@last_lemming
I like this post. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers here. I can certainly appreciate your affinity to your Loki Max. Tailoring the sound to your liking, effortlessly, and on demand checks a lot of boxes in the plus column.
Klipsch speakers are high on my list of speakers that actually deliver what they promise. I’m quite familiar with Klipsch speakers (I have a mono K’Horn in my loft built in 1958), and have been providing performance modifications to Klipsch speakers for several decades. We recently completed what we refer to as a Level II upgrade on a pair of Forte IIIs. At this level, we focus on keeping the speaker "All Klipsch" with all factory-installed crossover components, drivers and input terminals remaining intact. Dampening horn bodies and speaker frames (including passive radiator), replacing factory cabling with "real" speaker cables, and eliminating spade/lug connections with direct silver solder connections offers tremendous bang for the buck in sonic improvements.
I’’ll save you labor pains and just give you the baby: If you heard a pair of these side by side compared to a pair factory-stock Forte IIIs, I sincerely hope you have on a pair of Depends when you listen for the first time. If taken to a competent shop, expect to pay $700-$800 fo have this work done. (Assuming $200-$300 of the budget for competent speaker cables). If you’re handy with a soldering station, you can do the work yourself. Or, at the very least, a DYI with $20 worth of Dynamat and a couple of hours applying the material in the right places will pay sonic dividends many times the investment.
I am 100% in support of your application of the EQ in your environment. I would also consider (for about half the price of the investment you have in the EQ) extracting a new level of detail, transparency, warmth, imaging, increased dynamic range and less fatigue than you thought possible from your Fortes. You’ve got "big boy stuff" delivering the energy to the Fortes. It’s time to consider a modest investment in a very substantial sonic improvement.
And, I promise, you’ll like your EQ even more than you do now.
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Good it works for you. Lose the sacreligious part. And the sacrilegious part. The religion is suspect. I reserve my pitchfork
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@ Waytoomuchstuff
thanks for the info and vid. I already did the midrange dampened soon after I bought them but I am curious on the soldering required, is it simply soldering to speaker connection wires directly to the crossover?
im pretty handy with a soldering iron, I’ve built my own tube amps and such .
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@henry53
Wow, sorry to hear your story.
I needed to buy a house quickly… in a few days… corporate move. We whizzed through homes… the one we chose was big, and had an office, big open area and library / fireplace area on the ground floor (under ground on three sides). The big area I identified as the a great location for my system. This area turns out to be an incredible audio area. It is asymmetrical in every respect… and sounds simply spectacular. My audio guy has installed $200K+ systems for 20 years and said it is the best space he has ever heard.
It is better to be lucky than good. (You can see the space under my USerID. Everything is asymmetrical about it… even the ceiling.
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Just because some seemed to inquire, whereas some scoff 'n cough...
Room eq to nominal flat in a sh*tty space as a baseline.
Not bass line, but that's where the sub may get tweaked according to mood.
Since I wear aids, I experiment with matching the eq of the aids to approximating what I hear with them without having to wear them...for a break, or when the recharge is due...
Since I'm the primary listener 99% of the time, it's not a bother to anyone.
(Mostly upper mids to the usual high-end loss...in a memory setting, so it's just a touch away....*S*)
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What a great number of responses! Hey, whatever floats your boat. It’s your system. You do what you like. My dac has an equalizer. I’ve not touched it. Maybe I will.
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Had an equalizer in the 80’s and 90’s, tried to use it for each song and it was a waste of time. I’d be adjusting the equalizer during the song and the song was either over or near over and my equalizer would be tuned, so I really didn’t hear the song and back then, most of my music was on vinyl and you never want to play a track on vinyl over and over without damaging the vinyl
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I get it. I guess I’m different, I’ve already set mine and forgot it.
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I guess I don't get it, equalizing system vs equalizing the recording. I don't need to equalize my system as it's voiced to my preference, the recordings another issue entirely.
I can't understand having this tool and then not using it for the greatest variable in one's system, the recording. As with some previous posters, it would drive me crazy having this tool to adjust for every recording, and not using it in this manner would make it worthless to me.
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I don't know about others, but there is no way I'd go down the path of changing settings for different recordings. Who'd even give it thought?
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Like some here have suggested you should have done several things before you tried the eq. First off, I would suggest demolishing one end of your house, then rebuild a room with soundproof double walls for a dedicated audio room with top notch wiring and electrical outlets, don't forget power conditioning. Then self flog for buying a house that didn't have the acoustically perfect room. The next step is to plaster all the rooms in your house, including your bathroom with sound absorption panels. After this, self flog again. Now if no perfect sound from your audio rig, add hearing aids. Another self flog. The last step is the EQ.
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Hey, if you’ve voiced your system and there is zero room for improving it or the room then I guess you’re lucky and will never need to upgrade. However, I’ve never been able to achieve perfection, but I got a whole lot closer with one component - go figure! And it only took 5 min.
also for those talking about adjusting for ever song, do you change out cables or equipment for every song? You know you can just adjust it for best overall sound and forget it. Very easy!
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My 2 cents on readjusting the EQ for different recordings - I've had little luck with that. I consider that a good thing. When I get the system response correct pretty much everything sounds better.
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Why would one have desire to add eq to system if not needed, no inherent requirement audio systems have to have extra eq applied via dedicated eq. Therefore, eq would only be effective purchase for me if eq applied to each recording.
If adding eq for system balance, something in system not meeting your sound preferences. One can achieve system balance through various means, I prefer not doing this through add ons. I associate add ons as band aids, this being the need to repair something upstream or downstream of equalizer.
I suppose if I did have need of eq, I'd be far more likely to apply dsp via something like HQPlayer, rather have it in software vs hardware.
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I get it. You don’t like EQ’s. Not sure that’s relevant.
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Sacrilege would be saying most tube amplifiers are nothing but glorified equalizers. Did I say that out loud? I did, didn't I. It has already passed through any number of analog and digital equalizers, most with cheap by phile standard electronics before it got to you. I would not worry too much about one more. If you are listening to music in a room, you already have the most nasty, colorful, distorted equalizer one can buy, namely your speaker in your room. Worst necessary evil in all of audio. Anyone who shuns an equalizer must plug the speaker cables right into their head. Use that equalizer and use it proudly. It is probably doing far more good than bad. I equalize. I would be a fool not to. Fixes things that can't be fixed any other way.
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You pays your money, you chooses your distortions.
I had an equalizer some 40 years ago and couldn't believe the sound improvement when I unplugged it. I am sure they have gotten better over the years, and if you like the way it makes your system sound in your room, more power to you.
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I had all 3 Schitt EQs they are extremely useful things if you have the need. The Loki is kind of veiled and you can hear this enough that it greatly limits its use. The Lokius and Max are far far less intrusive. Not like EQs of old. And are very easy to do quick adjustments with. I once tried the max on a full-range driver speaker and it it worked well to increase lower and upper ranges while decreasing a bit of shout. Still, I only insert them into systems on occasion not always in- most systems I run don't require EQ. But I will end with for what they cost these EQs are well worth investigating.
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