This EQ CRUSHES FabFilter?!

I like a bit more the Farbfilter UI although Kirchhoff has more features. At the end of the day it does not really matter, both are fine and producers can make no. 1 hit songs with both of them.

I havent tried Kirchoff, but DMG Equick had better transparency than Q3 from memory.

I woud love to see you do a video checking out Tone Boosters TBEqualizer4. It is an EQ similar to these in functionality but it is a faction of the price. I have been reaching for it lately instead if Kirchhoff EQ becuase it has a really cool autogain compinsation that you can toggle per band and you can add saturation to each band as well. I love turning on the saturation when I'm boosting. It also has the same mid/side splits and it can be dynamic.

I can hear a big difference. The Kirschoff just sounds more neutral and pleasant.

This EQ is KILLER!!!!!

The Q is different

Fabfilter actually sounded better on the vocal example!

About the comparison of the resonances that comes as a consequence of the phase shift - are you sure that the "natural phase" in the Fabfilter is equal to the "minimum" in Kirchhoff?

I agree that the Kirchhoff sounds crispier in this vid. That said, I’m going to stick with pro-Q for two reasons.

1. While it’s nice to have options, The Kirchhoff has TOO many options for me. I’ll end up tinkering with them all day and not get anything done. With pro-Q, I can be in and out and also spot any competing frequencies on any other tracks with a quick glance. If I want a neve style EQ, I’ll just do subtractive cleanup with pro-Q then grab a neve emulation for additive.

2. I have a relatively new mac with the latest OS and plugin alliance is the only plugin company that doesn’t support it. Nor do they seem to be in any hurry to. All my other plugins have been updated and run great but plugin alliance’s crash my DAW. Since they don’t value their customers enough to prioritize making our plugins work, I’m not giving them any more money.

What when u hit the natural phasing mode in proQ? Zero Latency mode sounds kinda boxy always

man, there’s ToneBoosters’ Equalizer plugin which has 95% of features what this one has, and it‘s existed for ages. its price is ~30 usd and there are versions for both desktop OSs and mobile ones - iOS/Android.
i mean ProQ 3 is a good EQ, but not that it’s news that there are more versatile & reasonably priced options out there

Calling an EQ sounding better than a 100% transparent EQ is simply stupid. 🥴 Dummy.

Yep sounds much better but honestly I use pro q3 for cutting and using multi band eq/compression with the side chain I find the fab filter very transparent almost like a SSL or focus rite console. Im boosting with parallels and or channel strips .

I don’t use either one but I also would a 12db boost to test them since if I need that much boost or cut, I should probably just retrack it with a better mic or mic placement and I only mix things I’ve recorded so I guess if retracking isn’t an option I guess this would be one way to fix an issue. I’d still probably try cutting something else competing at the same frequency, some saturation or a different eq altogether. I’ve just found big boosts like that inherently cause other problems. I did hear the difference and I know the fab filter stuff has a lot of settings so maybe one of those would mitigate that issue but I go for simpler eq’s like the modeled UAD stuff, API, Pultec, Chandler etc…

I think you should watch the Dan Worrall video and realize you didn’t match the Q before doing the sound comparison. It’s really easy (even visually) to tell that the Qs are not matched. The two EQs sound the same when setting are set the same.

You shouldn’t make reviews about stuff like this if you don’t fully understand how to do proper comparisons :/

Audio placebo is real folks!!

Sorry dude I generally enjoy and appreciate your content but after watching Dan Worrall's recent video comparing these two EQs with a simple null test I'm inclined to call BS here. It seems the difference you're hearing is because the Q values are actually different, but when set the same they null near perfectly. It's also interesting that you're hearing a narrower band width as more "natural" too. And the deceptively named "analog" mode is just a minimum phase mode and doesn't add some kind of magic "analog" secret sauce. There are some features in the Kirchhoff that I would like to see on the Q3. Like a simple way to select a more analog style curve and a way to add more analog style saturation. But, I know fabfilter will do it better when they do and the Kirchhoff just seems unnecessarily cluttered with every possible bell and whistle.

Opinions on sonic quality differences are bunk, Dan Worralls video proves that, do a null test and see. very cool plug-in and the dynamic section is very cool, but definitely not better than proQ3 just different.

Hey Colt, I trust your judgement. But Dan Worrall made comparison Kirchhoff vs Pro-Q3 and to be honest I couldn't hear a difference with my eyes close. I was using my HD 650 cans when listening to the comparison

i stoped when it was compared on the kick drum... I don't hear the "hollow" sound as you say it, and if I close my eyes I really can't hear anything :)) maybe more people should do blind tests. That's my opinion

What about resource performance? I think fabfilter is much lighter on CPU use. Set pro Q to natural phase and the ringiness reduces

I saw another more in-depth review of this. There are sonic difference between the 2 for sure. I would not run right out and buy the Kirchhoff but I do plan to add it to the arsenal at some point. But we all know at the end of the day, it's not the tools, don't we.

