Schiit Loki Max?

I had one on trial and returned it. Make no mistake, it's quite transparent and quiet and does its job well. So why did I return it? The user interface.

• From six feet away, I couldn't see which way the knobs are pointing. I tried putting tape on them and couldn't get it exactly straight. What was the thought behind making the pointers nearly invisible?
• There is no reset button for any band, or for the unit as a whole. The only way to start from zero is turn a knob all the way up or down, then count fifteen clicks as you turn it towards center. You can save a flat setting in one of the three presets. How nice it would be to have (on the remote) Down - Reset - Up buttons for each band, instead of just Down and Up!
• To store a preset, you have to select it first. That means that if you had settings you like but with a different preset active, you lose them before you can save them.
• The Loki was largely redundant for me. My preamp has bass, treble, and subwoofer controls; my streamer has DSP; and Room has DSP. I was looking for something transparent and that I would enjoy using.

Given that I can correct tonality other ways, I couldn't see keeping a unit whose user-interface shortcomings would annoy me every time I used it. But I have to say, sonically, I think the Loki Max is quite an achievement. Years ago, I owned a Cello Palette Preamp. I think the Loki Max is at least as transparent as the CPP was, and it has a remote control, and it costs much less.

It's been nothing but amazing. 

@chuckie1970  Anyone can advise if the Loki max is actually superior to the Cello Palette? I’m pondering if getting Loki max plus preamp or an old Cello Palette. Many thanks.

@mike_in_nc

Good to know about the interface. I’ve had more pressing audio matters to attend to and as a result, haven’t bought a Max. Now, having read your post, I probably, won’t, as the distance from my listening chair to the Max would be more like 10 feet, in my case. At this point, having further tweaked my system, the impetus to utilize EQ has diminished significantly and the Lokius seems enough. Thanks for your report. 

@stuartk

After cataract surgery, my view of the gear became a lot clearer. I missed the Loki Max, so recently I bought one again, now in silver finish (formerly unavailable) to match my other gear.

Although I can read the knobs, I prefer more definite indicators. I bought replacement knobs from DigiKey.

I do find the unit cleaner than any other analog eq I’ve used. It doesn’t take anything from my listening pleasure; rather, it adds to it.

I set Preset 1 to all bands flat, and with each track, I start out that way. If EQ is needed, I can dial it in in a few seconds.

Did I really need it? No. Am I enjoying it? For sure!