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!?:-)
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@jtcf Since the API is a pro piece it is a fully balanced design and will support very long cable runs with very little to no signal degradation, you could place the unit within easy reach of your listening position so you do not have to get up to make adjustments.
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I know another Audiogoner who did exactly that with a Charter Oak PEQ-1 (my unit) that he bought used in excellent condition on Reverb. It sits right at his listening spot. CONTROL CENTRAL.
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@jtcf , awesome to hear it’s working out for you! The pro analog gear are really another level or two up from where Schiit is. In most cases just no comparison.
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@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:-)
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My experience with the Lokius was not good. Even 14" away from the nearest power supply there was a hum when using the 400hz band, plus or minus. Any closer, and there was hum all the time. I had it connected balanced I/O but the hum was still audible. It has a SS gain stage that put an edge on my tube pre. I returned it.
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None of my systems have tone controls. I guess the manufacturers of higher end systems frown on that, and I can see why, but I have always used an equalizer of some sort. The main issue I run into is that every eq that I have ever tried adds at least some level of hiss, even if very low.
Regardless of what others say and even with excelled equipment and room acoustics I have always felt a need for some level of equalization to suit my personal taste.
If anyone can point me toward a non- computer analog EQ (parametric ok) with inaudible hiss, please let me know!
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@jtcf I have my preamp in front of my listening position under the television. My control units sit on an end table on the left side of my sofa (listening and watching position) I run my cables along the back and side walls. No real intrusion into the room. Your API unit, I would think should be able to handle cable runs of up to a 100' or more without issue. assuming that what ever is feeding it is also following a fully balanced AES48 protocol.
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@ellajeanelle I have the Mclntosh MQ112 equalizer. Just came out a few months ago an I totally love it and recommend it. Absolutely no hiss at all on any frequencies.
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Thank for the suggestion. I looked at it and see that the highest adjustment frequency is 10 Khz, but looks nice and has a descent THD and S/N ratio. I am not sure that 10 Khz would be high enough. A few 1/3 octave 31 band eq's that are hiss free is what I really want. I have several, but they all add an undesirable level of hiss, particularly during quiet passages. I need the bands because I set the rooms flat with a calibrated mic and spectrum analyzer using pink noise directly from the source as a reference point and then make slight adjustments to my liking.
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@ellajeanelle , I read a lot of mastering forum threads because basically I tone shape and great insights for the “next step” beyond mastering, post production tone shaping to taste at home, can be gleaned from these threads. Also, you read about the best analog gear and digital plugins here too. Mixing spills into this talk as well and it involves more narrow Q notch like correction. You will read here that digital EQ usually favored for this phase. But for final tonal touches in the mastering phase, so many engineers will tell you the best analog boxes can’t be beat. Indeed it’s common knowledge in these circles that passive EQ broad Q filter boosts for air band are THE best way to cure an overly digital sounding mix.
So I’ve got some conclusions and parallels for home EQ from all of this. My readings and experiences tell me that 1. One must never conflate room corrective EQ with tonal EQ. 2. Like mixing, room corrective EQ should be done digitally. And 3. Broader based EQ for tonal adjustments will always sound better with great analog gear, in my opinion studio balanced hardware EQ, than digital.
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Right now listening to Daft Punk - Random Access Memories as follows:
Matrix X Sabre 3 dac streamer > Charter Oak analog balanced hardware PEQ-1 > Headamp GSX-Mini > HEKse.
Tonally adjusted to personal taste. For this album, for my ears, about +3 at 40 hz, +1 at 120 hz and + 6 at 20 kHz.
It’s the most amazing sound you’ve ever heard. 🎶😊🎧
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tlcocks: Enjoy! I don't use/ like headphones unless I am in a plane! I never had a need for them such as neighbors nearby that may get disturbed. I used them occasionally long ago when I used to DJ some and use them once in a while when mixing, recording, or mastering myself playing guitar, synth, theremin or drums and in my humble home studio and that's all.
I prefer to feel the sound in conjunction with hearing it whenever I listen to music.
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I do too. Totally prefer loudspeakers. Like thought to bounce back and forth between the two. The headphone chain has the edge with resolution. But feeling the music and timbre…speakers win
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the ultimate list of One set of controls, Stereo EQ
Gearspace thread
This is where I’ll go first if I ever need to hunt for an EQ that’s true stereo. Great comprehensive list. Was wrong about SPL PQ. It’s not true stereo linked
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@mirolab , any experience with Hendyamps Michelangelo? This piece looks extremely compelling to me.
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@ellajeanelle Your complaint about noisy EQ is justifiable by your comment that you’ve tried many 31-band and graphic EQs. Graphic EQs are the worst! They were designed for live sound where you need to get quick control of a room, but all those bands of narrow EQ each add noise, and phase issues.
