Trust Schiit Loki

The Loki does work very well at a very reasonable cost as has been mentioned by many including myself in other discussions :-)

I have one and love it! I find I use it to greatest advantage when listening with headphones. I wouldn't be without it now.

Good choice I think. I too use one in my dedicated headphone system and the sound it produces (the headphone system) is outstanding with just a minor twist of a knob. I also use one with an inexpensive DAC and good quality deck and it too is improved. I have not used one between and amp/preamp so I can't endorse that. I have found it most useful in tailoring the upper mid range which is so frequently too forward.

I basically have one setting that I use for bright sounding sources.
I boost  the bass a bit and lower the two upper frequency controls a bit.
This works for most problems.
  I don’t get involved in customizing the sound for each signal.

I also have one for my TV - movies and low level evening listening it just gives that little bit of extra bass in the evening. only complaint I have is the excessively bright LED on the front.

I also have one. Purchased it when I upgraded my old system. For 20 years I used a Yamaha eguilizer, you know the one with 20 slide bars. Never knew if I had it tuned in properly, drove me nuts. When upgrading and reading comments here I learned with good equipment you don't need an equalizer. So true, but 1% of the time my Loki really helps. I all ways forget that that I have used it then wonder why my music sucks, always forget setting it back to neutral. Now I place a big piece of cardboard against my rack to remind me.

The "best" signal is such a temporal thing. It is guesswork even by the original engineers.

They are trying to guess what equipment you will hear it on and what will sell the most.

The idea of being a purist, and instead of using tone controls swapping speakers and cables to achieve the best reproduction is absurd.

My problem with tone controls is only their implementation. I've had 2 high quality preamps, one of which had tone controls that were clearly audible, and my current one they are not. I mean by this the sound turned veiled and lost dynamics. I wish all tone controls were great, they aren't, but worth pursuing.

Yes, a simple and very useful tool. Anyone know why Shiit didn't include a 4 khz eq band? And where to find technical specs. like Q-values? 

"...low level evening listening it just gives that little bit of extra bass in the evening."

This is an appealing usecase. Do you have it installed between your preamp and the power amp? Also, do you find boosting the 20Hz signal blend well with your main speakers? I'm just concerned it might stand out as a "single note" bass and the main reason I've been avoiding the use of a subwoofer. My "main" speakers can go as low as around 45Hz.  

And where to find technical specs.

This guy's given some good info
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/schiit-loki-eq-measurements.5153/

I have one and found it great with a other pair of speakers that needed lower mid boost to give the vocals some more body. 

Cheers George

Love Schitt!  No experience with the Loki but after 9 years of this crazy hobby I have tone controls on my AnthemI-225.  I find that I do use them on occasion but it’s more mood dependent than recording.  
I also am aware that different tone implementations yield different results.  Someone here was mentioning that they had the AnthemI-225 and moved to the Yamaha s1000 then S2000 (S3000? can’t recall) and they also stated the Yamaha's tone controls being better.

Interesting side note is that my Anthem’s tone controls disrupt the “purists” sound, and sound less intrusive, for a lack of better term, with my over the top speaker cables.  For further explanation, the tone controls, especially treble, is more satisfying with $2k Analysis plus cables vs $300 Signal Audio cables.  Go figure.

But yeah, whatever sounds best, do it.  I think it’s slightly comical that we’ll elevate cables, have everything placed within an 1/8 of an inch, panels hanging on our walls, sit in exactly the right place, but tone controls?  Oh hell no.  

Dsp is the future folks... 

Thanks a lot for the link George. Loki seems to paint with a very wide brush. 2khz and 4khz are about the same with the upper mid knob. For more precise adjustments you have dsp.

For more precise adjustments you have dsp.

Yeah you could go that way and say good by to the treasured sound of your favorite dac you spent $$$$$ on. And then instead listen to whatever unknown cheap delta sigma dac is inside the digital room/speaker/equalizer processor.
Me I prefer to list to the sound of my treasured MSB discrete R2R dac and use the Loki when I need it.

Cheers George

Don´t know of any dsp processor that hasn´t got digital in/out.

Don´t know of any dsp processor that hasn´t got digital in/out.

That’s right and that dac is taking the place of your pride and joy dac if you had one you liked, do you want this, cause then you may as well sell your prized dac.

Because there’s no sense (nutz) in going from digital source into your prized dac the from it’s analog out into the analog in of digital speaker/room/eq/xover processor. you’d be going D to D/A to A/D then D/A

You’d go digital source straight to the digital input of the digital in on the speaker/room/eq/xover processor. So you’d go D to D/A

Say by-by great dac that you owned, for whatever junk d/a converter and analog stage is in the processor.

Then if you didn’t own a dac you loved the sound of, then it doesn’t matter what you hear.

Cheers George

Playing cd or streaming it´s digital only to the dac. External or internal. Your choise. Playing vinyl it would be an extra A/D and D/A. Or use a Loki.

“But yeah, whatever sounds best, do it.  I think it’s slightly comical that we’ll elevate cables, have everything placed within an 1/8 of an inch, panels hanging on our walls, sit in exactly the right place, but tone controls?  Oh hell no.”

i totally agree with that comment from b_limo.

I have had one for a while now, and just love it. No noise or any minuses. Just a great product.

I have recently used the Loki to cool off a Klipsch KG4 just a touch. Also has worked great for a rocker type speaker - Cerwin Vega LS-12 where the tweeter is way too forward, little bit off at 2k and a bigger cut at 8k. Bam now the CV is doing what it does and my ears aren't bleeding! :)

@b_limo 

@rvpiano - fully agreed. Everything has its place, including tone controls.

Coincidental to this thread, my set started to show signs of distortion.  I tracked the problem down to two preamp  Telefunken AU7 tubes past their prime.  I sent for replacements, and as a stopgap replaced the Telefunken with Amperex tubes I had handy.  The Amperex produced an unpleasant brightness that was unlistenable.  Loki to the rescue.  With my alternate default setting, the sound bloomed!  No compromises, or negative artifacts.
It s a remarkable device.

I'm thinking about adding a Loki to my all tube system. Music sounds wonderful except for some classical digital with the "edge" or harshness in the highs. Specifically close mic'd brass sections.

Has anybody tried using a linear power supply with the Loki? I'd hate to lose imaging or dynamics when using a wall-wart for power.

FWIW, the Loki's wall wart is a 16v unit as opposed to the more normal 12v, if that makes any difference to you. 

@newbee , dont know.
My issue is that I'm using very good IC's; Siltech and Silent Source, and would hate to insert a weak link between them that changes their presentation.
I suppose a low priced LPS like a Teradak is better than a wall-wart.

In my experience there has always been some insertion loss when using devices such as the Loki. Must be I think. But properly used the 'cure' is much better than the sickness. Optimally I think a device like the Loki belongs in a tape loop. I have multiple sources and it works better with some than others. FWIW.

Lowrider, I own a Loki. PM me.

@lowrider57 

An email was sent to Schiit...
"Is the Loki power supply switching mode or linear?"

Alexander V from Schiit Audio replied the same day, "It is a linear supply."

From the Schiit website re the Loki power supply:

“ 'Wall wart' style 8VA 16VAC transformer, regulated +/- 17V rails" 

@ghosthouse, very interesting. Thank you for that info.