Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

Personally a fan of trasnformer coupled inputs, especially their rejection of ground loops.  If you bypass either, do the outputs.

@stellavox1  - Any idea who made them?

Analog Equalization causes havoc with image generation. This is why serious audiophiles steered away from toner controls and EQ in the past.

I think this is part of the legendary use of EQ which may not apply today. 31 bands of cheap parts excessively used introduced so much phase shift and noise you can forget about not just imaging but dynamic range as well.

Tone controls and small number of parametric bands can be heavenly though. The use of a miniDSP in line with subwoofers can be a lot closer to perfect than not.

Want to point out that the universal audiophile sneer at tone controls and EQs was based in experience, but isn't always true anymore.

Several things were happening when EQs became common in the audio world:

• Tone controls weren't great
• EQs were noisy.  With lots of parts, it was common to get cheap ones.
• Users often overused EQs

Not all gear has excellent tone controls.  My Luxman does.  I use Roon's DSP sparingly but to good effect. I have a DSP powered center channel and use DSP there to compensate for resonance issues with the location, not to mention the entire speaker is configured via DSP.

Nothing wrong with good tone controls.  Also worth considering room treatments to tame excess mid/treble and improve imaging.