Buzz Audio 500 Series – Tonic EQ

Before modern semiconductor technology, audio filters and equalizers were made with passive components – capacitors and wound coils of wire that formed inductors (or chokes).

Audio frequency chokes were bulky and expensive so these days it’s easier (and cheaper) to use an electronic circuit to simulate the inductors. However, we have discovered that the difference in sound between the real thing and a simulator is quite noticeable.

The tonic equaliser brings you the best of both worlds, utilising both real chokes and electronic filters in perfect harmony.

The Tonic signal path uses the True Class A BE41 amplifiers followed by a BE50 buffer to excite the Lundahl output transformer. The resulting sound is big and open with a nice touch of transformer colour. The design allows for +26dB headroom so major boosts at low frequencies are not a problem with the Tonic – it always sounds huge!