Good Analog EQ

To your original question :) . . . good analog EQs. For a great, flexible hi-fi oriented unit, the McIntosh MQ104 and MQ107 are both very good, and they're pretty cheap and plentiful used from i.e. old Mac dealers, and Audio Classics. They're a bit futzy - you do have to plug/unplug different capacitors to adjust frequency (make sure you get the capacitor kit!), but they are almost as flexible as a pro-style parametric, and sound better than many of the pro units as well.

Parametrics and DSP solutions are also frequently used with some sort of room measurement as well, and it's pretty easy to tie your brain and ears in knots by going down this road . . . sometimes a good-quality, conservatively-used graphic EQ can do wonders, for a lot less headache. For home use, the 2/3-octave style (i.e. Ashly 1502) is a good compromise between precision and fussiness.

11-09-08: Piedpiper: "It is never advisable to position speakers the same distance from both walls as it creates strong standing waves."

They do not create standing waves. It is that equal distances create interference between the direct and reflected radiation at the same frequency for both surfaces.

Kal

Kal, perhaps I'm using the wrong words. In any case, the same frequency will be supported by both walls creating a larger bump up at that frequency. The ideal is to distribute the supported room induced frequency anomalies so none get too far out of wack. Thanks for the correction.

Strange that the high end EQs used in the pro audio world aren't considered by audiophiles. For example, there are some very expensive Parametric EQs by Manley (who also makes the Steelhead phono pre) that are well regarded and probably used during mixing of much of the music we're listening to (i.e. they've already been in the signal path).

The pro audio community seems to think these are pretty transparent. They have balanced XLR inputs and outputs, so why aren't these embraced?

Besides mixing, these are probably used for analog mastering.