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Schiit Lokius Review (Equalizer)

Hapo

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Agreed - I don't think it's hard to use either. I'm saying that a Lokius purchaser probably isn't concerned as much about the precision of adjustment (I know I'm not) and likely highly values form factor and versatility/ease of connection. Effective alternative suggestions that provide better equalization/tunability need to be directly comparable in those areas to be applicable for that segment.
...that is it exactly...I like being able to just reach over and adjust the tone of various recordings...

...Hapo loves a good biased opinion...;)
 
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KR500

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I use the 4 band Loki with my Little Dot tube amp to make a minor adjustment ; or this ART 355 EQ with my Magni or speaker amp for more adjustment.
The 355 has balanced and unbalanced stereo I/O's and works very well.
The 15 band stereo 341 version is $90 less


R.e63949d35b0e83d5caef20e7cec85efd
 
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Hapo

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...the 341 might be more my speed...but you have me looking...the is @ Amazon so I can easily return it if it is overwhelming...355
 

antennaguru

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If you want a good simple DIY option you can download the data-sheet for the SGS-THOMSON TDA2320A Stereo Class A Preamplifier 8 Pin DIP IC. There is a schematic for a three band tone control - bass/mid/treble. I built one using the good large blue Alps pots, and it is totally transparent and noise-free.
 

William53b

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Lokius balanced (I/O) analog 6-band equalizer. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US $299 from the company direct (plus shipping).

The Lokius looks like other Schiit products in their mid-sized configuration:

View attachment 159262

There is a bypass button and selection between balanced and unbalanced inputs:

View attachment 159263

The standard (giant and heavy) Schiit AC transformer is supplied to power the unit.

I must say, I hated operating the Lokius. The knobs are too close together and even my skinny fingers can't fit between them. This means you have to move the knob a bit then pick up your finger, move it back and repeat. The knobs are kind of slippery so you have to put some pressure on them to turn them. The combination of these literally made the bones in my fingers hurt. For a device where you want to fiddle with all the time and possibly per track you are listening to, this is very annoying. I realize that they wanted to keep the box small and cost low but this is a compromise I would not have made in this type of product.

The markers on the silver knobs is also very hard to see causing you to waste time when a dial is not where you think it is.

Schiit Lokius Measurements
This is a rather tricky device to test but let's go through some basic process. First, let's see how it does in pass-through mode (i.e. none of the controls active):

View attachment 159266

Very nice. It is transparent and is essentially reflecting the performance of my Audio Precision analyzer.

Now let's set all the control to the center detent and activate the controls:

View attachment 159267

Ah, I was hoping for less distortion than this, seeing how we have not yet boosted any frequencies. Indeed bosting one control to max takes another bite out of its performance:

View attachment 159268

Continuing with basic tests, I set the controls back to center and measured SNR:

View attachment 159269

This is very good performance but again, keep in mind that I have not boosted any of the levels. That will surely lower the SNR. The right side by the way reflects the performance of Audio Precision. So we have lost 22 dB of dynamic range.

Frequency response with the unit being active was flat and balanced enough:

View attachment 159270

This will be unit specific though.

To see the effect of various controls, I increased each one by a quarter turn one by one and got this:

View attachment 159271

I was surprised how low the first band is, and how high the last. They are also quite broad meaning what you think is changing, i.e. the center frequency, is just a small part of the story. The 500 Hz for example has a range of 20 to 10 kHz! Someone less lazy than me can compute the Q. So forget about using the Lokius for any kind of speaker or headphone equalization. It is like using a jack hammer as a screw driver!

Crosstalk is OK:
View attachment 159273

Back to our basic measurements, here is our IMD vs level:

View attachment 159272

The saturation concerns me as again, we have the controls in the middle. Crank them up and you see that earlier and earlier.

Sweeping the frequency unfortunately showed that our dashboard was testing almost the best case scenario:

View attachment 159274

Schiit Lokius Listening Tests
I made a chain of my every day RME ADI-2 DAC FS through Lokius and then Topping A90 to drive my test headphones. I set the controls to the middle. I could induce audible hiss with A90 in highest gain and volume to max. That would be exceptionally loud though. Turning the #3 to #5 controls to max though, induced hiss in the middle position of the volume. Testing with music with Sennheiser HD650 showed that was about 10 to 20% higher than the max volume I wanted to listen to so I don't think it is a problem. Noise was much more audible with pair of Dan Clark Stealth and Ether CX headphones likely due to their closed back/noise isolation. But again, not a practical problem.

