floor: -90 dBu (with Inputs Muted)

THD+N: 0.006% at Unity Gain

Mic/Line Input to AES3 Output:

0.002% at Unity Gain

0.003% at +30 dB Gain

Signal Generator: Sine, White, Pink, or Band-Pass Noise (Assignable to Any Mix)

Connectivity:

Analog Inputs:

1x XLR Talkback Input

16x XLR Balanced Mic/Line Input

4x 1/4"" TRS Balanced Aux Input (2 Stereo Pair, Half-Normalled)

1x 1/8"" / 3.5 mm Unbalanced Aux Input

Analog Outputs:

12x XLR Balanced Output

2x 1/4"" TRS Balanced Output

Phantom Power: +48 V

Digital I/O:

1x RJ45 (Network)

1x XLR AES3 Output

1x etherCON (I/O)

MIDI I/O: No

USB I/O:

1x USB-A 2.0 (External Memory)

1x USB-B 2.0 (Audio Streaming)

Expansion Ports: 1x I/O Card

Wireless: No

"Mobile App Compatible: Yes: Android & iOS

App Name: SQ MixPad

Functionality: Access Stored Files, Adjust Settings, Firmware Update, Remote Control, Setup"

Recording:

Max Multitrack Recording: 16 Tracks

Media Support: USB Drive

File Format Support: WAV

Compatibility:

OS Compatibility:

Computer: Windows 10 or Later / macOS 10.14 to 11

Mobile: Android/iOS

OS Compatibility:

Windows 10 (64-Bit Only)

macOS 10.14 to 11 (64-Bit Only)

Mobile Device Compatibility:

Android Smartphone

Android Tablet

iPad

iPhone

Power:

Input Power: 100 to 240 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz

Physical:

Rack Mountable: Yes

Operating Conditions: 32 to 104°F / 0 to 40°C

Weight: 23.1 lb / 10.5 kg

Dimensions: 17.3 x 20.3 x 7.8" / 43.9 x 51.6 x 19.8 cm

Shipping Weight: 30.3 lbs.

Shipping Dimensions: 27 x 24 x 14.5"