Transparent Equalizers

Just acquired an old ADC equalizer from a friend to play around with. It added some distortion and removed some transparency but overall I liked having it in my system, mainly for the flexibility in boosting certain frequencies to compensate for crappy redbook. So now I am on the hunt for a better quality EQ. I am looking at the various Audio Control and Rane units that sell used in the $200-300 range. Any thoughts on the relative merits of these brands, or others worth considering? One thing I noticed about the Rane is that they only have 1/4-in phono and XLR inputs so I would have to get some adaptors for my RCA cables.

Thanks, Jeff