To Equalize or Not to Equalize

I have a Schiit Lokius, which is the non motorized version, and use it sparingly to dial in a loudness contour for normal low volume listening. I wouldn’t like to be without it. It doesn’t seem to detract from the system’s transparency, which would be a deal breaker if it did…but it don’t!

I have the Loki Max (pre forkbeard model) and love it. Between the defeat switch and the 3 presets, I can get to a Fletcher Munson curve approximation for most every listening volume. 

I'm not ANTI-EQ, at all, especially when used in the sub woofer.  However, this sounds more like your room is too reflective.  This is a level dependent phenomenon we cover in A'gon like, monthly.  things sound find but some recordings start to sound harsh if not distorted at higher levels.  

The reason is usually that the room is too bright.  If you can experiment with this for free I encourage you to.  Put some absorbers up along the walls and you'll notice the harshness goes away AND your speakers will sound bigger than they used to. 

Bright or harsh could be at several different frequencies. I have Klark-Teknik 31 band equalizer in my system. I think it is DN360 or DN370. It is a studio equalizer. It sounds amazing. If you do not have xlr, you can get some nice xlr to rca at Moon Audio.

You can download Spectroid app on your phone and quickly see where the nasty frequencies are. Good luck.