Allen & Heath has expanded its Qu series of mixers with the new Qu-Pac, a compact digital mixer that features a touchscreen and an app allowing full control from an iPad. Designed for live sound reinforcement and fixed installations, Qu-Pac takes the power and legendary quality of the Qu series mixers and puts them into a super-compact console that can be used either on a tabletop or mounted in a standard rack, while giving users the freedom to mix from their iPad, even though every mixer function is also available through the unit's built-in touchscreen.
Qu-Pac's connectivity offers 16 mono inputs, 3 stereo inputs and 12 mix outputs, located on its rear panel, but this can be expanded to 38 inputs / 28 outputs with Allen&Heath's AudioRack remote expanders, which connect via a CAT5 cable. With its extensive configuration options and the ability to expand via Cat5 up to 38 inputs, Qu-Pac provides an efficient, scalable solution for bands, schools, hotels, corporate events, live music bars, conferences and many other applications that call for a professional mixing system in an extremely compact format.
The mixer offers total recall of all settings, including the preamps, multitrack recording to USB via Qu-Drive, several personal monitoring options, channel processing, multichannel USB streaming and the extensive iLive FX library. The Qu-Pad iPad app provides instant wireless control of all the mixer's key parameters and settings, giving users the freedom to mix the event from anywhere in the venue. Unlike rack-mount digital mixers that rely entirely on tablet control, Qu-Pac features a full-color 5” touchscreen that provides easy access to every function, offering a simple interface for everyday use and a fallback in case of problems with Wi-Fi connections.
A custom Qu-Control screen can be configured for the user, made up of various widgets for channel levels and assignment switches, set up to suit the user's needs or experience. Fifteen additional softkeys allow further customization, and different user access levels can be set, protected by passwords. In addition to stereo recording and playback from a USB device, the 18-channel Qu-Drive can record and play back multitrack and stereo .wav audio files to a USB device. This provides the ability to make live recordings without needing a computer.
Qu-Pac's built-in 32x32 USB streaming interface, compatible with Windows and Mac, also makes it an excellent option for recording and mixing in the studio. To further increase its flexibility, Allen & Heath's low-latency dSNAKE connection allows the mixer to be linked, via a single Cat5 cable, to the AB168, AR84 and AR2412 remote racks.
The mixer also offers two personal monitoring solutions: via the Qu-You iPhone app, or using the ME-1 personal mixers, which connect to the mixer through the dSNAKE port. The mixer's mic/line inputs include recallable (padless) AnaLOGIQ preamps, optimized for maximum transparency and low harmonic distortion.
It also includes a selection of the excellent FX emulations developed for the iLive series mixers, plus an RTA and extensive metering and monitoring capabilities. According to Glenn Rogers, managing director of Allen & Heath, “Qu-Pac is the answer to many of the big problems that come up every day in the world of live sound. Time and again, bands playing in bars and small clubs find they don't have enough room for a full-size mixing desk. In many venues there are countless situations, from AV presentations and conferences to hotels, where background music and simple events are handled by non-technical staff who are intimidated by a regular mixer.” “Think of a bar or restaurant that hosts live music on weekends,” he continues. “Qu-Pac is ideal for this kind of situation; password protection and simple custom pages let general staff run the system day to day, while a sound engineer can use an iPad to mix the full performances. It's precisely in situations like these that this versatile and effective unit offers the ideal solution.”
