Audiotales Designs is a French builder of mastering hardware, founded by Adrien Sauvaget, chief engineer at X-Pand Sound Mastering. That explains the shape of the range: these are boxes designed by someone who masters for a living. The three units don't compete with each other — the 1951 works the extremes of the band, the 1954 the middle, and the Equidal handles saturation and summing.
Who it's for
- You have a finished mix and don't want to break it — every control here is stepped, so last week's setting comes back exactly.
- You master other people's material — the 1951 only touches the top and the bottom, leaving vocals and guitars alone.
- You work hybrid — the Equidal gives you passive six-channel summing and M/S processing in one box, with no power supply and no level loss.
None of this is for tracking or for mixing individual parts. All three start work where the mix is already done.
How the three differ
| Model | Type | Range it works on | Key feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 EQ | Tube mastering equalizer | Lows 20–150 Hz, highs 6–51 kHz | Switchable shelf or Baxandall curve, BARYTONE and AIRCAP functions, NOS Sylvania 6SL7 WGT and 6922 tubes |
| 1954 EQ | Passive mastering equalizer | The midrange the 1951 deliberately leaves alone | No active stages and no power supply, Lundahl transformers, Varishelf, Coloreq and Loudness sections, Dual RIAA curves |
| Equidal | Passive exciter, enhancer and summing box | Full band, working on character | Eight transformers, toroidal and amorphous cores blended by a Balance control, six-channel summing, M/S with its own insert |
What to choose
- The mix needs air on top and weight underneath — 1951 EQ. The Baxandall curve lets you add a dB up top without sharpening the sibilance.
- The problem is in the midrange: vocal, snare, guitars — 1954 EQ, which starts exactly where the 1951 stops.
- The material is correct but flat — Equidal. The Balance control crossfades between two kinds of transformer saturation, so you choose the character while you work, not when you buy.
- You want to compress only the middle, or shape only the sides — the Equidal again: M/S processing with a dedicated rear-panel insert.
Browse also: equalizers and studio and recording equipment.
Before you decide
- How to read a frequency response curve — before you start correcting the ends of the band.
- Studio monitor placement — without it, a mastering EQ fixes your room, not your mix.
Why buy from us
All three are in stock, so comparing a 1951 with a 1954 on your own material takes one visit. Warsaw showroom: Nowogrodzka 6A/102. Selected gear qualifies for our Test-Drive: 30 days, free, and every purchase carries 36 months of warranty, 30 days to return with no reason given and EU-wide delivery.
About the brand
Audiotales Designs started with the 1951 Mastering Equalizer — an all-tube, Class-A design with its own BARYTONE and AIRCAP functions, filed for patent. The name nods to the first passive tube EQ, released in 1951. The 1954 followed as the second half of a modular pair, and then the Equidal. Everything is built by hand in France, and the company sums up its approach in one line: designed by a sound engineer, for sound engineers.
