To Equalize or Not to Equalize

My Audiophile Law regarding analogue EQ is in systems up to $10K, as an accommodation to a constrained budget, go ahead and use an EQ. In systems above $10K, where the budget is not pinched, avoid EQ. 

Analogue EQ always is deleterious to absolute sound quality, i.e,. definition, resolution, etc. Avoid if possible. If your system is not pleasant, it will likely take a component, cable set, or speaker change to get it to perform satisfactorily. 

Adding an EQ does not make components, cable sets, or speakers change their fundamental performance limitations. If you wish to advance an audio system, you must change these. 

I have discovered a system configuration that allows tonal balance changes with zero sonic penalty, i.e., the kind of penalty associated with adding a component and set of cables. 

I am not interested in debating my system building principles which have been vetted by building hundreds of systems with most popular genres of speakers. 

Why not? You paid for the gear and music and are free to listen to it any way you want. Who cares? This is why EQ exist and so it room correction or dialog enhancement in Dolby and DTS. Everyone's ear is different. Room response may be flat but are your ears? No one can measure full transmission response from media to the brain.

@douglas_schroeder - even 10K+ system does not take into account room response or ear transmission of a particular individual. Even room measurement and correction only compensate for part of the audio chain. It does not compensate for individual ear characteristics.

Could not live without my Wavelet II with built in EQ and DSP. Could not imagine listing to all the recordings flat at the mixing engineers desired levels. Can’t stand the piety of Audiophile not willing to admit you need EQ for all high end audio equipment. Look at the Cello Pallet preamp w EQ. 

@rbrannen "Can’t stand the piety of Audiophile not willing to admit you need EQ for all high end audio equipment." 

+1

This is one of the irrationalisms of audiophilia. Drs. Toole and Olive provided a science-backed guide as to what our brains prefer, regardless if the source is high end, low end, or somewhere in between.

And when it comes to discussing tools for the job, just as with any other audio component be it analog or digital, they are (unfortunately) not all created equal.