API 5500 – Dual 4-Band Equalizer

The API 5500 Dual Equalizer brings the legendary API 550B sound to your rack in a dual-channel format, giving you the unmistakable tone, punch, and musicality that have defined countless hit records. Derived directly from the console-mounted 550B EQ module, the 5500 delivers classic API proportional-Q curves and 2520 op-amp warmth with expanded range and precision for mastering or mix-bus applications.

Each channel of the 5500 features four fully overlapping bands of equalization, offering selectable frequencies and ±12 dB of boost/cut per band. Thanks to API’s proportional-Q design, narrow bandwidths are automatically engaged at higher boosts or cuts, allowing for surgical precision when needed and smooth musical shaping when used more gently.

For the 5500, API extended the control range with a range switch that halves the gain steps to ±6 dB — ideal for mastering and fine adjustments. The EQs can operate as dual-mono or linked stereo pairs, making them equally powerful on individual tracks or entire mixes.

Like every piece of API gear, the 5500 is hand-built in the USA and loaded with the brand’s signature 2520 discrete op-amps and transformer-balanced inputs and outputs, ensuring the unmistakable punch and harmonic depth that only API analog circuits deliver.

Whether you’re sweetening a stereo bus, tightening low end on a drum group, or mastering a mix, the API 5500 delivers the timeless analog clarity, power, and musical character that have made API EQs the industry standard for over 50 years.

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