Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

Looking forward to your impressions in your home system

I'm very happy for you too!Your first impressions have me researching EQ options more seriously now. There's only so much that can be practically done to fix my room.Thank you for posting.

I just took a look at the Charter Oaks equalizer.Interesting and it actually looks very attractive. Somehow I expected a more industrial appearance. Plus they sell them online and Mac online retailers do not,which is important to me being nowhere close to a retailer.I'm not motivated enough to spend most of a day driving back and forth to listen to the Mac with unfamiliar equipment.

After doing as much as I can with my room it might be just the thing for a few minor adjustments.Still mulling it over and appreciative of @tlcocks listing brands to look at.

I will report my impressions on skyline M3D vs my Charter Oak as soon as I can. M3D ships TODAY. I can hardly contain my excitement!Looking forward to it!

. I finally decided to order a Lokius just to take a tentative first step. If the results show promise then maybe move on to something else with more fine tuning.

@tlcocks Glad to hear the Skyline is working out for you:-)

@veerossi I received my Lokius today. I really had my doubts it was going to do what I wanted,which is to tone down the shrill upper mids in some recordings. The kind that make your ear canals vibrate.Damned if it didn't work! I turned the 6kh down a couple of clicks and cranked up Led Zeppelin III.Robert Plant sounded fantastic.It didn't lower the volume or soften it,it just eliminated it like it never existed.That's all I needed.Tomorrow will be all about shrill violins and such:)

@mijostyn this may interest you regarding deliberate distortion. While looking at the Charter Oaks and Skyline units  a brand called Golden Age Project EQ81.It's designed to distort and ad noise to simulate older recordings played through older tubed equipment. I'm guessing it might emulate the warm sound that I hear from the old Telefunken radio that I inherited.Everything sounds warm and comfortable.

@au_lait  this quote from your post above :

I have very large variety of music that falls outside of what most audiophiles consider well produced, and I view all art as a spectrum like that. Some of the most amazing music I own is some of the worst produced, but there is an undeniable magic

Me too. I particularly enjoy live recordings and older recordings that benefit from a small tweak here and there to clean it up a bit.

@audiorusty having the EQ nearby would be ideal but not practical to have them running across the floor. Drilling down and running them underneath would be an option.Something to think about:-)

Sometimes I think that's exactly what I need for less than stellar recordings. Shrieky vocals especially are where I long to adjust.The ability to adjust subwoofer equalization has given me very positive results, so why not tweak the upper mids too.The possibility of degradation is why I hesitate and my negative prejudice to be honest. But this thread has inspired me to do some research and open my mind. It does no good to wish all of my favorite music should be remastered by Analogue Productions;-)

@tlcocks if I can manage to successfully convert from XLR to RCA (preamp) I'm going to go for a pro model parametric eq.After installing an XLR from the dac to the Lokius and realizing a surprising upgrade in SQ I've been experimenting with XLR to RCA adapters and an XLR to RCA custom cables on the Lokius output. Either method works on bypass but really noisy when the unit is on.Next up is to try an Art Cleanbox Pro and hope that eliminates the noise. If not there is a passive converter that includes a ground lift to try -Radial Pro -Iso is the brand I could find.The reason I'm determined to try is because in bypass using the XLR to RCA cables the SQ took quite a leap up which I totally did not expect. It's just a cheap cable that all I'd hoped for was to get the signal through quietly.

  Yes I could just get a new preamp with balanced connections but I like what I have now so I'll continue experimenting for the time being. The last option is the MQ112 which requires a long day traveling back and forth. The downside of country living:-)The Lokius is a nice little unit but I'd like to find out first hand about broader overlap and fine tuning.

Thanks tlcocks!The adapters were pin 1and 2 together for signal pin 3 for ground.I did look for Mogami but couldn't locate one.I settled for Monoprice. I'll search harder I guess knowing they exist, lol.I don't want to add a box.More connections are never a good thing. I've been looking at new and used and actually trying to learn more about them by reading on pro audio sites and familiarizing myself with what the various brands have to offer.The API SR24 stereo (less $) and Charter Oak don't look overly elaborate like some others.I don't need a zillion functions.

Anyways I will find a pair of Mogami Gold and see how that goes first.

Just a quick update - I managed to find an output cable XLR to RCA that works perfectly. Just a cheapo from BlueJean Cables.The way it's wired is pin 1 to ground, pin 2 to signal, pin 3 floating(unconnected). Being pretty ignorant about electrical circuits and how and why they work, I did a lot of reading and also came across an illustrated chart that explained the many ways to wire and convert patch cables from one format to another.The adapters and cables I tried previously used both pin 1 and 3 for ground which is how the input side is usually wired when going from RCA to XLR and often works for the output side but not always. Apologies for my other post where I said pin1 was for signal,too late to edit.So now I can give the API unit a try and see how that goes. tlcocks gave me some interesting suggestions of other eqs to check out that are very well reviewed and would be fun to play with, but I'm sticking with simplicity for now.I just want to correct a tiny bit with some overlap for smoothing.

This is a precise link for the diagrams.I believe the first one asked for visitors to start an account.https://www.ranecommercial.com/kb_article.php?article=2107

API select  SR24 is the one I'm trying out.Anyway I am saving that link to pass on in case it comes up again sometime. There is a forum on that site that I imagine has a wealth of information for those of us (me) to better understand how electrical circuits work.

