Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

@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.😍

Op amps are bad as a blanket statement is NOT TRUE. My Charter Oak has op amps in circuit and is the best pro studio EQ hardware I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing in my home. And I’ve heard several. It’s all in the implementation and the quality of parts used. Like the old saying goes, the devil’s in the details. 😊🎶

No audio pro would attempt to set up a sound system in a venue without using EQ.  Rooms are different and getting decent response in any room usually requires a bit of EQ.   I use the DSP in Roon and a pro audio 32 band equalizer for other sources that costs far less than that Loki and has more control.   The idea of opamps sounding bad is ludicrous.  The recordings you listen to went through dozens if not hundreds of them unless you are listening to nothing but 50+ year old vinyl.

I use a White Instruments Inc EQ 4100 10 Band/Channel, very transparent see here.

Mike

@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.