Using my Stealth headphone, I cranked the lowest knob (#1) and it would add a bit of sub-bass. The next control however was way to high a frequency causing bloated bass. In other words, one was too low of a frequency and the next, too high. Likewise the last control didn't do much for me as I cranked it up but lowering it did cut out the highs.

Controls 4 through 5 caused hiss in content and any distortion to get magnified. You would not want them more than 10 to 20% boosted.

Overall, I did not like the experience at all. I much rather use a software EQ with proper controls over what is being changed. The device can be educational though to teach you in an instant if you want more sub-bass for example and value of such.

Conclusions
Objective performance using standard metrics seems good enough here. Usability both in what the device does and actual feel of it is very poor in my opinion. As I noted, forget about using it for EQ of speakers or headphones. If you were going to use such, you would want some kind of memory to remember them anyway. Is it good to mess around with music? I guess it could be if the knobs were easier to manipulate. I can't see reaching for these controls as I listen to music and then have to change them for the next piece of music.

The device is also boring to look at. The older versions of this box had dancing LEDs that added fun to the experience if not some data as to what the thing was doing.

You have to have very strong aversion to using software EQ to want to use the Lokius. I am a strong fan of physical controls of the past and if this device was well done, I would line up to praise it but it just doesn't feel good to play with it.

Needless to say, I can't recommend the Schiit Lokius. That said, if its functionality and physical aspects don't bother you, and you have a user for it, performance is good enough that I can't dismiss it seeing how there are hardly any options at this price range available.

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 

William53b

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So, for those of us that heard the concert, and have the recording, will you be looking at the Loki Max? I say this, having recently listened to the King Crimson catalog and have seen them perform live last fall. There is no way Court of the Crimson King will ever come close, in straight reproduction, to hearing it live again.

I do agree that using the digital EQ and embedding it is a good solution, but, I have the Loki, and it's only purpose is not engaged; music. Engaged; movies.

I hope that some day manufacturers wake up to the audio-piles and give us Tri-Eo, with a center channel, so I don't have to use my HT amps pre amp to embellish my source material properly.

Death to multiple patch cables and junction boxes…
 

dadsnavE

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Qualifier:
Audiophile, electrical engineer, former analog and digital recording studios owner here. Spent 1/3 of my annual income on my first "hi-fi system" in mid-70s and still buying new gear regularly almost 50 years later. Most recent significant purchase: Ohm Walsh Tall 4000 speakers -- best sound stage of any speaker I've ever heard.

When it comes to EQ's and tone controls, over the years, I've owned and used:
- a mid-70s SEA-10 equalizer with 5 bands controlling left and right simultaneously (stolen; wish I still had it)
- 31 band stereo equalizers with separate left and right sliders (think I still have one in a box somewhere)
- vintage Marantz and Sansui receivers with Bass, Treble AND Mid tone controls (no one has them anymore)
- currently employ two miniDSP 2x4HD's in separate systems (so yeah, I understand the power of digital parametric EQ)
- run ROON for streaming hi-res from Qobuz (it too offers up to 10-band PEQ with the ability to save and retrieve profiles)
- Schiit Loki (purchased before Lokius came out)
- Schiit Lokius (replaced Loki as it was the ONLY non-balanced piece in an otherwise 100% balanced system)
- vintage Sony SEQ-711 7-band equalizer (can store 5 custom presets; presets available from remote)

IMHO, referring to the Lokius as "an equalizer" is a misnomer. I suggest: "6-band tone control". My reasoning follows.

In my main system, I use ROON's PEQ abilities to adapt/correct for speaker balancing/room-response. Beyond that, after a year of fiddling, I've decided that additionally saving dedicated PEQ settings for individual recordings is too high of an effort. For example, I find Motown recordings from the 60s have much different characteristics than Steely Dan recordings from the 70s-90s. (Hi-res listening suggestion: Steely Dan, Two Against Nature, Janie Runaway; FLAC 96kHZ 24bit). Steely Dan needs little to no tweaking to sound great. Motown needs some help.

