Schiit Loki Max?

oops-- should read: not THAT the Lokius I currently own isn't remarkably transparent. 

Stuartk, 

Enlighten us Schiit EQ users and buy one already! Report back with the norm … positivity  

Pair it up with a ole trusty LPS ;-)

Will do, but I won't be posting a review anytime soon, as the website currently states "ships in 6 to 8 weeks". . .

.

My take … sales by number baby. $1499 EQ for a reason …. $299 Lokius owners know and why / buy

@stuartk waiting patiently ;-)

@stuartk - I'd also be interested in what you think of the Max if you get one. I have DSP in my system already through Roon, but a remote-controlled, quick-to-adjust analog EQ is tempting.

I have no reason to expect I won't like the Max-- I had a Loki to begin with and from there upgraded to the Lokius.  At this point my system is considerably more neutral than it's ever been (I favored a more euphonic presentation in the past, before I started losing some of my ability to hear higher frequencies)  and thus, considerably more revealing of the sonic differences between CDs. I'm actually compiling a spreadsheet of settings for each CD. At any rate, it's not very effective trying to adjust the EQ while standing next to the components, which are located off to one side of the room. The prospect of being able to make such adjustments from the listening chair is very appealing. 

I bought this unit, thinking it would be 6-8 weeks, it shipped the very next day.  I have it here, but have so far not placed it in the system.  I love the sound as it is, but will eventually try the unit for the reasons stated.  The system is Perlisten S7t speakers, Constellation Audio integrated SS unit, and a Luxman D-10X SACD player.  This system, to me, makes magic.  

@stuartk - your spreadsheet reminded me of the "old days" for me -- 20 yr ago I listened mainly to CDs and owned a Cello Palette Preamp (which Schiit hints was the model for their new unit). When I open a CD jewel box, sometimes I find an index card with the EQ settings I used back then.

@mike_in_nc 

Nice to know there are fellow obsessives out there! 

@rpeluso :

Please let us know your impressions once you've actually got it in your system.

That's great news about the quick delivery. 

I should have mine hopefully in 2-3 weeks according to their 6-8 week wait time.

@chuckie1970 

I ended up upgrading my transport to the Jay's and as a result, will need to wait awhile before I can afford the Loki Max.  

Let us know how the two get along in your system. 

I tried the Loki max in my system with pass int 250 and the transparency was not the same when the unit was installed and in by pass mode. It was very hard to detect, and I wanted to love this piece. I ended up returning while still in trial period.

Have mine now and think I love it !??!?

@dwest1023 - Did you mean "It was not very hard to detect . . . ."?

Sorry, I meant that I COULD detect the Loki in my system. There seemed to be some compression with the unit installed. I switched back in forth many times, as I I wanted to keep the unit. It was very well built and did not change the character of the music at all. The controls were like changing the character of the speakers more than the music. I hated to send it back, but I had just purchased a Pass int 250 which is very transparent, and I lost a bit of that with the Loki installed. This might not be noticed on other systems. There was one other person that returned his for the same reason.

I have all 3 Schitt EQs and the Loki mini is just OK I haven’t used mine in a while the Lokius is wonderful, especially with full-range driver loudspeakers. The Max is the better-sounding eq. Remote is nice to adjust sound at the listening position. Still, I would say most systems wouldn’t benefit from the EQ. But if you have room issues, your hearing is failing, or you have a speaker like a full range or music that could use a bit of EQ to sound its best. They can be very useful.

I just got mine today, and so far I’m impressed! Brings out the best in the system and seems as transparent as before. 

Its been a long time; I received the unit in January and had not placed it in the system until just this morning.  I have been trying it with a few old Motown discs, Temptations, and to my ears most of these are bad sounding, little bass, lots of high end, probably mixed for a car radio.  Well, I placed the Max in the system, and played a bit with the 6 settings, made three pre-sets for with increasing boosts in low one, cuts in high end, and they all make these old recordings sound unbelievable!  In bypass mode I hear nothing from the unit.  I think its wonderful, especially the 6 bands and the ability to adjust from a listening position.  

@rpeluso - Thanks for the report. It would be great if you (and other users of the Loki Max) could post more impressions as you use the unit more.

@rpeluso Just saw your post and it confirms what I've hoped -- that the right EQ could coax these oldies, "mixed for car radio" as you say, into full-range sonic form. That virtue, plus ease of use, correction for room idiosyncrasies, and elder-ear HF hearing loss, would justify the price of Loki Plus for me. Appreciate the update.

I had one on trial and returned it. Make no mistake, it's quite transparent and quiet and does its job well. So why did I return it? The user interface.

• From six feet away, I couldn't see which way the knobs are pointing. I tried putting tape on them and couldn't get it exactly straight. What was the thought behind making the pointers nearly invisible?
• There is no reset button for any band, or for the unit as a whole. The only way to start from zero is turn a knob all the way up or down, then count fifteen clicks as you turn it towards center. You can save a flat setting in one of the three presets. How nice it would be to have (on the remote) Down - Reset - Up buttons for each band, instead of just Down and Up!
• To store a preset, you have to select it first. That means that if you had settings you like but with a different preset active, you lose them before you can save them.
• The Loki was largely redundant for me. My preamp has bass, treble, and subwoofer controls; my streamer has DSP; and Room has DSP. I was looking for something transparent and that I would enjoy using.

Given that I can correct tonality other ways, I couldn't see keeping a unit whose user-interface shortcomings would annoy me every time I used it. But I have to say, sonically, I think the Loki Max is quite an achievement. Years ago, I owned a Cello Palette Preamp. I think the Loki Max is at least as transparent as the CPP was, and it has a remote control, and it costs much less.