Sony's Oxford EQ plug-in for Pro Tools - Review

Post, April, 2002 by Karl Kalbaugh

It's only in the last year that I've become one of the Pro Tools faithful. Before that, I was a console and DAW snob. I thought of Pro Tools as a sort of Kenner "Close-n-Play" from the 1970s. Everything changed when I was laid off in July 2001 from my cushy staff position running an AMS/Neve Libra Post, Rather than take another position at another post house, I bought my own gear and opened my own business. The only viable gear within my financial reach was Digidesign ProTools. Well, I though to myself, how bad can the system be if a Rupert Neve company -- Focusrite -- had developed plug-ins for the system? My faith in Pro Tools has borne itself out through many smooth mixes and happy clients.., and recently, affirmed by none other than the mothership herself, Sony, with their Oxford EQ plug-in.

Based on the EQ section of the mighty OXF-R3 digital mixing console, this plug-in went through extensive engineering design at Sony's Broadcast and Professional UK division. The R3 plug-in boasts four EQ type or specific pre-sets for Q to Gain ratios that emulate several classic/legacy EQ circuits. A fifth circuit type, which can be added to the plug-in at additional cost, is based upon George Massenburg's GML 8200 outboard box. Massenburg himself did a side-by-side comparison of the GML plug-in and the GML outboard box as a quality control check. It easily passed Massenburg's own brand of QC.

Upon my initial approach to the Oxford plug-in, I thought, "I have and like the Focus-rite d2 plug-in, so what possible use would a new EQ be?" Once I began working with it, I found the Oxford plug-in to have greater capability. The first thing that I noticed was the R3's ability to push Q much deeper than the d2 -- a great asset to all audio post engineers.

Another feature that audio engineers will find very useful is the high and low frequency filters. Each filter's slope can be incrementally adjusted up to -36dB per octave. A feature the d2 cannot match.

The R3 plug-in, however, is rather pricey at nearly-$800. Focusrite's d2 software retails at about $500. Does the Sony plug-in rate its higher price? If ease of use and greater flexibility are important to you and your mixes, then the R3 is worth its cost.

The graphical user interface was lifted directly from the Oxford R3 console. Operations are very intuitive and it works well with Digidesign's ProControl mixing surface.

My first test of the R3 plug-in was to do a side-by-side comparison with Focusrite's d2 plug-in. With the same amounts of Gain, Q and filter slope, and while using identical audio files, I found the R3 to have a much smoother analog" sound. I also found clicking through the EQ types -- to see how different EQ circuits would react -- to be very useful.

In the real world, I mixed several TV spots using the R3. The filters, with their ability to create slopes of up to 36 dB per octave, were extremely useful in cleaning-out rumbles and hiss of location sound. I got a real sense of lift and separate" while boosting the upper mids. All this, and my clients thought the GUI was extremely cool.

Most audio post engineers will find the R3 an excellent addition to their mixing arsenal. And in this reviewer's opinion, the Sony Oxford R3 is the new standard for Pro Tools EQ plug-ins.

RELATED ARTICLE: VITAL STATS

MANUFACTURER: Sony

PRODUCT: Oxford R3 plug-in for Digidesign Pro Tools

PRICING: Oxford R3 EQ: $750

Oxford R3 + GML: $1,050

GML upgrade: $300

WEB SITE: www.sonyplugins.com

Karl Kalbaugh

Mixer/Sound Designer Georgetown Post Washington. DC

georgetownpost.Com