Room Correction with Schiit Lokius?

[MaxBuck]

I see that Schiit has just announced a new 6-band balanced equalizer they're calling the Lokius. If I were to measure room response using some software package or other and a decent microphone, do you believe this device could be satisfactory in adjusting the FR to accommodate my very hard surfaces? Or is something more software-based likely required? I guess I'd put this device between my preamp and power amp.

 

[Lawyrup843]

I’m using Dirac with mini dsp on a 2.1 setup through Freya + preamp. Results are lovely. FWIW I didn’t want to spend the extra money for the minidsp but in the end I am very happy with it.

 

[kevinh]

The Locus at first glance looks like a Cello Audio Pallette without the ML cost. I am not sure since the Q of the filters are listed, however the freq specified are IIRC the same as those used by the Audio Palette. This is a very interesting even if the room and speakers have been eq's it will be still useful for dealing with your recordings.
Much of the music I value aren't perfect recoding's and could benefit from a quick eq to balance the recordings.

 

[Lawyrup843]

The Locus at first glance looks like a Cello Audio Pallette without the ML cost. I am not sure since the Q of the filters are listed, however the freq specified are IIRC the same as those used by the Audio Palette. This is a very interesting even if the room and speakers have been eq's it will be still useful for dealing with your recordings.
Much of the music I value aren't perfect recoding's and could benefit from a quick eq to balance the recordings.

I agree! The lokius looks like a good product. The XLR connections are a nice extra. Wouldn’t mind trying it my setup just don’t know if it would be worth $300 for the benefit. (At least in my situation) would love to see what others that own it have to say about it though.

 

[Putter]

It's not parametric eq which as I understand it is ideal for room eq. It's described as Lokius is a single-gain-stage active EQ with non-constant-Q passive filtering. In more English-y terms, that means that each band varies from broad to narrower as its gain is increased—small turns of the knobs result in broad, shallow changes, and bigger turns result in more narrow-band changes. It may be useful as sophisticated tone control (nothing wrong with that), but it doesn't seem to me to have enough flexibility for eliminating multiple room resonances

 

[Vini darko]

If your room modes land exactly on it's frequency adjusters then yeah it can help a bit with room issues. Chances are they won't line up though.

 

[MaxBuck]

It's not parametric eq which as I understand it is ideal for room eq. It's described as Lokius is a single-gain-stage active EQ with non-constant-Q passive filtering. In more English-y terms, that means that each band varies from broad to narrower as its gain is increased—small turns of the knobs result in broad, shallow changes, and bigger turns result in more narrow-band changes. It may be useful as sophisticated tone control (nothing wrong with that), but it doesn't seem to me to have enough flexibility for eliminating multiple room resonances

That was kind of my thinking, but hope springs eternal.

 

[tmtomh]

If your room modes land exactly on it's frequency adjusters then yeah it can help a bit with room issues. Chances are they won't line up though.

Indeed. And with only 6 bands, why waste two on 20Hz and 16kHz?

 

[Beershaun]

Agreed. And it seems a bit coarse grained for having a fixed frequency and "non-constant-Q." I can understand the user friendly nature of not having the mess with Q but having a fixed frequency for each knob seems limiting in this case.

From their FAQ:
Sigh. Okay. Back to tech. What kind of EQ is this?
Lokius is a single-gain-stage active EQ with non-constant-Q passive filtering. In more English-y terms, that means that each band varies from broad to narrower as its gain is increased—small turns of the knobs result in broad, shallow changes, and bigger turns result in more narrow-band changes.

 

[Chrispy]

Just get a minidsp unit....

 

[jae]

Better off using a minidsp or direct computer solution if your goal is room correction, since its your intention to measure anyway. I see this as a product only useful for people playing records or tapes directly that want to interactively tweak their sound between albums, different times of day, or to correct a very broad band flaw of a setup. Might as well spend the $300 on modern technology that does something useful and provides more functionality.

 

[hege]

Obviously it's not for room correction or even speakers in general. Like the original Loki, it's quite useful for headphone users (think of HD800 etc with the 20hz and 6-8khz tuning..). Nothing wrong with not wanting to mess with computers or crappy minidsp units. I have no personal use for it, buy I'd almost want to buy it just to support releasing such a device.

 

[Vini darko]

Obviously it's not for room correction or even speakers in general. Like the original Loki, it's quite useful for headphone users (think of HD800 etc with the 20hz and 6-8khz tuning..). Nothing wrong with not wanting to mess with computers or crappy minidsp units. I have no personal use for it, buy I'd almost want to buy it just to support releasing such a device.

Yeah it's a fun device I like that it exists.

 

[MaxBuck]

I’m using Dirac with mini dsp on a 2.1 setup through Freya + preamp. Results are lovely. FWIW I didn’t want to spend the extra money for the minidsp but in the end I am very happy with it.

Which miniDSP are you using?

 

[Lawyrup843]

Which miniDSP are you using?

https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/ddrc-24

 

[tomtoo]

I dont think its the right device for room correction. There you need a parametric device.
But i think the bands are very musical selected. And imo a nice device to play with. Tweak things fast a littel in the right direction.

 

[kevinh]

Indeed. And with only 6 bands, why waste two on 20Hz and 16kHz?

Dick Burwen decided on those frequencies for program correction based on his research in the 70's.

 

[alex-z]

Fools and their money are soon parted. $300 and you cannot even control the Q of the filters.

Plenty of reasons to go miniDSP, or even a free solution like EqualizerAPO if on Windows.

 

[MarkS]

https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/ddrc-24

I'm thinking of getting one of these. How much time/trouble did it take to get it set up?

 

[tomtoo]

Indeed. And with only 6 bands, why waste two on 20Hz and 16kHz?

Couse its absolutly not a waste. 20HZ is lower bass, you schould not forget that 20Hz is only the center frequence and this still influences 50-60Hz heavy. Bassdrum region. And 16khz is air. But this also influences down to 13khz heavy. Thats the upper highs region cymbals and overtones. Add some subtile brilliance or take out some sharpnes, metallicity. Overall very usefull if gently used. This thing is not meant to correct small q errors. Surely this 20Hz can be dangerous, especaly for ported speakers if not used with some brain.