The Allen & Heath ZED-14 USB Mixing Console has incredibly advanced features for a mixer at this level—it has 13 independent sources to the mix, 10 independent outputs, 4 aux sends, a USB send & return for PC or Mac recording, playback and effects, a unique dual stereo input capability and some very advanced monitoring facilities. In fact, ZED-14 is so packed full of great features that you'd think it would cost much, much more.

The ZED-14 is a mixer for anyone, from entry-level to professionals, who appreciates fantastic uncolored sound, lots of headroom, a truly professional feel, and rugged build quality. It can be used for many different tasks, whether in live performance, utilizing plug-in effects via USB, live recording via USB and Cakewalk, studio recording or mixing down to produce your own 2-track recordings.

Inputs
One of the great things about the ZED series is the number and variety of things you can plug in. In addition to the six mono channels there are four stereo channels, each with a main stereo input on jack sockets, and with the ability to take additional stereo inputs from phono sockets or from the USB audio input, flexibility gives you control. In all, ZED-14 boasts 99 different controls on its front panel—way more than any of the competition! 6 mic/line channels are provided on ZED-14 - plenty for mics or DI boxes for a small band, duo or solo performer 4 stereo line inputs—dual inputs, both with gain and 2-band EQ

DuoPre
Based on the proven pre-amps from the hugely successful PA series, the ZED series has new DuoPreTM pre-amps, which use a two stage design, with carefully controlled amounts of gain in each stage. When amplifying the signal from the XLR input, the gain range is huge—69dB of range to be exact—and is very evenly distributed around the gain control, meaning better control of signal level. Most of the gain comes from the first stage, so unwanted noise is kept to a minimum. Line level signals are simply plugged into the second stage of the pre-amp by using the line input jack socket, which has the great advantage of less noise when using the line input.

EQ section
ZED-14 features a responsive 3-band, swept mid frequency design with MusiQ—optimized slope (or Q factor) for equalizing individual instruments. HF and LF also boast Xtra Boost, to make these frequencies more responsive.

Auxiliary sends
4 aux sends are provided, of which 1&2 are prefade for foldback monitoring, and 3 & 4 post-fade for effects sends. A stereo signal can be sent from auxes via USB to computer to create 2 separate record feeds independent of the main LR mix (1&2) and or used as FX sends (3&4).

USB audio flexibility
Getting audio to and from a computer easily is now a common requirement for live sound and music production. The way we have implemented this 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! Quality audio to and from your PC or Mac. Three switches provide different send/return configurations for recording, playback and utilising external FX.

Build
At this level, most mixers are built using a single, flat PCB with all the pots and switches attached at right angles. ZED-14 utilizes individual vertically mounted channel circuit boards with each rotary control fixed with a metal nut to the front panel—making a much more robust product that will resist damage and give years of reliable use. ZED also has professional 100mm faders for ultimate control over your levels.

SONAR LE
Allen & Heath has teamed up with major software supplier, Cakewalk, to bundle its SONAR LE music creation and audio production software with the ZED-14, giving you a fantastic, high spec digital audio workstation.

SONAR LE is a software application from Cakewalk and is included free of charge with the ZED-14 mixing console. SONAR LE is a powerful first step into the world of sequencing and hard disk recording on the Windows platform. You'll be able to record from your ZED mixer, create tracks and arrange songs, then play back to your ZED mixer via the USB port. You can decide whether the SONAR family of products is right for you. If you choose to upgrade your copy of SONAR LE to a more full-featured version, like SONAR Producer or Home Studio Editions, you'll now be able to do so at significant savings.

Allen & Heath ZED-14 USB Mixing Console Features:

• ZED-14 Mixer
• 14 inputs total
• 6 Mono Channels with XLR inputs and preamps with 3-Band EQ with sweepable mids
• 4 Stereo Channels with line inputs with 2-band EQ
• 4 Aux sends
• 2 Stereo returns
• USB send & return for PC or Mac recording, playback and effects
• 48V phantom power
• Insert points
• High pass filter
• Stereo imaging control on every channel
• Channel mute switches
• Advanced monitoring facilities
• 1/4" and 3.5mm headphones outputs
• Stereo record out
• Alternative stereo out
• Mono sum of LR output
• Main LR outputs
• 12-bar LR meters
• Master controls for aux 1 & 2
• 12-100MM faders for a professional feel
  
  SONAR LE
• 64 audio tracks
• 256 MIDI tracks
• 8 simultaneous inputs and outputs
• 24-bit/192 kHz audio quality
• 24 simultaneous effects
• 8 simultaneous virtual instruments
• Integrated VST/VSTi support, without need for VST adapter
• Support for ACIDTM-format loops
• Support for ReWire clients such as Project5, Live, or Reason
• Elegant user interface
• Active Controller Technology automatically maps MIDI keyboards and control surfaces to the parameters you need most on effects, instruments, volume, pan, and other mix elements
• Easier integration of virtual instruments with Synth Rack
• Support for Windows Vista (32-bit & 64-bit), Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and Windows XP operating systems

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Allen & Heath ZED-14 USB Mixing Console Specifications:

• ZED-14 USB Mixing Console
• Operating Levels
• Input:
• Mono channel (XLR) Input: +6 to 63dBu for nominal (+17dBu in max)
• Mono channel Line Input (Jack socket): +10 to 26dBu (+30dBu maximum)
• Insert point (TRS Jack socket): 0dBu nominal +21dBu maximum
• Stereo Input (Jack sockets): 0dBu nominal (control = Off to +10dB)
• Stereo input (phono sockets): 0dBu nominal (control = Off to +10dB)
  
