At long last, the fabled AirEQ from DSP guru Fabrice Gabriel, who also works for Steven Slate, has been released.  Get your free demo here:  http://www.eiosis.com/aireq.html   (note: requires iLok2).
 
I've played with it just a bit, and it does have a very smooth, lush sound.  Some unique curve shapes can be had.  CPU usage is very low.  Not so good for surgical tasks, as the Q values don't get super-narrow.  But great for general shaping and enhancing.
 
$99 until Dec 1; $149 thereafter.  Reasonable price, considering the quality.  Much cheaper than Pro-Q 2 or most other high-end EQ plugins. 
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

Name and GUI rang a bell... Think it's related to this?
 
http://www.soundonsound.c...ticles/plugin_1006.htm

Yeah, this plugin and developer have an interesting history ... 
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

$269 in 2006. 
 
Now the market is saturated and I won't even give it a demo at $99. Actually, I'll still give it a go :)

This one looks like an instant "pass". I'm not sure what I find less interesting, the metallic gui or the ridiculous "fire", "water", "neutral" nomenclature.
 
 
 
 
Is this the developer that invented a super cool de-esser process and then pulled it from the market? I wouldn't care how ugly that thing looked. I wanted that dsp as it seemed both useful and unique.

I retract my comment about this EQ not being well-suited for surgical work.  I found the "Steep Bell" band option, which is perfect for this task.
 
I'm liking this plugin more and more as I try it on various tracks.  The sound is unlike any other EQ plugin in my collection.  So smooth and un-digital ... really reminds me of vintage hardware, even though it doesn't boast of being modeled on any particular piece of analog gear. 
 
FG definitely has some serious DSP chops -- bodes well for upcoming Slate releases.
 
Cheers,
Eddie