Is DEQX a game changer?

thanks for clarifying, Almarg. RCA/single-ended input might have been a less confusing word to use...

Allmarg is correct, apologies if I confused everybody, in my country a single ended input is often called a 'phono' socket. A phono stage is something else entirely

I should also point out that the latest HDP4 processor uses an entirely different (presumably improved) DAC compared to the HDP3 that I have. I still maintain that the primary benefit of DEQX is the speaker correction facility. Anything else is a bonus

Thanks ALMARG for helping us stay on track. I hope your helpful attitude becomes contagious!Very reassuring.

So, if I have a Dac that I like and only want the speaker correction function , is there a Deox unit that just does that?

Drewan77, you wrote that the Chord DAC sounds better than the DEQX DAC. These cannot be directly be compared, because they operate at different points in the chain.

If you are feeding the DEQX an analogue signal, the DEXQ must first convert it to digital before it does anything else with it. I can only conclude that your Chord DAC is adding some 'euphonic' distortion. My preference is to use the EQ presets to alter the signal to suit my personal preferences, rather than inserting an extra component into the chain.