What you want for fidelity is a studio EQ with a few bands of wide-Q for minimal phase shift. If possible, you also want ganged controls, so that you only adjust one knob for both channels. Adjusting L & R channels separately is not only a drag, but difficult to keep balanced. @tlcocks is a big fan of the Charter Oak PEQ and I’ve had great luck with the Skyline M3D. There are others, but with studio EQs, you will not get the noise that you get with 15+ band graphic EQs.
@tlcocks Til now, I didn’t know about the Hendyamps Michelangelo, but it sure looks compelling! And the same price as the new McIntosh. With 8 bands, the Mac gives you far more control of the low end, but I’d bet the highs are sweeter with the tube EQ & air band control. There's a Sound On Sound review that says this EQ has a bit of "character" which is desirable in the studio when mixing. Maybe not the best choice for a playback system however.
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Hard to say. It’s got Aggression dial that ramps up tube effects eg saturation and harmonics. Maybe I’d sound superb finding the sweet spot on that dial. Really hard to say.
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Am IMMERSED in the thread devoted to Hendyamps Michelangelo on Gearspace. My curiosity is piqued. This thread may make me buy one!
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Just watched/listened to the HM in action through my headphones on YouTube. I am SEDUCED! What a fascinating and amazing sounding unit! It’s hard to make it sound ‘wrong’. Much like my Charter Oak. But with the tube saturation effect making it a very different beast. I can tell with high quality mic in the video and over my HEKse that the High and Air bands are to die for. I will end up buying one of these. I just know it. Even though I absolutely love my CO. Ah, the fun of exploring studio EQ hardware. 🎶🎧😁
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On the Michelangelo thread I mentioned above the sound engineers are repeatedly comparing it favorably to the Knif Soma, a legendary EQ, and saying they are reaching for it before Soma. Those who have both. Incredible.
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The following just a really good example of the kind of stuff you’ll read on a sound engineer mastering thread:
”Got my Hendy Michelangelo a few weeks ago... it's beautiful looking in real life, the front panel is electric blue and the dials kinda sparkle like a nice watch face in the right light. Built like a tank but still with a quirky DIY ethos at it's core. I changed the knobs to EMI Stockli ones and it looks perfect to me now!
Sonically... well it's HUGE sounding. Very 3D and MUSCULAR, it will preserve any depth you have in a great mix, instead of compromising front to back like some saturation boxes can do.
The interaction is complex & musical. Bands and voicing switches combine with the aggression control to change the sound of each band so much that you'll have to dive in and explore for a bit.
You can get very large lowend all the way to quite tight & punchy depending upon how you work the lows & mid in tandem. The mids have a surprisingly odd effect that can add weight in the lower mids whilst also adding a spot of forward aggression in the upper mids. It does this whilst sounding quite separate from one another dynamically - all from a one knob control.  Powerful but a teeny bit "dangerous" without perhaps a little notch EQ down or upstream when mastering in the 200-500 region. Mid cuts seem nice, but I prefer the additive properties of this box.
The sound is rich in distortion - it's like a multiband culture vulture or something... and you can vary this hugely with the aggression knob and how hot you feed into the unit. Interestingly, I've seen asymmetrical waveforms in the output on program material when driven hard so it's very rich in even order distortion / fatness. You can of course keep it very linear with lower levels or aggression on minimum. I've been preferring this when mastering, with aggression below 30.
Gain staging is easy with the calibrated inputs and output trim if you find it has too much colour. The trim makes level matched A/B really easy which is great.
The high band is fantastic and currently my fav part of the box. It's slightly gritty in a cool way and the air very extended and sweet. What surprised me so far is that VINTAGE mode sounds so sandpapery/sweet in a U47 kinda way that it may actually be one of the best mic changers for tracking I've heard. It really can make the top dark, but vibey, yet not dead at the same time - like a GREAT vintage U47. Maybe not so useful to you mastering guys, but I do a bit of tracking still and I can't wait to use this after it transformed some recently tracked vocals captured on a brighter modern mic.
I've also used it when mixing on a bus in parallel after a Rockruepel compressor and it's like a Pultec had sex with a Culture Vulture and made a baby that compressed/EQ'd at the same time. Parallel let's you be a bit more creative perhaps and it seems to fit in to my world better there so far as I can be more bold with it. Those two in combo have become a new drum bus (monstrous size/tone).
Mastering wise - still finding my feet as it's powerful but not a "do all" box. The tone is broad and when you dial it in - hard to beat with just another EQ. It seems like the perfect "end of chain" drive tool and the Jensens and tubes sound great together, but you defo need a surgical EQ with it (not that you'd expect otherwise based off the design goal of the Hendy).
