The ZED-24 has a fantastic pedigree which comes from nearly 40 years of making mixing consoles for the professional sound community. The audio circuitry is based on years of continual development and refinement and the performance of all the elements within the mixer is has been perfected to ensure the very best sound quality possible.
The feature-set is incredibly advanced for a mixer at this level – it has 23 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. 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.
One of the great things about the ZED series is the number and variety of things you can plug in. In addition to the sixteen 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-24 boasts 129 different controls on its front panel - way more than any of the competition!
16 mic/line channels are provided on ZED-24 - plenty for mics or DI boxes for larger bands or demanding applications requiring more inputs than the ZED-14. 4 stereo line inputs, 3 with dual inputs. All inputs have independent gain control.
Based on the proven pre-amps from the hugely successful PA series, the ZED series has new DuoPre 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. ZED-24 features a responsive 3-band, swept mid frequency design for equalizing individual instruments. HF and LF also boast Xtra Boost giving you extra control.
4 aux sends are provided, of which 1 & 2 are prefader for monitors, and 3 & 4 post-fader 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).
Getting audio to and from a computer easily is now a common requirement for live sound and music production. The way this is 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! Quality audio to and from your PC or Mac. Three switches provide different send/return configurations for recording, playback and utilizing external FX.
At this level, most mixers are built using a single, flat PCB with all the pots and switches attached at right angles. ZED-24 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.