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Product Description
Few pieces of outboard gear have earned the acclaim of the Sontec MES-430 and 432 Series equalizers. Long trusted by mastering engineers, these EQs have been used at legendary facilities like Masterdisk, Sterling Sound, Abbey Road Studios, and Capitol Records. The Sontec MES-432C/9 in particular is widely regarded as the gold standard.
"It's often considered the Holy Grail of mastering EQs. It's known for making audio passing through it sound better without changing its fundamental nature." - Mike Nehra, Vintage King co-founder
BEAUTIFUL AND SMOOTH TOP END
The MES-432C/9 features a beautiful, silky, ultra-smooth top end. You can significantly boost the air frequencies without introducing harshness or graininess. Even with aggressive boosts across its range, it maintains its natural imaging and depth. It doesn't smear the stereo field, which is why it's been in high-end mastering rooms for decades.
SONTEC NAMING
The MES-432C/9’s naming convention is pretty straightforward: M = Mastering, E = Equalizer, S = Switches, 4 = 4U height, 3 = 3 bands per channel, 2 = dedicated shelving bands, and 9 = ±9 dB gain (selectable in 0.5 dB increments up to 3 dB, 1 dB increments from 3 to 9 dB). Models labeled 9 differ from ones labeled 6, which feature ±6 dB gain in 0.5 dB increments. As a stereo EQ, the MES-432C/9 has three bands for the left channel and three bands for the right channel. Each band section features three knobs, including Q, Frequency, and Gain.
BAND SETTINGS
As a stereo EQ, the MES-432C/9 has three bands for the left channel and three bands for the right channel. Each band section features three knobs, including Q, Frequency, and Gain. Going left to right, here are each band's settings:
LO Band
- Q: 5 to 15 dB
- Frequency: 11 Hz to 570 Hz
- Gain: -9 to 9 dB
MID Band
- Q: 5 to 15 dB
- Frequency: 125 Hz to 6800 Hz
- Gain: -9 to 9 dB
HI Band
- Q: 5 to 15 dB
- Frequency: 3400 Hz to 25 kHz
- Gain: -9 to 9 dB
Each channel of the MES-432C/9 has bi-frequency fixed shelves labeled HI and LO. The LO shelf has a switch that allows you to choose between 50 Hz and 100 Hz. Both EQ channels can be turned on and off independently using the switches in the center of the MES-432C/9, but in some Sontecs, this doesn't mean a hard bypass.