Using a Studio EQ for Vinyl playback

I’ve never understood the audiophile aversion to EQ..... especially having simple good tone controls on a preamp. Sadly... most tone controls really do sound bad. But unless you plan to play exclusively audiophile pressings, I feel some EQ is essential to really enjoy popular music. Since my preamp does NOT have tone controls, I have used several different studio quality EQ’s between my phono pre and main preamp. (....no, NOT graphic eqs) Having this control has never failed to increase my enjoyment of sub-par records. So why is EQUALISER such a bad word in audiophile circles??

Most studio EQs are dual channel. You have to tweak both channels separately, and it’s a bit cumbersome. There are a few that are stereo program EQs with one set of controls for both channels. I’ve recently discovered one that is working very well for me... The Vintage Audio M3D ($1300). It’s a 6 band EQ with VERY wide bell curves, and thus minimal phase shift. It has a true bypass, so it’s really out of the path when bypassed. The downside for home audio is that it runs at +4dB levels, and has balanced XLR connectors. I’ve forged ahead and use it anyway, and it’s working well for me. The noise floor is still lower than that of my phono pre (a Parasound JC3, with XLR outs) so that just means I have a ridiculous amount of headroom. I’ve made my own -10dB pad cables to convert the balanced output to RCA and it’s working great. A simple adapter will not work with the M3D.

Great pressings don’t need EQ, but older popular music pressings benefit greatly from some EQ.   Isn’t that what it’s all about? Making the music more enjoyable??