I gotta say though, I'm not tracking much, but when I do I'm going to be ALL OVER the Michelangelo. It has "that" sound - that rare thing you find in a great old mic, but you can paint with it. Seems to be good on everything and I'm thankful this thread brought it to my attention! :-)”
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HA! Found in this thread a direct comparison to my Charter Oak:
”Very interested in this. I have a Charter Oak PEQ-1which is similar in process of using (stereo "feel" eq for broad strokes). I'd love to compare the 2. PEQ-1has such a wonderful hi sheen and can really fill in the low mids. Both are same price too, but completely different build with the HendyAmps being tube. Anyone have the chance to compare the 2?”
Response:
”I have used both units but not side by side....
I feel the Michelagelo has a bigger effect on the Audio as far as color..
The Hendy is very wide and 3 d sounding with more wow factor.
The PEQ-1 is actually a great program EQ but more flat in my experience.”
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@mirolab , you’ll find the above interesting, as you’ve heard the Charter Oak
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I may need to sell a few items out of my rack first, not only for the money, but to make space for a Michelangelo.
The review above is as enticing to an engineer like me, as it is horrifying to the audiophile purists out there, who are thinking, OMG... coloration!!
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My system low value and performance satisfy me right now...
But once said i will buy it immediately if i had another more high end system for which it can be justified... It is interesting , i spoke about this Michelangelo ... 😊
I know enough about acoustics to be a bit more enlightened than a "purist" ...
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@mirolab , no worries for coloration if one can dial that to a minimum as on this device. After watching the video, I’m impressed with EVERY dial on the piece. Including the “Agression” Or color dial. I have read a lot of Gearspace threads on pieces. Never heard one raved about there so much as this one. I spoke to the owner Chris today and I plan on having him build me one. He said coming from the CO and the way I’m using that that it will fit in very well with my system.
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“Well I can confirm what others have said here about the Michelangelo. It's absolutely insane. It just makes music sound like a record like nothing ever heard. Glorious highs, thick mids, deep usable lows. I redid a couple masters that I had done recently and the pre-Michealangelo versions sound truly lame next to the new ones. What's funny is the original masters always sound fine when you listen to them on their own. Then after hearing the MA version and going back...it's just sad.”
Another great quote from Gearspace thread. How can I NOT buy this magic box? When I bought the CO in ‘13 the reviewers there called it a magic box too. But not nearly to the degree of the MA. I must acquire this piece!
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@tlcocks I'm so sad that I'd gotten a bum Charter Oak unit. Looking back thru emails, I bought it in 2011 when it first came out, and within a month I had to return it with several problems. I got it back, and it was better, but it still had issues. Mine was an early unit, but the company had just relocated, and they had production issues. That's the problem with small niche companies. Mike Deming of Charter Oak was a brilliant engineer, but keeping up with the rigors of production and growing the company was a struggle.
I'm looking forward to your experience with the Michelangelo!
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The Michelangelo thread a Gearspace is amazing. Lot of great discussion also on digital vs analog. Another great quote:
”Agree with that 100%. Indeed nowadays some plugins "emulations" (aiming for analog color) are sounding quite great (and some free plugins are quite amazing tbh) but in a "real world mixing or mastering job" most of the times Plugins are still sounding "too much", or "too muddy", or "too bright" etc etc, where Hardware is still much more forgiving and musical. Too many time I end up bypassing plugins, where analog always stays on ”
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@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.
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What is the model # of the API unit you mentioned?
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It’s Select SR 24. That equalizer will run circles round the Lokius!
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A used Charter Oak PEQ-1 has popped up online. Sold by Guitar Center in Pt SAint Lucie FL. I will call tomorrow and find out what serial number and if it’s one of the good ones Mike Deming made.
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I have called about the used Charter Oak PEQ-1. It’s the right serial number. Deming era. I own 2 already. I am likely going to scoop it up, as it’s the best sounding studio stereo program EQ I’ve ever heard. That is, unless @mirolab wants it. Miro…?
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Actually never mind, @mirolab. The dealer at Guitar Center called and gave me my requested test results. I asked for a number of things to be done. There is disproportionate hiss in right channel. It’s audible with quieter passages of music. That’s not acceptable to me. I asked them to service it and get back with me. We’ll see. But not now. Sticking with the Michelangelo buildout. And my 2 wonderful Charter Oaks.
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@mirolab , can you or anyone else enlighten me on how sound engineers can run several pieces of gear in series in their chain, sometimes like 8, and not have to worry about degradation of signal. This is as opposed to we audiophiles worrying about only one extra box in the chain. If I chained 3 pro EQs together and did mids on one, air band another, etc. would I have viable result? Or do the pros use special consoles for daisychaining that prevents degradation? It’s common practice to use a few EQs in the production process!
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jtcf
Thanks for the reply. I looked at it. I am not sure though. I looked at the specs and S/N ratio of 100db is not that great. If you put your ear right next to your tweeters (as in like practically touching them) with your ear, do you hear ANY hiss whatsoever? Please be honest!
