Description
Built by Allen & Heath, ZED-10 is an amazing little desk for small band mixing. It is ultra portable for carrying to the gig, and can be used for recording live or in the studio. Guitars can be plugged in directly to the mixer using the specially designed high-impedance inputs, while the mixer has two stereo inputs for MP3/CD players or keyboards. Equipped with professional XLR stereo outputs and a flexible monitoring section with headphone and speaker feed outputs. ZED-10 is bundled with IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube X-GEAR software, giving access to superbly modeled amps and effects. Allen & Heath is known for building high quality mixers for the last 40+ years. At any time of day or night, across the globe, there is an Allen & Heath mixer out there working hard, sounding great and making life a little easier for the person at the controls. Back in the early 1970s Allen & Heath hand-built consoles in a tiny factory in London for elite bands like Pink Floyd and The Who. These days Allen & Heath customers are spread across almost every environment imaginable, including touring, theatres, churches, nightclubs, TV and radio stations, recording studios and countless other places where great sound matters.
Key Features
- 4 mic/line inputs, 2 with Class A FET high impedance inputs
- Neutrik mic XLR and Neutrik 1/4 inch jacks
- 3 band EQ with MusiQ
- 2 auxes
- Sound image pan
- Illuminated PFL indicator
- Stereo returns & playback
- All inputs with level control
- 12 bar meters
- Responsive 3-band, swept mid EQ with MusiQ
- 2 stereo sources with MP3 player compatibility
- Separate 2-track record outputs
- Stereo playback input for 2-track replay
- XLR main stereo outputs with inserts
- Comprehensive monitoring
- Configurable USB stereo audio in/out
- Stereo monitor outs
- 48V microphone phantom power
- DI level switching for sub mixing
The ZED-10 is ultra portable, and can be used for recording live or in the studio
Bundled with AmpliTube X-Gear software for access to more amps and effects. View larger
USB Audio Flexibility
Getting audio to and from a computer easily is now a common requirement for live sound and music production. The way this has been implemented on ZED is super-flexible and super-easy–no longer do you need to fiddle around the back of your PC to get to the soundcard inputs, only to find that the levels are all wrong and noisy. Just plug in a USB lead to your ZED, select the USB routing on the mixer and the device on your computer and you can move CD-quality audio to and from your PC or Mac. Switches and connection through jack socket terminals provide different send/return configurations.
Send Options:
- Main Mix Left + Right (Post master Level)
- Aux + FX bus (Aux is a pre-fade send, FX is a post-fade send)
- Record Bus Left + Right (Separate stereo bus to Main Mix)
Return Options:
- To Playback input (through jack socket break contacts)
- To Stereo 2 channel (through jack socket break contacts)
MusiQ
ZED-10 features a responsive 3-band, swept mid frequency EQ design which utilizes MusiQ–with optimized slope (or Q factor) for equalizing individual instruments.
High quality mixer, perfect for places where great sound matters
Guitar DI
ZED-10’s pre-amps are similar in design to Allen & Heath’s MixWizard range of mixers, but with a twist. Inputs 3 and 4 have a high impedance jack input capable of taking either a normal line level or a low level input from a guitar pickup. These newly designed inputs have been crafted with the aim of replicating the sound of a classic guitar or instrument tube pre-amp in a combo or head amp. An extremely high input impedance ensures loading on pick-ups is minimal and a Class A FET (field effect transistor) circuit powered from 48V is employed to give the valve-like gain stage. There is a gain “Boost” switch associated with the guitar inputs which boosts gain by 26dB to cater for instruments with very low level outputs and the overdrive characteristics of the guitar inputs are very similar to a valve (tube) circuit, being asymmetric and soft. All this makes for a wonderfully natural sound to be reproduced from the instrument, full of warmth and character.
