Pultec
Pultec MEQ-5-SS Midrange Equalizer
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Pultec MEQ-5-SS Midrange Equalizer is the solid-state version of the MEQ-5 midrange equalizer. Its input transformer and passive equalization network are identical to the tube variant, with level restored by an API 2520 opamp driving a Triad output transformer. The working range is unchanged: roughly 300 Hz to 5 kHz, the band holding most of the energy in program material and the one where hearing picks up even small resonances from a room, a microphone or a monitor.
Three sections on one panel instead of a plugin chain
The sections are independent and act simultaneously, so you can boost a peak curve between 200 and 1000 Hz, boost a second between 1.5 and 5 kHz, and dip anywhere from 200 Hz to 7 kHz. Jack Douglas, who worked with John Lennon, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper, named the MEQ-5 as his go-to equalizer for guitars of any kind. The same reasoning covers vocals, horns, strings, keyboards, snare and toms, material that needs body added below, presence added above and a resonance removed in between, all in one move.
Headroom for hot signals
Maximum output level is +21 dBm with noise below -80 dBm, so the unit handles hot signals without careful gain staging at the input. That matters on a console insert and on post-compression signals, where headroom is often in short supply. The solid-state stage is described as punchier than the tube one, with a tighter low end, which on snare and toms means the attack stays clearer under a large low-midrange lift. The control ranges remain deliberately limited: 10 dB in the low midrange, 8 dB in the high midrange and 10 dB of dip.
KEY FEATURES
- Passive midrange equalizer with a solid-state gain stage
- Genuine API 2520 opamp with a Triad output transformer
- Three independent sections operating simultaneously
- Low-midrange peak boost across 200 to 1000 Hz
- High-midrange peak boost across 1.5 to 5 kHz
- Dip attenuation from 200 Hz to 7 kHz
- Output level to +21 dBm and noise below -80 dBm
- The same passive equalization network as the tube variant
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Type: passive midrange equalizer with solid-state line amplifier
- Gain stage: API 2520 with Triad output transformer
- Low-midrange peak boost: 200, 300, 500, 700, 1000 Hz, 0-10 dB
- High-midrange peak boost: 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5 kHz, 0-8 dB
- Dip attenuation: 200, 300, 500, 700 Hz and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 kHz, 0-10 dB
- Input impedance: approx. 600 Ohms
- Output impedance: approx. 50 Ohms
- Noise: below -80 dBm
- Distortion: 0.15% max at 10 dBm into 600 Ohms
- Amplifier response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0 / -1 dB ref 1 kHz, transformers included
- Maximum output level: +21 dBm
