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Post by monkumonku on Oct 16, 2017 11:30:35 GMT -5
 Back in the day I had a 10-band Soundcraftsman equalizer that would drive me nuts as I endlessly moved the levers up and down trying to find a "perfect" setting. My old preamps had tone controls. But eventually I eschewed them all and decided flat was simple and easy and tone controls were too much fuss and bother. But I still ended up purchasing the Schiit Loki, a four band tone control with adjustments centered at 20hz, 400hz, 2Khz and 8Khz. The lowest and highest bands have a +/- 12db range and the two middle bands have a +/- 6db range. You can read all the details here: www.schiit.com/products/loki-1. I figured for $149 it would make a nice toy to play with and help out with recordings that had glaring deficiencies in their tonal balance (at least to my lead ears). Being that they are just a little bit north of me, the order I placed arrived the next day. Build quality appears excellent and it is muy easy to set up. I have it sitting between my Bifrost DAC and Saga preamp. Each of the four knobs has a small indicator mark and the shaft has a detent on it to let you know where the zero mark is. It also has an in/out switch so you can instantly do an A/B comparison between the unequalized version and your recording engineer fantasy version. I tried this out with my Sennheiser HD800 headphones. The unit works very well. The effect of each knob varies among recordings, being more extreme on some and very subtle on others and I appreciate having the switch that lets me instantly compare to the starting point. Initially I thought having a band at 20hz was pretty low, and wondered how much effect that would have, but it does have an effect. It is useful having that lowest band. In fact, all four center frequencies are well thought out. I suppose there's a never-ending argument about this band should have been X instead of Y, or there should have been 5 instead of 4, etc., etc., but if you listen to all the naysayers then you never accomplish anything. Schiit's choices makes this a very flexible device. To me, this device is most practical used when listening to a whole album, the reason being otherwise, like if you stream a variety of individual tracks, you have to sit there constantly making adjustments. Also, for me headphones is easier because then I can be right next to the Loki to turn the knob, whereas if I am using it for speakers I have to keep getting up from my chair to walk across the room to turn a knob, then go sit back down to hear the result. I put on several tracks that I thought could use some form of improvement and found that each seemed to have it's own preferred setting. On David Crosby's new album Sky Trails, I upped only the 8Khz band which did the trick. I've always been disappointed in the CD version of Linda Ronstadt's Simple Man Simple Dream album. I thought the vinyl was an excellent recording but the CD sounded dull and lifeless. Turning up the two right knobs did the trick for this one and made a significant difference. With the CD version of Donald Fagen's Nightfly, warming up the 400hz and toning down the 8Khz bands brought more body and warmth to what seemed to be a recording slightly on the thin or sterile side. Over at the Head-Fi Loki thread site, people are listing out their preferred knob settings for specific models of headphones. If you're talking about trying to get a flat response, I can understand this, but on the other hand, the recordings themselves are not flat. There is no one optimal Loki setting for any headphone because it depends on the recording. You set it one way then play a bass-heavy or bass-light recording and it's going to still sound off. That's the utility and pleasure of having something like the Loki, in which you can make the tweaks depending on what the particular recording is like and also what your tastes happen to be. For me, this was well worth the $149 expenditure. It's a handy gadget to have. One other thing - I wasn't able to detect any difference in sound between the unit's knobs all being set to flat (12:00) versus switching the equalization to the out position. I'm happy with my purchase. |
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Post by bluemeanies on Oct 16, 2017 12:09:40 GMT -5
I see you are a SCHIIT guy😂. Interesting write up. I had the Soundcraftman equalizer and as you pointed out it was not consumer friendly. At the moment I like what I am hearing from my system which I consider real and lifelike but as you mentioned for $149.00 I can see your interest in the Loki.
I wonder what are the platform differences between a DAC and the LOKI. At least from the standpoint of achieving a better sound. Equal parts or just a different route.
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Post by monkumonku on Oct 16, 2017 13:30:09 GMT -5
I see you are a SCHIIT guy😂. Interesting write up. I had the Soundcraftman equalizer and as you pointed out it was not consumer friendly. At the moment I like what I am hearing from my system which I consider real and lifelike but as you mentioned for $149.00 I can see your interest in the Loki. I wonder what are the platform differences between a DAC and the LOKI. At least from the standpoint of achieving a better sound. Equal parts or just a different route. Remember that test record that came with the Soundcraftsman? Listen to the record and adjust the knobs until all the pink noise sounded equal in all the bands. I always had a smiley face with the levers when done. Personally, I think the Loki makes a way bigger difference than any DAC could. The differences between any quality DAC shouldn't be very much but you can make a significant difference in the sound using the Loki. I think lots of recordings would sound fine as they are but it is nice just being able to do some tweaking if needed. For example, the David Crosby Sky Trails album is recorded well, but I found that turning up the 8Khz knob a bit brought out the ride cymbals and made them sound more realistic and in front. It added some luster to the sound. And what a difference the Loki made to that train wreck of an engineering job on Simple Dreams (Linda Ronstadt). |
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Post by Boomzilla on Oct 16, 2017 13:39:29 GMT -5
Awesome review, monkumonku - Thanks for taking the time! If I didn't use the digital EQ in my player software, I'd be tempted. Cordially - Boomzilla |
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Post by monkumonku on Oct 16, 2017 14:13:23 GMT -5
Awesome review, monkumonku - Thanks for taking the time! If I didn't use the digital EQ in my player software, I'd be tempted. Cordially - Boomzilla Thanks! But now maybe you should try the Loki because it is an analog device, not digital. You can do a digital to analog comparison.  |
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Post by kewlmunky on Oct 16, 2017 15:12:41 GMT -5
Currently using the Loki to get some more bass out of my HE-6 and to tame the treble a bit. The left most knob is sitting at 3 'o' clock and the right most knob is at about 10:30. Haven't had too much time to play with it, unfortunately. But the few hours I have had, I thoroughly enjoy. I think a very significant feature of the Loki is the switch that allows one to switch between active and passive. This allows for instance comparison, even without so much as a instance of silence while it flips modes. The flip is 100% seamless!