AmpliTube X-GEAR
As if guitarists weren’t spoiled enough with its Class A FET high impedance preamps, the ZED-10 comes with access to a full version of IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube X-GEAR software–the first fully modular, customizable and expandable preamp and FX modeling software system. All the ingredients are there for some truly legendary guitar and bass tones.
From the manufacturer
USB AUDIO FLEXIBILITY
Flexible Send and Return Options
Getting audio to and from a computer easily is now a common requirement for live sound and music production. The way this has been implemented on ZED is super- flexible and super-easy! No longer do you need to fiddle around the back of your PC to get to the soundcard inputs, only to find that the levels are all wrong and noisy. Just plug in a USB lead to your ZED, select the USB routing on the mixer and the device on your computer and that’s it! CD quality audio to and from your PC or Mac.
MusiQ to Your Ears
ZED features a responsive 3-band, swept mid frequency EQ design which utilizes MusiQ – with optimized slope (or Q factor) for equalizing individual instruments.
Jeremy –
The ZED is a stealSome people like myself have been skeptical about the glowing reviews of this Mixer. Allot of people write enthusiastic reviews hours after buying a product but I’ve had a week to really test just about everything on this unit. I can now say that it is as good as others have hyped it to be. Lately I have done allot of reviews on Amazon. Some 5 Star reviews I’ve given were generous but this Mixer is an easy 5 stars once you find out how to work around the quirks that it has. My reasons for the rating are listed below:1) If your using this for a PC mixer like me, the Sound Card built into this is worth at least $200 right off the bat. I have a Peachtree Audio DAC that is worth around $300-$400 and I haven’t been able to tell the difference between the two. A smaller Yamaha USB mixer that I tested before this had badly distorted sound at medium to high volumes. Recording quality was good but it just sounded bad when using it as your primary audio device. The ZED has sound quality that will satisfy all but the most anal audiophiles. It’s so good and convenient that I don’t even bother switching back to the main DAC. I also love L/R LED lights on the unit as it lets you know if your close to clipping the audio.2) This has just about everything you’ll ever need for everyday practical use, unless your a serious DJ that does allot of live music mixing and need sliders for more control over the Equalizer. 4 Mic Inputs and XLR Stereo outputs for Studio Monitors. It has USB, RCAs, Several 1/4 Jacks, Aux/FX outputs, Line Inputs, Guitar Inputs, (it doesn’t have MIDI Inputs but you can get an adapter cable that will work), EQs for every channel, Fading, Panning, 2 Stereo channels that can be turned into 4 and a great headphone Amp. Almost everything needed to power a small band.3) It costs $250. It’s only slightly more than other leading brands. Yet it has better build quality, more features than most others in the same price range, better sound and headphone amp than others I’ve tested. It is practically dead silent compared to others I’ve tested or heard from many other reviewers. It’s nearly flawless with only a couple of issues which you knew had to exist since nothing is perfect..The only glaring one I can find is that there is no real Mute buttons. Except for the Record Bus button which essentially mutes your Main Speakers if you have them plugged into the Record Out jacks so you can listen to headphones. Other than that you need to turn down the dials if you want to Mute your Microphone or any other individual channel for example. Another one is that all the Headphone ‘Listen’ and ‘Phones Select’ buttons are Mono. So you can’t use the mixer controls to change the treble/bass/balance when listening to Stereo music through headphones. Unless… you get crafty. You can use all the controls while listening to Stereo if you connect 1/4″ TS cables to the FX and AUX out Jacks and plug them into the Stereo1 Inputs. Then connecting the Record Out Jacks to your Amp or Speakers and it will connect you to the Stereo2 Inputs. This magically gives you full access to control the audio of your headphones in Stereo!Another problem was that it didn’t seem like I could use my Stereo Mic since all the Mic channels are technically Mono. However you can work around this as well, as others pointed out. Simply turn the Pan Dials for one of the Mono Left channels fully counter-clockwise and the Pan knob of a neighboring Mono Right channel fully clockwise and you get Stereo separation that easy. So really this mixer can technically have 4 Stereo channels along with 4 Mono.The only noticeable line-noise that I noticed from this unit was when you are listening to headphones or speakers turned up loud and have Microphones plugged in BUT don’t have Phantom Power enabled. You