Night and Day sonics. Thanks Colt

Try setting the Kirchhoff EQ to tight mode in the settings and comparing to FF again, I would love to see that. These little things actually make a difference.

In all honesty I’ve never liked the proQ, to me it sounds phasey and too clinical

Might also be zero latency mode on Fab Filter Pro Q try changing it to natural phase

Hello Colt what about using the pro q 3 in natural phase ? Thanks for your video

You are late. FF went on vacation a year ago 😀

I do hear the difference that he's talking about with the boosts. But, what sold me on the Kirchoff was the dynamic EQ settings... As a Pro-Q guy for years now, that's something that I've always said... "Why can't I control the attack and release of the dynamics???" If I wanted to do so, I'd always have to substitute the Pro-Q with the Ozone Dynamic EQ... which was kind of annoying since I don't really like Ozone's EQs.

pro q3 is the goat,

PA has been doing some flash sales, and If you are a PA subscriber you can sometimes get emails with extra bonus deals, and you have monthly vouchers if you pay for other stuff that they sometimes get you, so it might be possible to get quite a lower price on the KO EQ.

Perfect timing for me!!

There's a lot of people out there, like me, that bought this plugin when 3body Tech were selling it themselves, way before PA came along and took over distribution. That army of people have been raving about it for a long time.

It's definitely a plugin I want to try out, honestly the reason I didn't purchase the Pro Q3 is that I can't dial in the details of the dynamic section but this EQ looks to me very versatile. I need to ask you how is this eq on CPU? how much latency happening with it on a track? thanks :)

fabfilter didn't put the release/attack features to pro-q3 because they put it to pro-mb, pro-mb is fabfilters Nr. 1 dynamic compressor...

Could this be because Fabfilter is on zero latency phase and not one of the other options?

any recommendations for a good limiter? is there similar case with fab Limiter and if we can try some other limiter as well which gives similar results as this eq has given? thanks

This guy, after watching his videos for a while, is not really trustworthy. He pretends to work professionally and does not even bother to check his statements scientifically. How can he claim with such arrogance that the Kirchhoff EQ sounds better than the Pro-Q3, which after all has established itself as the worldwide standard, without first visualizing both EQ curves with an analysis tool such as Plug-in Doctor and aligning them exactly? If he had done that, he would know that it is often not enough to enter the exact same values in two different EQs and compare them. This ignorance always carries the risk of comparing apples with oranges and spreading false statements.

The bell filter of the Pro-Q3 with a Q value of 1,000 is significantly wider than the bell filter of the Kirchhoff EQ with exactly the same values!

I recommend these values for testing

For the Pro-Q3, compare +9dB at 5000Hz with a Q value of 1,405 and leave the Kirchhoff EQ's Q value at 1,000. Now both EQs should sound almost identical.

With shelf filters, however, things look different. Here the Pro-Q3 and the Kirchhoff EQ behave exactly the same. Try it yourself.

Low shelf at 130Hz and +6dB gain, Q:1.000

High Shelf at 2000Hz and +6dB Gain, Q:1.000

With these settings of both EQs, both signals cancel out completely when you turn the phase of one channel. Thus there can be no differences in sound. This video is highly unprofessional and belongs to the realm of myths.

And one must unfortunately assume that Colt will not bother to admit his mistake in a follow-up video.

What would you recommend for a vocal recording mic in the $1000 range?

Just remember before you rush out and buy this plug-in, FF is a great EQ that's widely used and respected, and this one video doesn't make it any less capable. Also, every engineer has their own preferences--doesn't make one better or worse just preferred to their ears. Everyone's ears are different. Mixers are different. It's all opinion and preferences. Just listen to several different albums and you'll realize it's all subjective. Once you realize there's no objective rules, you'll mix better because then you will use your ears and do what sounds good to you and refine and build from there!

The Kirchoff is just more musical all the way around!

Bro your Killing Me! 2 days before you put out this video I used a discount coupon for 2 plugins of my choice. I picked up Bax and Mag. I was on the fence with Bax and could easily have gotten this.

Currently it's like $225, and I can't go there. But if I can find it for around $30-50...I would have to grab it then!

Plugin Alliance are killing the game lately, leaving UA and Waves in the dust. 1 Subscription plan covers all needs for mixing AND mastering in highest digital standards.

I think FabFilter Q’s Q value of 1 equals to 0.71 for other normal EQs, don’t know about Kirchhoff lol😂😂

this was dope..