96 kHz digital mixer with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 7" touchscreen, 16 Mic/Line inputs, 4 FX engines, 6 Aux outputs, SD/USB recording and a 24×22 USB audio interface.

Allen & Heath CQ-18T is a compact 96 kHz digital mixer for bands, small venues, rehearsal spaces, recording studios and AV applications. It can be used as the main mixer for a small event or as a sub mixer within a larger sound system. Built-in Wi-Fi provides wireless remote control, while SD, USB and Bluetooth connectivity offer flexible options for recording and audio playback.

At the centre of CQ-18T is a 7" capacitive touchscreen with a physical rotary control, 3 SoftKeys and 3 SoftRotaries. Its 96 kHz FPGA processing engine provides comprehensive channel processing including EQ, Gate and Compressor. Quick Channels provide instrument and application-specific processing for fast setup, while Complete Channels give full access to processing parameters.

Gain Assistant automatically sets Mic preamp gain and monitors levels to help prevent clipping. Feedback Assistant detects problem frequencies and helps suppress feedback, while 4 FX engines provide Reverb, Delay and other effects.

The built-in 16-channel Automatic Mic Mixer (AMM) automatically manages microphone levels for conferences, panel discussions and other speech applications.

Connectivity includes 16 Mic/Line inputs - 8 XLR and 8 XLR/TRS Combo - a stereo Line input, Main LR XLR outputs, 6 Aux outputs and 2 stereo headphone outputs.

The 24×22 USB-B audio interface provides multichannel computer connectivity, while SD recording allows up to 24 channels to be captured directly without a computer.

Key Features

• 16 Mic/Line preamps: 8 × XLR and 8 × XLR/TRS Combo inputs
• Stereo Line input: 2 × balanced 1/4" TRS
• Main LR outputs: 2 × balanced XLR
• 6 Aux outputs: 6 × balanced 1/4" TRS, linkable as up to 3 stereo mixes
• 2 stereo headphone outputs: For independent signal monitoring
• 96 kHz FPGA audio processing: High-quality processing with <0.7 ms signal latency
• 24×22 USB-B audio interface: For multichannel recording, playback and DAW integration
• SD multitrack recording: Up to 24 channels @ 48 kHz or 16 channels @ 96 kHz
• USB-A stereo record/playback: Direct stereo recording and audio playback without a computer
• Bluetooth stereo playback: Dedicated stereo input channel for Bluetooth audio sources
• Quick and Complete Channels: Choose between fast simplified control and full channel processing
• Gain Assistant: Automatically sets preamp gain and helps prevent input clipping
• Feedback Assistant: Automatically detects and suppresses feedback frequencies
• 4 FX engines: Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser and other built-in effects
• 16-channel Automatic Mic Mixer (AMM): Automatic microphone level management for speech and conference applications
• 4 DCAs and 4 Mute Groups: Convenient control of multiple channel groups
• 7" capacitive touchscreen: Direct control and configuration of mixer functions
• 3 SoftKeys and 3 SoftRotaries: Configurable controls for frequently used functions
• Built-in dual-band Wi-Fi: 2.4 / 5 GHz wireless remote mixer control
• RJ45 Ethernet: Wired network connection for remote control
• Single/Dual Footswitch connection: Assignable function control using an optional footswitch
• CQ-MixPad: Full remote mixer control from Windows, macOS, iOS and Android devices
• CQ4You: Personal monitor mix control from a mobile device
• 19" rack mounting: Available with the optional CQ18T-RK19 rack-mount kit, sold separately
• Soft carry case: Optional CQ18T-CASE available separately

