Small-format mixers are always a welcome addition, especially when they bear the name ZED. The new Allen & Heath USB-equipped ZED-10 and ZED-10FX mini mixers feature two high-impedance discrete Class A FET inputs for plugging in an instrument directly into the mixers, as well as a 26 dB gain boost switch that caters to instruments with very low output pickups.

The ZED-10 can manage up to four microphones and two stereo sources with MP3 player compatibility. It also provides separate 2-track record outputs, a stereo playback input, XLR main stereo outputs with inserts, headphone monitoring, separate monitor speaker outputs, 48V microphone phantom power, and DI level switching for sub mixing. Its USB send and return allow you to use the unit with a Mac or PC.

What's more, the ZED-10 is equipped with a three-band swept-mid EQ on mono inputs and a two-band EQ on the stereo channels. The mini mixer has high-gain, low-noise preamps, two aux sends (one pre- and one post-fade) for monitors and effects, and a separately switched stereo bus that can be routed to or from any channel.

Moving on to the ZED-10FX, this unit has the same features as the ZED-10, with the addition of a built-in effects processor with TAP tempo delay settings and a 24-bit, 48 kHz conversion rate. The ZED-10FX uses digital effects algorithms taken from the company's pro touring digital mixing system.

Allen & Heath expects to ship both units in April of 2010.