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UK-based mixer manufacturer Digico has held a prominent position in high-end touring and permanent-install markets for over 20 years. The company’s Quantum mixer line is named after a new digital audio architecture that promises more of everything: channel counts, processing, routing (up to 2,000 channels internally)—all of the technical innards that makes a mixer work.
Until now, even the entry-level Quantum mixer had a six-digit price tag. With the new Quantum 225, that figure drops to under $40,000.
Quantum 225 is considered a small-format mixer, being made of two Digico Quantum sections. The right half has the mixer's sole touchscreen interface,13 motorized faders, and a master control section. The left half has 12 motorized faders and space for an additional screen, laptop, or other control surface. Having fewer, simpler sections is one way Quantum 225 achieves a lower price point, as all other Quantum mixers have three sections and three touchscreens.
The goods
Quantum 225 will handle 72 input channels at 48kHz or 96kHz sampling rate, and offers 36 aux busses and a 12x12 matrix. The mixer boasts impressive routing flexibility internally, and its many I/O options allow you to send any signal nearly anywhere. Quantum 225 is clearly designed to sit as the "nerve center" of an expansive digital audio network.
Thanks to the Quantum engine, signal processing abounds. Each input has high- and low-pass filtering, four-band parametric EQ, and two dynamics sections. Each EQ offers precision (narrower cut) or classic modes, and you can switch EQ bands to dynamic mode if desired. These are valuable features that offer the user a great deal of tonal control. The dynamics sections are similarly full-featured. The first section offers standard compression, multi-band compression (three bands) or de-essing. The second dynamics section offers gating, ducking, or compression with external sidechain.
All of Quantum's standard input processing sounds excellent, but Quantum 225 doesn't stop there. You can swap out the standard processing in up to 24 inputs for "Mustard" processing strips designed to add more color (flavor?) to your sources. These strips start with a full-featured tube emulation to add anything from subtle odd or even harmonics to full distortion. Next up is a four-band vintage parametric EQ which can be used in parallel with the standard EQ (for eight total bands). Dynamics emulations include classic feed-forward, vintage VCA and optical compressors, as well as a FET limiter. Mustard processing raises Quantum's sonic bar even further, delivering fantastic-sounding effects with rich, analog character.
Once up-to-speed with Quantum 225, the mixer will allow your sound techs to mix with stellar audio quality and few limitations.
Quantum also offers 16 32-band graphic EQs and up to 12 stereo effects (reverbs, delays, and pitch-based effects). Reverbs are lush and realistic, and a tube-emulated enhancer is notable for its ability to add nice crunch or sparkle to a channel. Finally, Quantum 225's "Spice Rack" offers up to six mono instances (three stereo) of two insert effects: Chilli 6 six-band compressor and Naga 6 six-band dynamic EQ. Spice Rack delivers yet more great sound and control, and I expect the selection of these effects will be growing in the future.
Quantum 225 has eight XLR analog inputs and outputs on its back panel, two AES digital I/O plus four MADI loops on BNC connectors. These latter digital audio ports allow up to four MADI connections at 48kHz or two at 96kHz. The MADI connectors should prove adequate for most setups, but Quantum 225's two DMI expansion slots have things well-covered if they don't. The complement of available I/O cards is impressive, and includes Dante, Aviom, Allen & Heath ME, Waves, Hydra, KLANG, and more. You can also add up to two Optocore fiber loops. You'll be hard-pressed to find a digital audio protocol or standard that Quantum won't talk to.
Hands-on
A feature-packed digital mixer can sound great but be a pain to operate. I'm pleased to report Quantum 225 does not fit this description. Frequently used functions and controls are easy to access; it's only the more esoteric functions and setup options that get buried in menus. A sprinkling of more than 40 small LCD displays ensures that metering, track names, and labels are right where they need to be when you need them. The solo system earns high marks for being flexible and highly configurable.
Quantum 225's interface is colorful and downright fun to use. Context-sensitive knobs change colors to reflect the functions they're controlling on the screen above. The dedicated input processing controls to the right of the screen are tremendous time-savers. Is Quantum 225's interface perfect? Not quite. There are a few minor annoyances (like small "[X]" buttons that make it hard to close pop-up controls). The touchscreen display flickered and briefly froze a few times, but audio flow was never compromised thanks to the separation between control and audio layers in the mixer.
There's much to laud about Quantum 225, but one Digico decision has me puzzled: the mixer itself has just eight analog inputs and outputs. Churches often have far more than eight analog sources in the sound booth: wireless mics receivers, computer audio feed, background music from a cell phone, backing tracks from CD. Forcing churches to buy an audio interface (or fill one of the two digital I/O slots) to accommodate these sources seems wrong. Knock a zero off Quantum 225's price and you can buy a digital mixer with 24 analog inputs. What gives?
A mixer with the capabilities of Quantum 225 is too deep to cover in one short review, so I'll generalize. Quantum 225 has the power and features to meet the needs of the majority of mid- to large-size churches, and the flexibility to connect with most any other sound technology out there. Its user interface is refined but not perfect, so you'll need to plan for some training sessions—especially to use some of the mixer's more advanced functions. Once up-to-speed with Quantum 225, however, the mixer will allow your sound techs to mix with stellar audio quality and few limitations.
Finally, price is a factor in every church equipment purchase. Quantum 225 is a bargain compared to the rest of the Quantum line, but will still be a stretch for many smaller churches. It's also not alone in this price range, and several competing mixers offer considerably more input channels. That said, Quantum 225 has something no competing mixer has: the Digico pedigree. This is just one more reason to put Quantum 225 on your short list.
- Digico
- Quantum 225 Digital Mixer
- www.digico.biz
- From $30,500
