JDK R24 review

JDK R24 review

Let me start by saying this. I admit I had low expectations for the R24. With the majority of stereo EQ’s costing $2000-$2500 just how good could a $1000 stereo EQ be? So why did I purchase one? Glad you asked. There are only three stereo EQ’s on the market for $1000, Black Lion audio AM/CHA1, TL audio 5013, and the JDK R24. Why more companies haven’t tapped into the $1000 stereo EQ price point is a mystery to me. The AM/CHA1 has some frequencies missing I like to use, and the lack of customer support from tl audio knocked them out of the running. Sure I could contact dealers about the product but I like to know that if I have a question I can talk to the people who made the gear rather then the people who sell the gear. My emails to JDK were returned no later than 24 hours and were very helpful. Its always nice to know you will have good support for a product.

I went to Sweetwater’s Gearfest this year with the JDK R24 on the top of my wish list. When I arrived at JDK’s booth I was greeted by Jordan from API. They had the R20, R22, and R24 on display with a demo song running through them. I immediately grabbed the headphones and began turning knobs. My good friend Darius Lyles, owner of Heat Factory Studios in Memphis, made the trip with me and listened while I turned knobs on a second pair of headphones. In my opinion, the demo song was not doing the gear justice. I remember walking away telling Darius I wasn’t going to get it. He told me to sleep on it and come back day 2 and try it again. So that’s what I did. Day 2 of Gearfest I must of visited the API booth 6 times. In fact, I visited so many times Jordan ended up giving me a JDK T-shirt. He told me a lot about the EQ and the Sweetwater reps were bragging on it as well. The fact that it was on sale plus the background information I received from Jordan ( like pointing out the R24 uses the same transformer output as the API eq’s) I went ahead and purchased it. The ties to API didn’t hurt either. Who has ever said anything bad about an API eq?

I honestly thought I would be sending the R24 back. Being the gadget geek I am I wasn’t thrilled about the old school vintage design. I like shiny things with lights, but the look of the R24 really grew on me. For fun I called up Blackbird studios and rented one of the $2500 EQ’s I’d been hearing a lot about to do a shootout. Now the fun begins! Darius and I did not think the JDK stood a chance. We matched the EQ settings on both units and a/b’d them. The JDK sounded more polished and exciting, the other EQ sounded dark and dull. Round One to JDK. The same thing was repeated for 2 more mixes with the same results. JDK now up 3-0. For the final test we set both eq’s flat just to hear the tone of each unit. Same results, the JDK added a slight punch and presence, the other EQ was dull and dark. We even brought my wife in the studio who knew nothing about these EQ’s or their prices and a/b’d the mix for her.

She also chose the JDK. 4-0 unanimous victory for the R24! I kept the name of the other EQ anonymous because I did not want it to seem like I was tarnishing their brand or trying to down them. The sparkle you get from the high end of the R24 is very pleasing. The 4 bands ranging from 20hz to 20k make this a very versatile EQ. The controls are continuously variable not stepped.

So what don’t you get with the R24? There is no input or output trim, no shelf switch, Q control, and no individual band bypass. Are these deal breakers? For me absolutely not. If I need to trim the input or output, I do it before it hits the R24. As far as shelving I have not missed not having it. The R24 Q is wide, but the more you boost or cut the more narrow the Q becomes. This has not been a problem for me. Individual bypass is nice to have but even most of the $2500 EQ’s don’t have this feature. Not a big deal to me, I just move the knob back to zero if I want to hear that band flat. One feature the R24 has that is mostly found on a lot of high end gear is a hard bypass. This means you can pass audio through it with the unit powered off. To take advantage of the analog circuitry though you will need to power it on. Since purchasing the R24 it has lived on my mix buss and I have been extremely pleased with the results. It really polishes my mixes and gives them a more finished sound. Comparing the R24 to all my plugin eq’s (waves, softube, McDsp) the JDK just sounds better to my ears. Now no mix leaves my studio without running through the R24 first. For the price this EQ is a absolute steal. I emailed my Sweetwater rep the next day after we did the shootout and told him he would not be getting this EQ back. For my first outboard EQ the JDK R24 is excellent and I’m in love with it as you can tell. I look forward to more products from JDK and as well the possibility of the R22 as my next compressor.

For more info please visit www.jdkaudio.com