NUGEN Audio announces SEQ-S, a high-fidelity, linear-phase equalizer
by The Press Desk   26th June 2014

Outstanding plugin.

Cool!

Excellent company. I'll have to try this one out.

Crazy sharp curves and Linear phase covered with enticing glowing colors.

A Pre-ringing monster from the deep.

So - anybody tried this? How is it different from other spline EQs? At $249, it'd better be amazing...

Is it better than Ozone 5 Matching EQ?

It is amazing, although I'm not speaking comparatively. The sound and function are top notch. The interface should be larger however, at least as an option.


-SD

I could not hear any. So have you tired it then?

I would say yes, but primarily because of the sound which is stunning. The setup works well, but Izotope is difficult to beat when it comes to GUI options and a straightforward, reliable workflow.


-SD

Great sounding Eq just like NuGen products but pull down preset menu is really annoying and not well integrated. Feels in the way. I think a better revamp pull-down rmenu is needed :-)

Absolutely !



G

Really? Come on.
I cant believe that a company like Nugen would lie about the implementation of phase response in their filters.
Why would they do that?

Hah I knew they weren't making things up! Play the MP3. That should make it easy to hear!

The files attached here clearly show that they indeed do implement linear phase! Pre ringing big time.

I gave you some wav files as well if you like. Nugen Seqs folowed by DMG Equilibrium in full minimum phase mode so you can check for your self.

If you cant hear that then just look at the waveforms!

You can clearly see the audible effect of linear phase resulting in the transient impact getting destroyed by audio appearing early in time that did not exist in the original.

Also it incidentally highlights why I personally would never use linear phase in mastering or other applications.

I have to agree. I demoed this and just don't care for the sound of Nugen Seqs in basic default mode.

Does this also occur with the resolution set to "Maximum (FFT Size = 16384)" and Banding set to "Chromatic"?

Is this also affected by sample rate?

I can hear and see what you are saying, thanks for taking the time.

I've tried duplicating what you've done with SEQ-S in default mode on the original and I can't hear it.
I've tried setting the eq to the same curves as per your picture.
Peak of gain is at 277 hz with 10 db gain.
Peak of cut is at 349 htz with 10 db attenuation.
Please post all the settings you used for the tests.
Thanks.

UPDATE EDIT: My first test was done in Peak.
Upon close examination, for reasons completely unknown, SEQ-S would only load in mono in that.
Now in Logic I can reproduce the same results.

But after further tests I wonder if the "pre ringing" is just a result of the eq setting.

OK - tested this myself:

The pre-ringing in SEQ-S is very obvious, even at 96 kHz with Maximum resolution and Chromatic banding.

Pre-ringing is not present in either SplineEQ v1.1.1 or EQuilibrium v1.07 (FIR mode, Linear phase, Impulse length: 32,768) using the sample provided by polybonk.

I think it is just the sound of the EQ setting after testing myself, to me thats the sound of a 277 boost @ 10db. That said I would never do that to a snare, I would pick another snare. lol. You can find flaws in most EQs with tests like this, but its all good to discuss. With any EQ less is more, with this EQ subtractive wide Q settings is fine. Sounds great!

Nope. Listen to the DMG wav.
No pre ringing on that one. Same boosts and cuts.

Any linear phase eq change results in pre ringing. The bluring of transients I don't feel is worth it personally. Especially if you are doing the harbal style thing of matching other tracks, which is also a rather odd idea IMHO.
That is going to result in a lot of spline squiggly strangeness.

What did you have Equilibrium's Q set to? I notice when set between 1.5 -1.8 it sounds nearly identical to SEQ in general resolution. It's difficult to know exactly how tight the Q is, but from your picture it appears you're engaging a single spline on SEQ, right?

What's most interesting to me is that in both EQs, the artifacts appear to be more audible when I've increased resolution.


-SD

Here are the clips from my testing with Equilibrium's curves set to a Q of 1.8. The artifacts may actually be less audible in these examples with SEQ. But once again this has more to do with Q value than the actual inherent quality of either plug-in.

They're all 96K files.



DMG @ 4096.aif

DMG @ 16384.aif

Nugen @ 4096.aif




-SD

I have had run ins with Mr Harbal! He loves his EQ (and so do I) but boy does he think he is right... lol

Interestingly if you look at the sample waveform display with Nugen you can see a ramp, pre the sound... umm... anyone else?

I just fixed a mix with Nugen I cannot hear anything negative, will listen close. We need Stav to chip in here.

Yes - this is the pre-ring.

Nugen SEQ is the best sounding mastering eq ive ever used. I m aware of the preringing introduced by linear phase. I use Voxengo harmoneq and equilibrium but they simple dont match upto SEQ's sound.

Hey, just wanted to get some vibe from you on this. I downloaded their demo last night and think it is working out great for individual tracks, say, 24 (this isn't to say it wouldn't for mastering but I'm not there). I cleaned house with it a bit. I can't help but notice it opens up more space in the mix using only curve 1 L/R. There is a silkiness to the highs and an almost tranny glow most noticeable on the kick. I think it will make a fine sculpting tool for me.

So is this good? How to use it to avoid artifacts? Is the matching eq good as in, is it really opening up clarity otherwise unattainable with normal wide/small band cuts with other eqs?

I bought this one yesterday and I´m pretty sure this is the best allround IQ I ever used! In comparison Fabfilter Pro-Q2 sounds ... greyish and Equilibrium sounds thin. The only problem is, or if I haven´t understood it, you´ll need a mother approach; it does´t work too sweep to find enjoying frequencies. So it takes more effort, but it´s worth it!