Even if I stored a "Motown" EQ file, there is a "gotcha" recalling it. Both miniDSP and ROON require a brief, silent pause in output to recall and/or apply new PEQ settings -- even presets. This makes them problematic for "public performances" (i.e., when entertaining guests during a party). The "gaps" are a buzz-killer. :-(

Enter the Lokius and it's 6-band tone control capability. Motown coming up? Bump up that 120hZ knob to get some stronger bass. Bump down that 2kHz knob to avoid sometimes overly-prominent Supreme's vocals. Toss in a 16kHz bump up to make it easier to hear the cymbals. Steely Dan coming up next? Hit the bypass switch on the Lokius because tweaking is not necessary. All these actions can be completed in real-time -- no silent gaps. (Just an example -- Steely after Supremes NOT likely a good set list.)

Regarding Schiit's frequency choices:
Being an ex-studio owner, I own multiple spectrum analyzers -- both digital and analog. It makes it simple to accurately identify where "problem and/or target" frequencies live. Vocals, especially female vocals, coming in too "hot"? Centering reduction around 2kHz is usually the right spot. For various reasons, I find all the selected center frequencies useful. If not these frequencies, then which would "be better"?

Regarding ease of spinning Lokius knobs:
Why would anyone try to fit their fingers BETWEEN the knobs? It's NOT possible. I just grab the top and bottom of the knob between my thumb and forefinger and can spin from center detent to full min or to full max in a single motion. No "move the knob a bit then pick up your finger, move it back and repeat" is necessary. No, I do NOT find the knobs "slippery" at all.

My first personal nit-picking complaint: I wish the unit labeled the frequencies, rather than just graphical representations. It would make it easier to translate frequency data from a spectrum analyzer to the Lokius. I've mitigated this by creating a simple "label" over the knobs -- see attached picture.

My second personal nit-picking complaint: Position markers on knobs should extend back from front of knob to the back, else too hard to see from above. I tweaked by putting dot of White-Out extending line around to top of knobs -- see same attached picture. (Yeah, I could have been neater.)

So, FOR ME, the Lokius closes a previously-unfilled gap in my system very nicely, is of high enough quality, and a good value. (Unless I win the lottery, the Loki Max is too rich for my blood at the moment.)

If you happen to be a purist who eschews anything other than straight-line signal from end-to-end, PLEASE, to each his own...

Lokius.jpeg
 
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mhardy6647

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Qualifier:
Audiophile, electrical engineer, former analog and digital recording studios owner here. Spent 1/3 of my annual income on my first "hi-fi system" in mid-70s and still buying new gear regularly almost 50 years later. Most recent significant purchase: Ohm Walsh Tall 4000 speakers -- best sound stage of any speaker I've ever heard.

When it comes to EQ's and tone controls, over the years, I've owned and used:
- a mid-70s SEA-10 equalizer with 5 bands controlling left and right simultaneously (stolen; wish I still had it)
- 31 band stereo equalizers with separate left and right sliders (think I still have one in a box somewhere)
- vintage Marantz and Sansui receivers with Bass, Treble AND Mid tone controls (no one has them anymore)
- currently employ two miniDSP 2x4HD's in separate systems (so yeah, I understand the power of digital parametric EQ)
- run ROON for streaming hi-res from Qobuz (it too offers up to 10-band PEQ with the ability to save and retrieve profiles)
- Schiit Loki (purchased before Lokius came out)
- Schiit Lokius (replaced Loki as it was the ONLY non-balanced piece in an otherwise 100% balanced system)
- vintage Sony SEQ-711 7-band equalizer (can store 5 custom presets; presets available from remote)

IMHO, referring to the Lokius as "an equalizer" is a misnomer. I suggest: "6-band tone control". My reasoning follows.

