Good post. I was also reminded of the loudness button. 3 Schiit B-stock Loki’s went on sale yesterday afternoon; all were sold in a matter of hours.
I also came across this site for software EQ: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/RANKING.md.
I remember that being the only accepted setting for the cool kids in my high school who had an EQ on their shiny new alpine Apline and Nakamichi CD decks. Like, if you didn’t EQ in the sharpest V possible you lost all credibility.
All I had was my parent’s old station wagon and that Sony Discman casette adaptor thingie.
I had Timberlands. And a hand-me-down cassette play. 
There were quite a few decent mainstream products even in the 70s. AR’s 3AX and 2AX speakers, KLH, and Hegeman speakers, some Harmon Kardon. Dynaco from the 60s and 70s. Macintosh. Marantz and Sansui electronics. Klipsch was even mainstream for bigger houses that could afford a corner horn.
And there were some g-dawful mainstream products. Realistic from Rat Shack. It took JBL a good while to get it’s tweeters right. Record changers. In the 80s the growth of the tiny transistor radio into a boom box. All in one music systems with a turntable that flipped down from every manufacturer, like Sears.
However in cars, you could still turn off the radio and listen to the sound of a high compression engine through a non-restrictive exhaust. At least until all the smog rules caught up with it.
They’ve been doing that for weeks and weeks. Keep your eyes open and they’ll probably discover a few more “cosmetic flaws” on other units within days. One purpose of the B-stock list is to offer a sale without offering a sale, and keep the prices down by preventing returns. The Loki is a hot seller and seems to be rarely returned, so it often disappears from the list.
Yes. Why have that fancy EQ in your stack if you didn’t put in some other-than-flat shape? I saw people put the sliders in a U or V without even testing. This seemingly led to the “no tone controls, no EQ” backlash shortly thereafter.
Don’t forget Blaupunkt, and the removable carry-it-with-me car audio era (anti-theft before removable faceplates).
Absolutely, and that’s my background argument. The sincere products of the 1970s got bastardized in the 1980s, and often only looked like quality products. Users (a) didn’t understand if and when to use EQ, and (b) didn’t realize that many sources had already been ‘fixed’ at the studio with the same V shaped EQ modifications. The bright and airy tone characteristic of 1980s productions (following Van Halen and especially following Def Leppard) came from studio V EQ. I’d bet half of 1980s releases would sound better with anti-V EQ – this alone might redeem neutral solid-state amps.
Yes, I owned many of those. 
I’ve noticed Loki B stock show up more frequently than products such as Fulla, Magni and less frequently than V2, A3, B2 no module.
That was the pinnacle of car audio technology for me. It was a forerunner of the multi use multi connection devices we use today.
Ooh, yeah. I remember those.
And then the huge, sombrero sized CD changer in the trunk came after that. Ah, good times.
Future us: "Remember when people carried actual cellular devices in their pockets? That was before we all got the neural implants."
I added a Loki. In addition to adjusting the frequency response to tweak/“fix” gear and/or recordings, to my ear EQ also allows one to increase/decrease the volume and “forwardness in the image” of certain instruments/vocals. Besides a change in bass/mids/treble, I sense it as removed attenuation, an opening of the spigot of the received sound, where I’m closer to experiencing the truth of the sound. Audio.
I’ve named the four pots on the Loki:
I’m keeping #4 at 9 o’clock for solid state amps, as headphones are likely more resolving than studio monitors (speakers). I’m setting #4 at 7 o’clock for harsh sources and bringing back the presence by increasing #3 between 1 and 3 o’clock. It works!
Nice. I’ll give that a try. The upside down V as the key! For my ZMF Eikons with Eikon Lambskin pads (most warm of the pad selections), I effectively slightly turned down the bass and the treble up.
@generic I find myself looking around my listening area to check that I’m not at a live venue (you get the point). Great stuff, thanks for the motivation!
I found another use for the Loki: kind of, sort of redeeming the cheap Bravo Audio V2 amp. This amp is bright. I mean really, really bright. It becomes neutral-ish by cutting the treble entirely (#4) and turning down the presence (#3) a bit. The remaining coloration involve slamming (loose/exaggerated) dynamics and a good deal of echoing ring.
Now if something could be done about the factory volume control – it reaches normal listening volume with just a hair of movement (7 o’clock on the knob).
Wow, it requires cutting #4 entirely.
The Loki in tandem with the Vali 2 is a formidable pairing that can eliminate/reduce the need that some may have to tube roll.
I sometimes use my SYS to suppress volume in order to have more usage of an amp’s volume range.
I have a volume control in my switcher, but fear using it in case I forget and blast myself. If I end up using the V2 very much I’ll probably have to. The entire usable range is from 7 o’clock to 9 o’clock.
Oh, I see. That isn’t a lot of range. The dynamics that you experience/hear from the V2 may be compromised.