I ask because I am doubtful that the eq would be silent in that manner. Currently I hear absolutely no hiss whatsoever when my eq's are out of the loop if I touch my ear on the tweeters, but all the components have higher S/N ratios of minimum 127db or above. 27 decibels is a lot and perhaps the difference between hiss or no hiss. I am going to buy several once I find the right one and want to be 100% sure to avoid the hassle of returns.
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@ellajeanelle , if I may comment. I know you’re talking to @jtcf. Putting your ear up to the tweeter and hearing hiss that’s low enough shouldn’t be a deal breaker. If you have quality hi fi gear with low noise floor a slight uptick in hiss from an equalizer may be acceptable. Particularly if the music sounds BETTER with the EQ and the hiss is NOT HEARD when listening to, for example, quiet passage in classical work of well recorded piano solo. Yes, with my CO I hear low level hiss vs bypass when ear is literally on tweeter. But so what? When I play classical or piano record fairly loud (like 50% on my Bryston amp) I DON’T hear hiss from listening position. Can toggle EQ in and out and no obvious change in noise. Low is low. It’s worth the gain in tonality, harmonics and timbre you get from EQing. Look, I had a dead silent phono pre that I got rid of for a noisier Graham Slee Ascension phono pre that sounds way way better. It’s the same thing. In the end, only you can decide how much hiss is acceptable. I play Yiruma great piano recordings for people and they are amazed at what I can do to improve the way that instrument sounds through my system with high end analog balanced EQ. Remember balanced when the music is playing helps tremendously with noise floor also. If I put my ear at the speaker while playing music will I hear any added hiss? Really doubtful I’ll hear or notice. But I might get tinnitus or an earache!
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@tlcocks Thanks for checking on that PEQ-1.... Yeah I had a noise problem pop up on mine. There's an op-amp chip responsible for each EQ band and I swapped them around until I found the offending ones. I moved the noisy one from the 2k band to the Sub band and the noise wasn't noticeable down there. I got Mike to send me several new op-amps and I replaced them myself, rather than send the unit back. I also rewired the outputs, as my unit was inverting phase.... a terrible thing in a studio when you are trying to do parallel processing! Mike trusted me by then, and told me what I needed to do.
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@tlcocks
As for stringing chains of processors together, if you read or watch anything about mixers TODAY, you can bet they are chaining digital plugins, and the noise & distortion simply does not add up like with analog gear. Also... those long chains are typically on individual instruments or group buses to achieve a particular effect. It would be rare to put more than about 3-4 things on the final stereo bus.
Although... have you heard modern mixes?? They mostly suuuuck, and the overuse of processing is a culprit. Whether analog or digital, they will (and I will) put several processors on the final stereo bus.
Take for example a typical rock mix.... I might have 50-70 tracks to work with. (not all playing at once though) But 6-10 tracks of drum mics go to the drum bus. Bass Mic & DI go to a bass bus. Maybe 4-8 or more electric guitar parts to Egtr bus. Acoustic guitars to ACG bus. Synths to Synth Bus (could be from 2 to 20 tracks). Lead vocal is likely doubled or with harmonies to LVOX bus. Background vocals to a BGV bus.... Oh yeah... let's not forget an FX return bus for all the delays and reverbs! So I've counted 8 stereo buses in this example.... and each bus has its own processing on it.... typically at least an EQ and a compressor. All these busses then sum into the 2-BUS, which might have, for example, a Tape Emulator, a bus compressor or a mulitband compressor, an EQ, and then a final limiter/enhancer. The order of all these FX also matters.... it matters a LOT! As does the gain-staging... how hard you hit each of these processors. Also don't forget that each individual track can and most likely does have some processing on it. Usually at least an EQ.... sometimes 5 or 6 things. This is why mixing is so much fun!
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Some room correction might be a better solution.
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Room correction has NOTHING TO DO with tone adjustment to personal preferences. Nothing. Please read the thread for more info on this. These recent posts are more about the merits of pro balanced analog gear for tonal adjustments. For room correction go back many pages and read @mijostyn et al posts.
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@mirolab , the process you described is AMAZING in its intricacies and elaborateness. I would LOVE to spend a day watching mixing and mastering in a real studio!🎶
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@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.
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@jtcf I'm assuming you are new to API eq. API EQ's have long been a standard in studios. The most famous model 550 has stepped controls. This is both sonically superior, AND more easily & accurately recalled at a later time. This new API eq is half the price, and uses pots instead of stepped controls. I'd prefer the continuous pots anyway. So happy to hear you are enjoying it!
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tlcocks jtcf: Thanks to both of you for the info on the EQ. I am definitely going to do more serious research into the API equalizers. It may sound picky, and you can call it girl stuff, but I want them in black and no rack mount ears, or removable ears. Only one of them will be going on a rack, the others not. I like everything to match!
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