Channels and Processing

• Mono input channels: 16, stereo linkable
• Stereo input channels: 3 - ST, USB and Bluetooth
• Main Mix: Stereo LR
• Aux Mixes: 6 mono, linkable as up to 3 stereo
• DCAs: 4
• Mute Groups: 4
• Sample rate: 96 kHz
• Input channel processing: Polarity, HPF, Gate, 4-band PEQ, Compressor and Pan
• HPF range: 20 Hz–2 kHz
• PEQ: 4-band fully parametric EQ with RTA
• Compressor: RMS/Peak with Hard/Soft Knee
• Output Mix processing: GEQ/PEQ, Compressor, Limiter and Delay
• GEQ: 20-band, 1/2 octave, 31 Hz–16 kHz with RTA
• Feedback Assistant: Automatic feedback suppression with 16 filters
• Output Delay: Up to 682 ms
• FX engines: 4
• FX types: Easy Verb, Echo Verb, Space Verb, Echo, Tap Delay, Stereo Delay, Beat Delay, Double Tracker, Chorus, Flanger and Phaser
• Automatic Mic Mixer (AMM): 16 mono channels, D-Classic Gain Sharing

Inputs

• Mic/Line inputs: 8 × balanced XLR + 8 × balanced XLR/TRS Combo
• Mic/Line preamps: Fully recallable, digitally controlled
• Phantom power: +48 V
• Mic/Line sensitivity: –60 to 0 dBu
• Analogue gain: 0–60 dB in 1 dB steps
• Maximum Mic/Line input level: +17 dBu (XLR) / +30 dBu (TRS)
• Stereo Line input: 2 × balanced 1/4" TRS, Left/Mono normalled
• Stereo Line nominal level: +4 dBu
• Stereo Line Trim: ±24 dB
• Stereo Line maximum input level: +21 dBu

Outputs

• Main LR: 2 × balanced XLR
• Aux 1–6: 6 × balanced 1/4" TRS
• Headphone outputs: 2 × stereo
• Nominal output level: +4 dBu
• Maximum output level: +22 dBu
• Output impedance: <75 Ω

Recording and Playback

• USB-B audio interface: 24 Send / 22 Return channels
• USB-B format: USB 2.0, 24-bit / 48 or 96 kHz
• USB-B compatibility: Core Audio, ASIO/WDM for Windows
• SD multitrack recording: 24 channels @ 48 kHz / 16 channels @ 96 kHz
• SD multitrack playback: 22 channels @ 48 kHz / 16 channels @ 96 kHz
• SD card: SDHC, 32 GB, UHS-I Class 10 for maximum channel count
• SD audio format: 24-bit / 48 or 96 kHz
• USB-A stereo recording: 24-bit / 48 or 96 kHz WAV
• USB-A stereo playback: 16/24-bit, 44.1 / 48 / 96 kHz WAV

Connectivity and Control

• Touchscreen: 7" capacitive touchscreen with 5 Screen Keys and associated rotary encoder
• SoftKeys: 3 configurable keys
• SoftRotaries: 3 configurable rotary controls
• Footswitch: Configurable single/dual footswitch connection
• Wi-Fi: Built-in dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with automatic channel selection
• Ethernet: RJ45 network connection
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.1 for high-quality stereo audio playback
• CQ-MixPad: Full remote mixer control from Windows, macOS, iOS and Android
• CQ4You: Personal monitor mix control from iOS and Android devices

Audio Performance

• Sample rate: 96 kHz
• Dynamic range: 110 dB
• Frequency response: 20 Hz–20 kHz (+0 / –0.5 dB)
• Headroom: +18 dB
• THD+N: 0.003% (Mic → Main LR)
• Latency: <0.7 ms from local Mic input to Main LR with all processing in or out
• dBFS alignment: +18 dBu = 0 dBFS (+22 dBu at XLR output)

Dimensions, Weight and Power

• Dimensions (W × H × D): 346 × 89 × 242 mm
• Weight: 3 kg
• Power: 12 V DC / 5 A
• Power supply: External 100–240 V AC, 50/60 Hz PSU, supplied
• Maximum power consumption: 35 W
• Operating temperature: 0–40 °C
• 19" rack mounting: Available with the optional CQ18T-RK19 rack-mount kit, sold separately
• Soft carry case: Optional CQ18T-CASE available separately