[sianofabio]

just looking for perfection as any audiofile would.


I have an Oppo 203 connected directly to Mc amps for movies using the volume of the player. But , when I run the analog out through my Mc MX134, I get more pleasing sound because I can adjust the Bass and tremble on my Mc but loose a little detail as the Mc does A/D the D/A again and has an older DAC.


I was wondering, since the more pleasing sound comes from the EQ of the Mx134, can I used an external analog EQ between the Oppo and the Amp and get the best sound possible?


Any recommendations?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I was wondering, since the more pleasing sound comes from the EQ of the Mx134, can I used an external analog EQ between the Oppo and the Amp and get the best sound possible?

Sure, but there aren’t many high-quality analog equalizers left on either the consumer or pro market, so you’ll have to be satisfied getting them used at someplace like ebay.

There were a good number of quality home units made back in the ’80s by many of the popular consumer brands like Yamaha and Onkyo etc., but I’m not sure they will have enough headroom for a connection between a source and amplifier like you’re using. Pro EQs are probably you best bet. Sounds like you basically want some general tone control, so a stereo 15-band per channel unit would probably work better for you than a 30-band unit. Rane, Yamaha Symetrix and Ashly are good contenders that can be had pretty cheap.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Selden Ball]

Another manufacturer of quality analog graphic equalizers was AudioControl. I write "was" because I don't think they make them any more, just very expensive digital ones.

 

[leecreek]

You might look at a ART EQ355. PartsExpress

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I don’t think people appreciate how difficult it is to make a top-flight graphic equalizer. You have to keep in mind that any boosted filter adds noise, especially in the upper frequencies.

And you can’t always tell what you’re getting by the unit’s specs or price. I once did a head-to-head between three mono EQs in the $500-600 range, a Yamaha, Ashly and AudioControl. The Yamaha and Ashly’s S/N figures were virtually the same, yet the Yamaha’s filters had noticeably more noise at boost than the Ashly’s. By contrast, the Ashly had more than the AudioControl. The AudioControl met its match in the Yamaha YDP2006 stereo digital parametric EQ, which was virtually dead silent even with boosted filters. That EQ listed in the $2300 range when new.

I shudder to think what you’d get with a cheap graphic, but maybe technology has improved to the point that you can get a great equalizer for a couple hundred bucks. I’ve been thinking about ordering the Monoprice 1/3-octave EQ just to see what it can do.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[BGLeduc]

Another manufacturer of quality analog graphic equalizers was AudioControl. I write "was" because I don't think they make them any more, just very expensive digital ones.

I have this:

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_4_1/bijou.html

It has been retired for quite some time, but was a $1K product back in the day.