will pickup feedback from your computer and/or electric feilds close to the mixer. As soon as you turn on Phantom Power the feedback is gone. This won’t be a problem most of the time since you usually have Phantom Power on when a Mic is plugged in. But for those that like to leave the Mics plugged in, this could be a minor issue. So if you are listening to headphones or speakers and hear some odd feedback, simply turn on Phantom Power or pull out your Mic cables and your clear. Just make sure Phantom Power is NOT actually on first.The only other complaint some may have is that this does not have 24-Bit sound. After much research on the topic I’ve found that the difference in sound quality if ANY compared to 16-Bit is very small unless you have superhuman hearing. The great part is that allot of people have bought into the marketing of the 24-Bit/192 Khz hype and allows people to get incredible deals on older technology because of the lower demand.So why did I waste my time writing this long review and helping people so they don’t have to go through all the troubleshooting that I did? Well this Mixer in my opinion is worth at least $400-$500 considering that it replaces my sound system and does everything almost perfectly. Your Welcome.UPDATE: I’m normally careful not to exaggerate in my reviews but I’m going to have to backtrack on my claim that I couldn’t tell a difference in sound between this and my more expensive DAC. When switching between the ZED and my other DAC you can tell the Peachtree is sharper and more neutral. It’s not a MAJOR difference but it is significant. The difference is more apparent through headphones. I just didn’t spend enough time critically listening. Guess I’m a hippocrit and fit into the anal audiophile category I was talking about but I can admit when I’m wrong. So I’ve concluded that the Audio from the USB of the ZED is good but not great. It’s still sounds great in comparison to the other Mixers in this price range. Recording quality is much more important than playback anyway and it does a fantastic job at that. It’s features are invaluable for recording and producing music. I’ve had no problems with it at all to this point and it’s still a great value for the money.I found a solution to the USB sound issue as well by not using the ZED USB connection. Instead connecting USB from my PC to a small external DAC which outputs the sound through RCA cable to the ZED Stereo In. Then another RCA cable from Record Out to the RCA Inputs of my Amplifier. Good improvement in sound quality but this introduced noticeable interference noise at about 1/2 gain and gets louder as the volume is turned up. I found out this is due to a Ground Loop and I was able to fix it with a USB Isolator. Everything is great! I just need to switch back to the USB of the ZED if I want to record.
B. Florence –
solid and quiet with a couple limitationsI started using my behringer eurorack to do some home tracking and noticed that there was some audible noise when all the pots were turned down. Wierd. I started researching some mixers and came across this little gem. It’s pretty much what I need, but it’s not without its limitations.First, with all the pots down, it is dead quiet as far as I can tell. Any noise is coming from the gear connected to it when the pots are turned up, I’m thinking.It has some pretty flexible routing, especially with the USB option, which I have not tested, yet. There are a couple limitations to consider, though:For one, no mute or solo options. The “listen” button makes the channel mono, so it is not really a solo button; however, for recording to the computer the record button allows you to select specific channels.Secondly, no dedicated FX return. You have to use one of the stereo channels as the return; since there are no solo buttons, this mixes with the mono channels. Also, if you use a mono cable from the FX out, you won’t get your stereo image in the return channel (except for the pseudo-stereo image from the effects unit).Now, I’m no audio pro, but it seems there must be a way to use the FX and Aux out as a stereo image, especially when you consider that these are wired for TRS jacks. Of course, anyone who has used a common “stereo jack” knows, only one channel comes out. But I have some old Radio Shack Y-cable that are wired differently, allowing me to send an FX out signal to a stereo effects unit and preserve my stereo image. How are these cables wired differently than other “stereo” cables? Don’t ask me. But they are.If you don’t have these particular cables and still want to preserve a stereo image from the FX or Aux outs, I have a suggestion. Use a mono cable from each of the FX and Aux out, and send one to the left input of your effects unit and one to the right. Granted, the FX is post fader and the Aux is pre-fader, but if you watch your levels, this solution works in a pinch. Another option: get a different mixer.But I’m keeping mine. It works for me.
