Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

Ok…impressions of Skyline vs Charter Oak in my HP chain, which is X Sabre 3 balanced streamer/ dac > EQ > Headamp GSX Mini > balanced out to Hifiman HE1000SE. 
 

The Skyline sounds great. The mids are resolute and fully saturated and accurate. Well recorded music is an absolute joy with this piece. With well recorded music and gentle EQ you might get a better experience than CO, although I’d be razor thin. Now with loudness wars over compressed rock music I tend to EQ in more bass and treble. In this scenario I would describe the Skyline as quite capable delivering the goods. The SUB and 40HZ dials do their job well. Quality and quantity of bass added is very satisfying without sacrificing the mids. And the attenuation dial on far left and clipping meter leds work great. There is a broad range on that dial that sounds good, so it’s very useful in a master trim situation when boosts have been applied and it’s needed. Kudos. The Atmosphere shelves are wonderful and all sound great with even vigorous boost without adversely affecting the mids. This unit has TONS of headroom for clean boost. Now, in comparing this unit to CO with more aggressive use of bass and treble dials, I find that the CO treble bands are absolutely gorgeous, and to me just sound more textured and shimmery and sweet. But not by a lot. But yes by a lot compared to Loki Max. Schiit users, again, don’t go for any kind of sizable treble boost. And y’all probably don’t. Skyline and CO hands down beat Loki in that limited use case. In comparing bass dials on Skyline to CO, I’d double down on yesterday’s comments. Bass articulate and very good, but not as textured, layered, nuanced as CO and not as much sub bass kick or mid bass slam. The CO does this better.

In conclusion, I like the Skyline very well for very well recorded modern recordings where you wouldn’t need to boost bass or treble much or at all. But as I type and listen to Red book version of Rush album Moving Pictures, through the Skyline it’s excellent sonically but I am left wanting to put the CO back in the chain. It’s not more resolute in the mids, but really no less either, to be honest. but the kick, slam in lower range and shimmer and sheen in the top octave I can get out of the CO leaves me more pleased for your average older rock recording. My original Mike Deming CO remains on top of the hill for me, Skyline is a wonderful piece. It’s beautifully finished and built like a tank too. 

There is simply nothing made anywhere from pro audio or home audio that comes close to ease of tonal tweaking provided by the excellently designed Max...a great item that's I've used for far more than 20 minutes (a few months actually), and it's performed brilliantly. Great reviews generally everywhere, including from me. It cuts  and boosts wherever I need it to, looks great, makes no noise. I've used pro EQ for many decades in studios, live concert mixing, and home recording and the Max fits in my hifi system beautifully. Nothing will replace it anytime soon.

Agreed, but there is not a single thing the Max does BETTER. except for the remote, which can be huge for some 

Not considering remote, Skyline is just as easy to use, sounds completely transparent, and honestly gives a more hi fi take on bass and treble with more flexibility there. I’d say with 2 db cuts here and there and not much boost elsewhere the two units sound very similar. They are set up similarly as well. Both simple to use. But if you wanna add fun factor V shape for average older and newer rock recordings then Skyline wins. 

It basically comes down to remote vs better V or U shaped sound signature versatility