Stereo EQ in the hifi world ...?


Every now and then (more often than not) I feel like I want to boost/cut some EQ beyond the capabilities of my amp. I know most purist guys will shy away from EQ ....any suggestions on a great stereo EQ that does not generate too much hiss/noise?

Looking at Technics / SAE etc....
thanks

Marantz PM-11S1
Tekton DI SE
Technics SL15
Akai BT500
128x128tommypenngotti
A multi-band equalizer from SAE will give you a lot of flexibility for tailoring your sound! I collect and use vintage SAE gear.
The Loki is as amazing for what it doesn't do as for what it does. It provides a well thought out range of EQ without any noise or signal damage. Mine is left on and bypassed until needed, and I've bypassed it completely to test the possible effect on my system from the thing itself and the longer run of interconnect needed to put it between my preamp and amp (two runs of 1 meter cable instead of one)...no perceptible difference, verified by a trusty DB meter and my earballs...also it doesn't click or let you know you just activated it except for the fact that the knobs now are in the mix. I use it rarely as my gear heap generally doesn't need it, but when some fave old Vinyl lacks sparkle you can dial that in, and that seems to be what I use it for the most, although for late night listening you can combat the dreaded Fletcher-Munson curve by boosting whatever you damn well please...I generally adjust bass a bit if needed just by controlling my subs with their level knobs, but if I'm lazy the Loki does a great job of that. The LED is a little bright (I fixed that with a green Sharpie), and it's single ended only...I imagine a balanced version is in Schiit's future...another great thing is that it's so cheap and small you can try it for a couple of weeks and not worry about a large shipping or restocking charge to send it back. Schiit should pay me for this sort of support but NO NO NO...they apparently do NOT care about me.
@roberjerman,
  I've always loved the SAE stacks. It's been my goal to put one together as a 2nd system.

But how would a vintage SAE EQ compare today as far as low noise, transparency, soundstaging?
I've used many SOTA parametrics in analogue studios years ago.


@wolf_garcia  
I like hearing how transparent the Loki is.
My previous post...
since this is only a 4 band EQ, how tight is the range and roll off for each frequency setting? ie, would you use both 8kHz and 2k to treat harsh highs on early production CDs?

Can you comment on how effective it would be to tame the edge on early CDs, ie, DG ? Many labels especially classical had poorly mastered CDs in the 1980s. Close mic's and a new technology they were still trying to learn.


Note that the 20Hz and 8kHz knobs have a +/-12 db range and the 400hz and 2kHz middle knobs have a +/-6 db range...I think the 8kHz sweep covers the treble edginess issue just fine (each eq range is centered but gets fairly wide as you increase or decrease it), and the sort of tapered response of "more first and less later" is interesting and really does the job.