Two Channels of Mic/Line/DI Optimization!. Housed in a sleek and rugged 1U chassis, the Maag Audio PREQ2 is a 2-channel mic/line/DI preamp/EQ that can input any analog signal and optimize it to achieve its maximum sonic potential. Equipped with two of Maag’s acclaimed mic preamps ...Two Channels of Mic/Line/DI Optimization!.
Housed in a sleek and rugged 1U chassis, the Maag Audio PREQ2 is a 2-channel mic/line/DI preamp/EQ that can input any analog signal and optimize it to achieve its maximum sonic potential. Equipped with two of Maag’s acclaimed mic preamps with a robust 71d - B of gain, the PREQ2 can handle all your mic, line-level, and DI signals. But it also offers unique features such as buffered Pass Thru and proprietary level-match technology that facilitate re-amplification of mic and instrument signals, lackluster tracks, and even complete mixes through the PREQ2’s discrete Class A transformer-coupled circuitry and equalizer section featuring the legendary Air Band.
All controls (with the exception of the continuously variable mic gain pot) are detented for easy settings logging and recall. The PREQ2 has caused quite a stir here at Sweetwater. It’s not only a powerful solution for euphonic enhancement and fine tuning, but it’s also a tremendous value.
Put the Maag Audio PREQ2 to the test in your studio. You will be impressed. - Microphone magic.
Fortified with 71d - B of clean gain, the PREQ2’s mic preamps allow you to use any mic on any source. With the PREQ2, choosing a microphone to capture a specific source is a creative decision — not a technical one. No longer hampered by insufficient gain, you can now deploy that cherished passive ribbon mic on a quiet vocal or instrumental performance.
For vintage-flavored “big-iron” sound, the preamps are spec’d with beefy, nickel-core transformers, custom designed and built by Maag Audio. Through the PREQ2, mic signals take on a commanding, larger-than-life authority, resulting in lively, full-bodied tracks that sit perfectly in the mix. These per-channel circuits deliver a pristine, stunningly detailed sound with a massive +27d - Bu of headroom and a vanishingly low EIN noise level of -128d - B.
You can select from two optimized gain ranges via the front-panel +25d - B gain switch. Also included on the front panel are LED indicators and buttons for 48-volt phantom power, a 20d - B pad, and polarity reverse, plus signal present and +26d - Bu peak LEDs. - Line-level luminescence.
Per-channel switches allow you to toggle between the rear-panel mic and line XLRs, so it is possible to keep both a microphone and a line-level source connected, one to each channel. A line source can be “re-preamped”: in other words, processed through the PREQ2’s amplification and EQ circuitry to inject vitality into it. Now, you may have noticed the per-channel pair of 1/4-inch TS jacks on the front panel — and they are key to a very unique feature of the PREQ2.
DI and instrument/mic re-amping device. The PREQ2 also functions as a traditional re-amp box. When an instrument is plugged into the Instrument Input of either channel, it is buffered and multed back out the Instrument Mic Thru jack at unity gain.
This allows you to process the DI signal through the PREQ2; you can also route the signal out to, for instance, a guitar amp located in another room. Cool, but there’s more! You might be wondering why the Instrument Mic Thru jack is called that. Well, with just a microphone attached to the balanced XLR Mic input, that mic signal will be multed, amplified by +20d - B, and routed out the ¼-inch Instrument Mic Thru jack.
This is an ingenious method of routing the mic signal to amplified speaker cabinets or stomp boxes without the need for additional interface devices. That the Thru jacks are active whether using DI or mic inputs multiplies your creative options exponentially. Well done, Maag Audio! Smart detection circuitry.
When using the instrument input TS jack, the PREQ2 uses an automatic detection circuit to flip a relay, lowering the impedance and routing the unbalanced 1/4-inch input signal to the mic input transformer. This smart detection circuitry not only allows your DI basses, guitars, keyboards, and synth modules to be infused with “big-iron” transformer muscle; it also makes it impossible for 48V phantom power to ever reach the 1/4-inch Instrument or XLR Line input, should you forget to switch it off. - Unconventional and highly effective EQ.
The PREQ2’s EQ section sports an innovative 3-band configuration consisting of a highpass filter, a low-frequency boost, and Maag Audio’s proprietary Air Band. It may be an unconventional arrangement, but it works amazingly well for quick tonal touch-ups and fine tuning. The 12d - B/octave HP filter is frequency selectable in 21 steps on its detented rotary switch.
Next, the low-frequency band offers 9d - B of boost (only) and is frequency selectable via a 6-position rotary starting with a 6d - B/octave 10Hz shelf (“Sub”), followed by bell curves centered - Maag Audio PREQ2 Dual Mic/Line/DI Preamp