Christopher Hintz –
Perfect Small Format MixerWe use these for wedding ceremonies with 2x handheld microphones, and 1x lavilier microphone paired with a stage bug xlr to 1/8 stero for laptop / music playback.For anything requiring more than 4x XlR’s these are probably not enough, but it’s a great mixer with 4x XlR ins and 2x 1/4″ mono plugs for guitar or keys 🙂
Leonardo Vivi –
Very nice and professional mixerIm using this for a 2 month period now and the feel and the quality of the sound delivered is really good!For those who need the FX version there’s one with them… I don’t need them.It sees and feels like heavy duty, nothing in it is weak or cheap-lookingIt sacrifices the slider volume knobs but I like to have as much EQ enabled channels as I can get, and for a small mixer, that’s really cool!No complaints so far… and nothing different in the horizon!Of course, Amazon was as Amazing as always for me… thank you very much!UPDATE:I have this beauty now for about two and a half years and the updated review would be exactly the same AND it works and looks like if I bought it yesterday! Not even one glitch or malfunction, no repairs, no chips, no dents, no decoloration or sign of wearing at all!… I love my A&H mixer and if you buy one I’m sure you will too.
AK –
This is my second home use mixer after Mackie 1202 …This is my second home use mixer after Mackie 1202 is now dedicated to Karaoke system. Construction-wise, ZED-10 has a little cheaper feel than Mackie but it should be a trade-off with digital (USB) in-out. Although I read the specs and knew exactly what I was buying, when I set up the system as guitar re-amping and home recording, I realize that it is less flexible than I thought: (1) both record and monitor outs are RCA rather than TRS (who’d use RCA equipment these days?), and, (2) no Aux Returns, i.e., taking up stereo inputs which also shares tape/USB inputs…
S. Hammill –
Fine little boardIt has very good sound quality.Build quality is less than I like, but GEEEEsssssssssssh, the thing cost
Zack Leven –
Solid, Quiet, Versatile, CompactThis mixer gives you a surprising breadth of options for creating sub-mixes and routing the signals various different ways. The USB I/O is fantastic. The pots feel very solid and have just the right resistance. Even the power button has a very satisfying firm click, which indicates sturdy construction. The mixer is a bit larger/bulkier than it appeared to me in the images (be sure to check the specs), but still fits comfortably on my desk. I had always been a Mackie fan, but the versatility and functionality of this little mixer left me instantly impressed, and I will definitely consider Allen & Heath for any future boards.
Sean Kai –
Amazing qualitybought two other soundboards from Behringer
Behringer Xenyx 802 Premium 8-Input Compact Audio Mixer Silver
, they came broken each time. This puppy is pure golden! Has more nobs then I can handle and the build quality is excellent. Sound is beautiful. It costs more, but take my word from experience, when buying electronics like sound equipement it is always worth the extra money to get something that will guaranteed -work and will stand the test of time. Thank you Allen and Heath, I give you each a kiss on the cheek for this. 😀
probably dumb –
Nice little mixerUsed as a monitor mixer. Doesn’t color the sound and has all the standard routing options. Much better than anything in this price range with a Behringer or Mackie label on it.
JOHN LESESNE –
This is a great mixer for general use and installations needing a small …This is a great mixer for general use and installations needing a small dedicated mixer board. The sound is clean , the EQ. works great and has a setting switch for mic level or line level output through the female XLR Main Output . READ THE INSTRUCTION BOOK ! This is a great mini-board for use during live performance , if the demands on the board are not excessive .