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Post by mshump on Oct 17, 2017 11:20:28 GMT -5
Nice review ! Thanks for posting !
Mark
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Post by jason05216 on Oct 17, 2017 13:24:57 GMT -5
Does this have to be placed upstream of your preamp or can it be placed between the preamp and the amp?
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Post by monkumonku on Oct 17, 2017 13:26:23 GMT -5
Does this have to be placed upstream of your preamp or can it be placed between the preamp and the amp? It can be placed in any analog path prior to the amplifier. |
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Post by vneal on Oct 17, 2017 14:53:43 GMT -5
Schiit makes some VALUE products that you have to consider for high end
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Post by sahmen on Oct 17, 2017 22:24:43 GMT -5
The only aspect of the Loki that I have reservations about is that it has only single-ended inputs and outputs. If I'm running a differentially balanced circuitry and signal path from source to say my monoblock amps, where will I fit the Loki in that chain without creating some kind of bottle neck? I really don't know... Any thoughts about a possible workaround?
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Post by garbulky on Oct 17, 2017 22:36:38 GMT -5
The only aspect of the Loki that I have reservations about is that it has only single-ended inputs and outputs. If I'm running a differentially balanced circuitry and signal path from source to say my monoblock amps, where will I fit the Loki in that chain without creating some kind of bottle neck? I really don't know... Any thoughts about a possible workaround? With your setup, something tells me you don't need it. However you may be able to use it in your headphone gear just to play around with things. |
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Post by vcautokid on Oct 18, 2017 6:39:37 GMT -5
Same old good Schiit. Looks good, sounds good, taste....well, it is another winner from Jason and Mike. Nice review Rickie. Enjoy.☺
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Post by amped on Oct 18, 2017 9:22:35 GMT -5
Great review...However it is glaring that another Digital listener is attempting to get the warmth and enjoyment of listening that only vinyl can produce...Just sayin'
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,273
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Post by KeithL on Oct 18, 2017 11:57:51 GMT -5
True.... no simple equalizer can add all the coloration and distortion of real vinyl  (Also.... just sayin.... ) Great review...However it is glaring that another Digital listener is attempting to get the warmth and enjoyment of listening that only vinyl can produce...Just sayin' |
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Post by geebo on Oct 18, 2017 12:09:10 GMT -5
+1 Vinyl? No thank you. Been there, done that. Just sayin'.  |
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hemster
Global Moderator
Particle Manufacturer
...still listening... still watching
Posts: 51,952
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Post by hemster on Oct 18, 2017 12:13:30 GMT -5
Great review...However it is glaring that another Digital listener is attempting to get the warmth and enjoyment of listening that only vinyl can produce...Just sayin' In the context of audio, "warmth and enjoyment" are subjective measures. Literal warmth from tubes I can understand. Just sayin'. |
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Post by coldfusion on Dec 12, 2017 9:23:53 GMT -5
The only aspect of the Loki that I have reservations about is that it has only single-ended inputs and outputs. If I'm running a differentially balanced circuitry and signal path from source to say my monoblock amps, where will I fit the Loki in that chain without creating some kind of bottle neck? I really don't know... Any thoughts about a possible workaround? It says "Loki Mini" on the board. You can bet a full sized balanced version is in the works... |
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guitarforlife
Sensei
Just another busy day in Northern Wisconsin.
Posts: 947
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Post by guitarforlife on Dec 12, 2017 18:13:11 GMT -5
I have this hooked up with the Saga and love it. Sometime I bypass it altogether but I like this little guy. I'm a tone control type of guy. I want to hear the sound in my head.
There is nothing pure out there. First we have to come to the understanding our human ears are not perfect. So in my opinion specs only go so far.
If the tone or sound I like can be achieved with twisting a tone knob so be it. This is a great combo with the Saga and Mani. Vinyl sounds great. And yes I will gladly take a occasional click and pop and all that hideous distortion over the dropped signal that streaming brings. To each their own. Glad you like it Rickie.
Thanks for taking the time to give us your thoughts on this.
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Post by Gary Cook on Dec 13, 2017 1:53:09 GMT -5
Does Schiit pay royalties to Stand Lee   Cheers Gary |
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