Do you hear what we hear?
Our most versatile product, the HQ preamp and D-A converter straddles both the pro-audio and hi-fi markets, functioning in the pro audio market as a monitor controller, as well as serving as a source preamp in high-end hi-fi systems. The monitor preamp is possibly the most important piece of equipment for both audio professionals and Hi-Fi enthusiasts alike. It is the last piece of equipment before the speakers, so it requires zero coloration, precise balance, low noise, wide bandwidth and a wide variety of input sources.
 
There are three components to the accurate evaluation of audio - engineers pay a great deal of attention to both the choice of microphone and speakers. However the third component, the monitor pre-amp and digital-to-analogue conversion used to reference this material, is crucial and often overlooked. The Drawmer HQ is specifically designed to do that job - and to a highly accurate, precision-engineered standard. Likewise there are three aesthetically and functionally complimentary products that can be used independently or linked to provide multiple channels and remote operation. The three products are the HQ - stand-alone, with all controls on the front panel; the HQ-r - a desktop control surface for both the HQ and HQ-b; and the HQ-b - has no controls on the front panel but is operated by either the HQ or HQ-r. In this way several modular options are available to suit your specific requirements and setup, for example, in a studio several HQ-b’s can be mounted in a rack but controlled from the desktop using the HQ-r.
 
Designed to act as a central hub in a studio, mastering room, reference library or any high-end listening environment, Drawmer’s HQ facilitates fast switching between sources and outputs in multi-speaker setups. Analogue inputs accept audio on balanced XLRs and unbalanced phonos. In addition, separate stereo RIAA-corrected phono inputs are provided, so that turntables may be directly connected for restoration work or reference without the need for a separate phono pre-amp. The HQ also permits the connection of digital sources at up to 192kHz in AES format (via XLRs), TOSlink (on an RCA jack) or AES3id (on a BNC connector), and a standard USB ‘B’-type connector allows audio to be streamed at lower rates from a laptop. For the hi-fi enthusiast, he rack ears are removable, while for the rackmounting professional, the feet can be removed.
 
Each input source, whether in the analogue or digital domain, may be given its own input gain settings for optimum level-matching of the connected devices. Audio from mixing desks, turntables, digital audio workstations and DVD, Blu-ray or CD players may all be united within the HQ and sent to the balanced and unbalanced analogue outputs simultaneously. Digital sources at their original sample rate and bit depth can also be routed to a dedicated S/PDIF output.
 
So what you hear is what you get - precisely.
 
Features:

• SEAMLESS RELAY VOLUME CONTROL (SRVC™) - ACCURATE CHANNEL BALANCE TO 0.05dB
• STATE OF THE ART DAC (-100dB THD & NOISE AND –114dB DnR)
• ULTRA LOW CROSSTALK (>100dB @20Hz TO 20kHz)
• 4 ANALOGUE AND 5 DIGITAL SOURCES (WITH DAC TO 192KHZ/24BIT), WITH INDIVIDUAL GAIN SETTING. IT CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY CONNECT TO APPLE MAC, LAPTOP, MIXING CONSOLE, DAB FM TUNER, IPOD DOCK, MEDIA PLAYER, AUDIO WORKSTATION AND PHONO TURNTABLE PLUS A WHOLE HOST OF OTHER GEAR.
• INTELLIGENT SOURCE SELECT ALLOWS A-B COMPARISONS
• DIGITAL INPUTS TO 192kHz 24bit WITH JITTER REDUCTION RIAA INPUT FOR ACCURATE REPLAY OF VINYL
• SWITCHING FOR THREE DIFFERENT SPEAKER CONFIGURATIONS: SPEAKERS A, SPEAKERS B OR SPEAKERS A+B
• LINKING OPERATION FOR MULTI-CHANNEL SYSTEMS
• DUAL HEADPHONE OUTPUTS
• NORMAL OUTPUT LEVELS UP TO +18dBu BALANCED
• HOT OUTPUT LEVELS UP TO +28dBu BALANCED
• INTERNAL LINEAR POWER SUPPLY WITH MULTI-STAGE REGULATION