  Output:
• L, R & Mono Outputs (L&R XLR, Mono Jack): 0dBu nominal. +21dBu maximum
• Aux Outputs (Jack sockets): 0dBu nominal. +21dBu maximum
• Alt Outputs (phono sockets): 0dBu nominal. +21dBu maximum
• Rec Outputs (phono sockets): 0dBu nominal. +21dBu maximum
  
  Frequency Response:
• Mic in to Mix L/R Out, 30dB gain: +0.5/-1dB 20Hz to 20kHz
• Line in to Mix L/R out 0dB gain: +0.5/-1dB 10Hz to 30kHz
• Stereo in to Mix L/R out: +0.5/-1dB 10Hz to 30kHz
  
  THD+N:
• Mic in to Mix L/R Out, 0dB gain 1kHz +10dBu out: 0.004%
• Mic in to Mix L/R Out, 30dB gain 1kHz: 0.014%
• Line in to Mix L/R out 0dB gain 0dBu 1kHz: 0.005%
• Stereo in to Mix L/R out 0dB gain +10dBu 1kHz: 0.003%
  
  Headroom:
• Analog headroom from nominal (0Vu): 21dB
• USB in & out headroom from nominal (0Vu): 14dB
  
  USB Audio CODEC (Coder/Decoder):
• USB Audio In/Out: USB 1.1 compliant 16 bit
• Sample Rate: 32, 44.1, or 48kHz
  
  Noise:
• Mix L/R out, L/R faders = 0, 22-22kHz: -88dBu
• Mic Pre EIN @ max gain 150R input Z 22-22kHz: -127dBu
  
  Dimensions (W x D x H): 15.11" x 18.30" x 4.35" (384 x 465 x 110.69 mm)
• Weight: 14.3 lb. (6.5 kg.)
  
  SONAR LE
• System Requirements
• Minimum
• Operating System: Windows XP
• Processor Speed: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz, or AMDTM Athlon XP 1500+ or higher
• RAM: 256 MB
• Graphics (resolution, color depth):1024 x 768, 16-bit color
• Hard Disk Space: 100 MB for core program
• Hard Disk Type: Any
• MIDI Interface: Windows-compatible
• Audio Interface Windows-compatible
• Optical Drive: DVD-ROM, DVD+/-R, or DVD+/-RW for installation, CD-R or CD-RW capability required for CD audio disc burning
  
  Recommended
• Operating System: Windows XP/Vista/Vista x64
• Processor Speed: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz [EM64T], or AMDTM Athlon 64 2800+or higher
• RAM: 1 GB or higher
• Graphics (resolution, color depth): 1280 x 960, 32-bit color
• Hard Disk Space: 2 GB for program and content
• Hard Disk Type: EIDE/Ultra DMA (7200 RPM) or SATA
• MIDI Interface: Windows-compatible
• Audio Interface: WDM- or ASIO-compatible, including WaveRT for Vista
• Optical Drive: DVD-ROM, DVD+/-R, or DVD+/-RW for installation, CD-R or CD-RW capability required for CD audio disc burning

Allen & Heath ZED-14 USB Mixing Console

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Average of 3 User Ratings

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Great little mixer

Posted by Riffmeister from Indianapolis on Oct 13, 2009

Experience w/product: I own it

Reviewer's Background: Lifetime musician, pro video editor

Reviewer's Play Style: Rock

I am using this in my recording studio and the quality is very good. It blows away the comparably sized Mackies, Behringers and Yamahas I have used. The 100mm faders are better than you will find in other mixers in this price range. The build quality is very sturdy, with individual boards for each mix channel. The mic preamps are clean and silent with very good gain range. The sound out of this thing has a great organic quality that you usually only get with much higher-end boards. Another added bonus is the USB output. The sound quality going direct to computer is great. I usually only record voiceovers for video productions, so the 2 channels offered is fine for me, if you are looking to multitrack you'll have to look elsewhere and spend more a lot more money. All in all a very well built and great sounding mixer.

Overall

Quality

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Best in it's class!

Posted by Freddo from Montreal on Jul 26, 2009

Experience w/product: I own it

Reviewer's Background: Recording Engineer

Reviewer's Play Style: Rock, pop

I went from a Mackie to this Zed 14 and I must say, day & night the difference!! The mic pre-amps are incredible, in fact, the overall sound is incredible!

I had mine for 6 months now and not a problem.

Overall

Quality

Features

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Dont waste your time and money!

Posted by Jadedcustomer from Western United States on Jul 1, 2008

Experience w/product: I own it

Reviewer's Background: Active Musician/Recording Engineer

Reviewer's Play Style: ...Most

I bought two of these rectangular pieces of plastic garbage six months ago and they worked....o.k., not amazing, but the sound quality was nominal for the price, but literally six months to the day of buying them each, not one but both started picking up radio frequencies, while trying to record a bass track, Barry White somehow had found his way into the recording! Ear splitting static is now the only thing these money pits pick up these days, when I called Allen & Heath's tech support, the operator told me I had one of two options, either embed giant copper tubes into the walls of my studio to reflect radio waves or cover the entire warehouse in chicken-wire! And even after moving my studio across town, the static was still there! My suggestion to you would be save yourself a shot in the foot and buy a Mackie, Alessis, of Tascam,

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Allen & Heath ZED-14 USB Mixing Console

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