In my main system, I use ROON's PEQ abilities to adapt/correct for speaker balancing/room-response. Beyond that, after a year of fiddling, I've decided that additionally saving dedicated PEQ settings for individual recordings is too high of an effort. For example, I find Motown recordings from the 60s have much different characteristics than Steely Dan recordings from the 70s-90s. (Hi-res listening suggestion: Steely Dan, Two Against Nature, Janie Runaway; FLAC 96kHZ 24bit). Steely Dan needs little to no tweaking to sound great. Motown needs some help.

Even if I stored a "Motown" EQ file, there is a "gotcha" recalling it. Both miniDSP and ROON require a brief, silent pause in output to recall and/or apply new PEQ settings -- even presets. This makes them problematic for "public performances" (i.e., when entertaining guests during a party). The "gaps" are a buzz-killer. :-(

Enter the Lokius and it's 6-band tone control capability. Motown coming up? Bump up that 120hZ knob to get some stronger bass. Bump down that 2kHz knob to avoid sometimes overly-prominent Supreme's vocals. Toss in a 16kHz bump up to make it easier to hear the cymbals. Steely Dan coming up next? Hit the bypass switch on the Lokius because tweaking is not necessary. All these actions can be completed in real-time -- no silent gaps. (Just an example -- Steely after Supremes NOT likely a good set list.)

Regarding Schiit's frequency choices:
Being an ex-studio owner, I own multiple spectrum analyzers -- both digital and analog. It makes it simple to accurately identify where "problem and/or target" frequencies live. Vocals, especially female vocals, coming in too "hot"? Centering reduction around 2kHz is usually the right spot. For various reasons, I find all the selected center frequencies useful. If not these frequencies, then which would "be better"?

Regarding ease of spinning Lokius knobs:
Why would anyone try to fit their fingers BETWEEN the knobs? It's NOT possible. I just grab the top and bottom of the knob between my thumb and forefinger and can spin from center detent to full min or to full max in a single motion. No "move the knob a bit then pick up your finger, move it back and repeat" is necessary. No, I do NOT find the knobs "slippery" at all.

My first personal nit-picking complaint: I wish the unit labeled the frequencies, rather than just graphical representations. It would make it easier to translate frequency data from a spectrum analyzer to the Lokius. I've mitigated this by creating a simple "label" over the knobs -- see attached picture.

My second personal nit-picking complaint: Position markers on knobs should extend back from front of knob to the back, else too hard to see from above. I tweaked by putting dot of White-Out extending line around to top of knobs -- see same attached picture. (Yeah, I could have been neater.)

So, FOR ME, the Lokius closes a previously-unfilled gap in my system very nicely, is of high enough quality, and a good value. (Unless I win the lottery, the Loki Max is too rich for my blood at the moment.)

If you happen to be a purist who eschews anything other than straight-line signal from end-to-end, PLEASE, to each his own...

View attachment 193509
index.php

Looks to me like just a more user-hostile way of doing this...
(albeit
with one more band)


1648064676304.png

source: https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1978_radioshack_catalog.html
 

Jan Meier

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" Why can't someone make a DIGITAL 3-band tone control for PC? "

Did you ever took a eye on the Corda Country???

:)

Jan
 

Heinz R

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The Lokius is still really analogue, which should please many friends of a real analogue chain.
Haha...maybe the first scam will come soon in the future, like with Mobile Fidelity, an "analogue like" digital EQ, because it is cheaper to make?

By the way, a very different problem for me would be solved using a Lokius: how do I get elegantly and correctly from pre amp XLR only outputs to RCA inputs of my vintage Quad 306 transistor amps without „work arounds“? Now I have one possible answer, Schiit Lokius using as an XLR RCA adapter, in both directions workable.
 
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dufferdan

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I have the Lokius, purchased a couple of months ago. In the Modius/Magnius stack and connected via a nifty little Snake Oil Sound XLR wood mini-link. That nifty little piece of kit allows me to connect all three units with XLR which allows it to sit at the back of my desk closer to the wall. Even short XLR cables push the units away from the wall. (Pic below).

