Stereo EQ in the hifi world ...?

I don't like digital EQ at all in my hifi system, as these things just add unnecessary junk into the mix and my ego doesn't allow me to trust whoever decided the filter parameters, and I think a great sounding system should start by sounding great without added EQ. At that point I approve of adding something as transparent as a Loki in for occasional minor adjustment. Please contact me if your system need approval, as I am the approver. Adding 60 little "volume pots on a stick" with a cheap graphic equalizer makes me cringe, but might work for some.

I've used all sorts of equalizers over the decades and have an SAE in my basement someplace...I use a little two channel graphic EQ in a live mixing rack, and some parametric EQ, but otherwise haven't used one in my hifi rack for decades because hey...they generally SUCK, except for the Loki, which when needed is amazing for all the reasons mentioned, foremost being that it's the only EQ I've encountered (I avoid digital domain EQ for home listening, but that's another topic anyway) that is utterly transparent.

I use the same Morrow (new version) cables in and out of the Loki to provide a sense of uniformity and because they look cool...that's important...everybody admires them (actually, absolutely nobody I know cares).

An example of Loki usefulness is illustrated by one of my fave albums from the 70s, Little Feat's "The Last Record Album." Lacks sparkle for some reason, but boosting via the Loki 8kHz frequencies just makes it shine...

Note that the 20Hz and 8kHz knobs have a +/-12 db range and the 400hz and 2kHz middle knobs have a +/-6 db range...I think the 8kHz sweep covers the treble edginess issue just fine (each eq range is centered but gets fairly wide as you increase or decrease it), and the sort of tapered response of "more first and less later" is interesting and really does the job.

The Loki is as amazing for what it doesn't do as for what it does. It provides a well thought out range of EQ without any noise or signal damage. Mine is left on and bypassed until needed, and I've bypassed it completely to test the possible effect on my system from the thing itself and the longer run of interconnect needed to put it between my preamp and amp (two runs of 1 meter cable instead of one)...no perceptible difference, verified by a trusty DB meter and my earballs...also it doesn't click or let you know you just activated it except for the fact that the knobs now are in the mix. I use it rarely as my gear heap generally doesn't need it, but when some fave old Vinyl lacks sparkle you can dial that in, and that seems to be what I use it for the most, although for late night listening you can combat the dreaded Fletcher-Munson curve by boosting whatever you damn well please...I generally adjust bass a bit if needed just by controlling my subs with their level knobs, but if I'm lazy the Loki does a great job of that. The LED is a little bright (I fixed that with a green Sharpie), and it's single ended only...I imagine a balanced version is in Schiit's future...another great thing is that it's so cheap and small you can try it for a couple of weeks and not worry about a large shipping or restocking charge to send it back. Schiit should pay me for this sort of support but NO NO NO...they apparently do NOT care about me.