Hi everyone,
I am a sound engineer currently working with the CQ-18T. I absolutely love the form factor and the overall workflow of the desk. However, I recently came across a limitation regarding the output routing architecture that I would love to see addressed in a future firmware update.
Currently, the physical TRS outputs 1 to 6 are hardwired to Aux 1 to 6. When setting up a classic stereo delay line, there is currently no way to directly route or “mirror” the Main L/R mix to a pair of these physical outputs.
The only workaround at the moment is using two Auxes, linking them to stereo, switching them globally to post-fade, and raising every single channel to unity gain. While this works, it has two major downsides in a live environment:
1. It adds unnecessary steps during setup.
2. The delay line does not automatically follow the Main Master Fader.
My Request:
It would be a massive workflow improvement if Allen & Heath could implement a flexible source routing option for the physical outputs (similar to the SQ series). At the very least, it would be incredible to have an option in the “Config → Outputs” menu to change the source of any physical output pair from “Aux X” to “Main L” or “Main R”.
This would allow us to easily feed delay lines, front fills, or secondary zones directly with the master mix, while still being able to utilize the output delay and PEQ on that specific path.
Since the CQ series is purely software-controlled, I really hope this feature can be considered for the next software generation. It would make this compact mixer even more powerful for professional system tech tasks!
Thanks for reading and considering this feedback.
Best regards,
Stefan Mathias