Yes indeed. I ordered via Reverb from a shop here in my state- Viking King Audio and it was delivered the next day. It's industrial looking since it's not designed to be aesthetically appealing for the audiophile market but it will look fine when it's tucked over or under other equipment.There's a ventilation grill along the top back but it's always cool to the touch so it doesn't need a lot of space to breathe.

I'm not an expert at making adjustments yet after only a few days, but it's so simple to use and so very effective.Boosting or cutting is not abrubt, rather it smooths and blends in a natural way. The first couple of days I was mesmerized by how a couple of minor tweaks to the bass/mid bass separated out and clarified all of the instruments.Then cutting the midrange a bit at around 700hz where some older recordings get congested/compressed cleans it up beautifully. Just doing that begins to clear up the higher frequencies. Since there's no remote I would like to find a setting to leave it on and then tweak it just a bit if needed for specific recordings. When it's on bypass everything sounds the same as it ever did on recordings that don't need help. Except the Belden output cable is a little harsh,which will be replaced in time after there's more hours on the EQ and cable.

So the API is working really well for the rock and blues recordings that were fatiguing  before. Well worth $1,230.I don't regret trying the Lokius which made me interested in what other possibilities were out there. I'm glad tatooedtrackman started the thread and tlcocks for the tips.I'm remembering how often I'd be listening to an artist I loved and thinking if only I could go back in time and "fix" it. Why doesn't Analogue Productions redo all of the music I like!?:-)

@audiorusty running the cables around the perimeter is tricky because of two doorways to navigate either under or over. Old weird farmhouse. If I decide I really want it nearby then I'll put some more thought into it.

@ellajeanelle the API unit I recently purchased is completely silent in my system whether engaged or in bypass mode.I'm a novice at equalization being that this is my first professional eq component but Gearspace does have a wealth of knowledge to glean.Right now I'm much too biased in favor of what this thing does for my system to encourage anyone why or what to try.I'm enamored.

@ellajeanelle I'll leave a link for you.I  bought it as a step up from the Lokius,which was my first tentative step towards parametric equalizers. I was skeptical about adding another cable and component but curious enough to try it for a modest outlay.The API is a "no frills" unit which is all I need for a home stereo.You folks that do recording will be looking at equalizers with more features I imagine.What surprised me and why I love it is how simple it is to clean up not so good recordings - uncongest them.I've only had it for three weeks so I'm pretty much gobsmacked right now.https://reverb.com/item/42746954-api-select-sr24-dual-channel-4-band-equalizer-api-562-eq-inspired?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiIwOTljYjJhNS1lODA1LTRiYWYtOGM2NC0wOWRhN2RjNzFjYTQiLCJpYXQiOjE3MDgwOTQ0MTcsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIiLCJzZXNzaW9uX2lkIjoiYzU0YWMwODctMDY4Ny00YjViLTliNzgtNDJhMWI5MTZhMWY2IiwiY29va2llX2lkIjoiYmYyMzM3YjQtMjc3Ni00ZWJmLThkYjktZGU5OWVhMTliOWQwIiwicHJvZHVjdF9pZCI6IjQyNzQ2OTU0Iiwic291cmNlIjoiTk9ORSJ9.Fh3bZbkJYtNrjKlrA_4NiZiIHGfMK2uwRtUQ2ImAbJs

@ellajeanelle there is absolutely no hiss.In fact there is not even an audible click when switching to bypass or back again. This is with very sensitive Zu speakers.I'm using it between the dac and pre. When reading what other users think of the SR24 some are not comfortable with the knobs that don't click into place - they move smoothly and freely. So you can't easily repeat a setting without writing it down.To me it's a good thing to be able to find a 'perfect' setting just beyond one of the marked dots rather than forced to choose one or the other. I don't know enough about circuitry to know if freely moving moving controls are partially responsible for no audible noise or it's just the choices made in the design of the output circuitry.

Changing the subject for a minute back to what it does in my system for a bad recording..... James Gang Live in Concert (1971).Amps cranked up to 11 to achieve a big sound with only the three guys. Joe's amp I would describe as literally 'roaring'.Lo neutral 0,Mid/Lo up a bit at 120hz,Mid/Hi down a bit at 650hz,Hi neutral 0.The 'roar' remains but I can hear more clearly what Joe's playing,Dales bass plucking is SO clear and textured,there is much,MUCH,more going on with the drum set (Jim Fox) than I've been able to discern in the past from this recording.I saw them live back in the day,and also Joe and Barnstorm, and remain a fan.Another CD that cleans up nicely is Mad Dogs and Englishmen which is quite a mess in the mids.What I have found so far is when I can bring into balance the area where the instruments and vocals are compressed together the frequencies on either side almost always smooth out with little or no help.

@vacountryboy the only issue is when an instrument or vocal is emanating from only from the side where your hearing loss is. If there's no or little information from that speaker to begin with turning the balance towards that side or the levels up wouldn't help.Mono recordings would work of course.

I don't regret buying the Lokius.It was always meant to be temporary, an inexpensive way to experiment.I kept it past the return period to continue trying balanced cables and while considering the next step to a pro model. If the API was available in black or silver it would be unobtrusive in a home system. It's the same standard width as most components at 19" and the "ears" aren't obvious. It's nowhere near as attractive as the MacIntosh EQ though.😍

@ditusa that's a lot of knobs to adjust:-) That's not a criticism. Too many for me as a newbie though!Concerning noisy opamps - I can only speak from my limited experience. My API is dead silent.Nary a click or hiss.There's no issue having it stacked on my dac or preamp either.

I know that Schiit admits to experiencing noise issues with the Lokius and recommends to keep it isolated from other components.