I never had any misconceptions this unit would be anything other than a slightly more flexible tone control. I listen to 6 or 7 different headphones at times and this unit gives me the ability to, in a broad strokes way, enhance certain frequency bands to offset some of the weaknesses of some of the cans I have. My Mac is my desktop source, and I have done some hunting, but cannot find any free equalizer apps that seem to allow me to save pre-sets, though I haven’t spent a crazy amount of time searching. For the purposes I need, the Lokius is a nice and useful piece of kit. I also simply grasp the dials top and bottom and it is fine….no slippage here….

My hearing has issues (just ask my wife) so I am only looking for broad strokes fixes here. At $299, (I bought it as an AKM unit, but they shipped me the ESS unit a few months later), in my simplistic sense, it works as I expected, fits well with the rest of the kit (looks good), and, as every physician learns, does no real harm that I can hear.
305088AF-D8F1-4E93-8320-BAF66C6E8ADD.jpeg
 
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After reading through this thread I discovered that Schiit had a Black Friday sale on the Lokius for $229...So I ordered one to go with my Magnius / Modius system.

I get the arguments / opinions both ways regarding analog and digital EQ but I do like having analog EQ on source material just for small tweaks. I'm not looking for laser precision. Looking forward to trying it out.
 

Azookey

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By chance, has anyone tried using the Lokius as a preamp of sorts? I'm thinking of using as follows:

Computer Source -> DAC -> Lokius -> Power amplifier
While controlling volume at the computer software level (Roon, Spotify, etc.).

My dac, Denafrips Ares, has a really high output impedance so not really suitable to hook straight into a power amp. The Lokius seems to have a good input/output impedance.

thoughts?
 

solderdude

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By chance, has anyone tried using the Lokius as a preamp of sorts? I'm thinking of using as follows:

Computer Source -> DAC -> Lokius -> Power amplifier
While controlling volume at the computer software level (Roon, Spotify, etc.).

My dac, Denafrips Ares, has a really high output impedance so not really suitable to hook straight into a power amp. The Lokius seems to have a good input/output impedance.

thoughts?

In bypass mode the Lokius will not act like a buffer (literally the signal goes directly from input to output and does not go through any electronic components, only through relays) so must be in active mode to operate as a buffer.
As a buffer it lowers S/N ratio slightly and adds some (also very low level) distortion to the signal. Not audible though.
 
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The Lokius arrived today. I did not have time for extensive listening but I got it patched between my Modius / Magnius and did a quick check on a few lossless tracks from Apple Music. For my ears, the EQ bands are placed well and very musical - not in a precision way but they allow just the amount of shaping / tweaking I was looking for without adding noise. I definitely prefer it to the digital GEQ in Apple Music.

I don’t find the knobs difficult to use as @amirm mentioned but only time will tell.

@solderdude - you are correct that no audible distortion with EQ flat. At reasonable listening volumes I could discern no difference switched in our out.

FWIW - my connections are balanced all the way to the active speakers.



4C9017ED-17CB-41AB-A3B6-6B68EB754787.jpeg
 

Barone Birra

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Quick question: if I feed it with an XLR input (say, 4V), what will be the voltage of the RCA output? Lower it to 2V, as the connection - somewhat - standard?
 

Shant

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I don't know about the voltage, but I connect XLR in and RCA out to the AVR and the level comes out as any other HDMI input.
However, there is a level difference for RCA out when the equalizer switch is off, maybe 5db drop.
 

ErnieM

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Somewhat tangential issue. I'm a senior suffering from both post-concussion tinnitus in one ear around 8kHz, PLUS age-related treble droop above 8Khz. I would like to both increase ambience and top octave in my ref system (which has a nearfield triangle in a long room, so rear sound is very rolled)...AND allow artificial top-octave boosting to better differentiate cable tweaks.
It's my somewhat-naive understanding that the age-related treble droop may be too deep to be much helped by something like the Lokius' +6dB boost centered at 16kHz...but maybe it can't hurt? But do I chance overdriving the tweeters (28mm Scanspeaks crossed at 5.5kHz (sic))?
I also do NOT want to compromise ref lucidity or distortion.
In the meantime I borrowed a pair of Townshends supertweeters and set them rear-firing atop my speakers. They have only a gain control, but I've been told by a competitor that their 80dB/w output makes them inaudible when added on. So far sounds the same to me.
Maybe I'm trying to fill a hole too deep? Thanks.
 
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