Schiit Loki Mini EQ Released

Discussion in 'Preamps' started by neogeosnk, Sep 26, 2017.

  1. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    Sorry to hear that. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Mine is in transit.
     
  2. Lenroot77

    Lenroot77 Friend

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    I'm really hoping a the "full sized" Loki is not far behind. I'd assume it will have balanced inputs/outputs. I'd be really curious the check it out. Other than what's listed on the website have any other little hints been dropped on its release?
     
  3. captkirk

    captkirk Khan's BFF

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    I'd say the name itself implies a possible larger (expanded features) version. Though not listed directly on the product page, I've seen it referred multiple times as the "Loki Mini"...
     
  4. Dr J

    Dr J Friend

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    Echoing the sentiment for a big brother of Loki, or even just these adjustments with uber-transparency and balanced XLR.

    Would be perfect fit for finalizing the tuning in my 2.1 speaker setup where even with careful placement and acoustic treatments there are a couple two db peaks that make the sub-bass too much compared to higher bass/lower mids due to standing waves. With JotiUber could tweak the subwoofer lower in volume then turn that bass knob up a few decibels to get some warmth and well rounded bass.

    In case someone wonders: with Yggdrasil in the chain, not going to mess those bits around with digital eq. It seems that it is purer to do the correction in (well-implemented) analog domain. Not sure if this really logical?
     
  5. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Is there a combination of the bass and mids knobs that can approximate a mid-bass pulldown and sub-bass boost? It looks like the lower-mid is centred too high around 400Hz. Maybe something that doesn't f**k up the mids too much, but still flattens out the bass?
     
  6. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    Assume you are asking about HD650. Still trying to find the spot for them too. HD800 seems to work well with Loki. But that's for me and my preferences. Great start to what I hope will be the first in a line.
     
  7. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Yes, I was referring to HD650. Sorry if quoting Marv re "HD650 rolloff" wasn't clear enough. I sometimes use XBass on my iDSD which helps with the rolloff, but not the midbass bump. I guess 4 knobs isn't enough to make this specific a level of adjustment.
     
  8. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    Realized my first sentence came off wrong. Yeah I don't think their is a way to deal completely with the bump. The 400 Hz is too far away. Luckily for me it isn't really a bother.
    I'm finding just a bit of movement near the top point at 12 o'clock can make a pretty decent difference. Yeah perhaps 4 is a good starting point and what was best to keep the price point where it is, but could use more. Hopefully we will see a Max version at some point soon. Still haven't tried it on my speaker rig. Maybe this weekend. No regrets at all on the purchase. Makes the KSC-75's sound way above their price point. IMHO.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
  9. PTS

    PTS Friend

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    I got the Loki Mini in a loaner box (along with a Magni 3 and Klipsch HP3 headphones) so thought I'd give my brief impressions.

    Tried the Loki in two configurations.

    Firstly, before my friend's 45 SET tube amp headphone out, spinning vinyl.
    Secondly, before the Magni 3 amp headphone out, playing FLAC files.

    I was pleasantly surprised how completely transparent it is in the chain, totally invisible whether in bypass mode or active with all the knobs set at 12 'o' clock. Once you turn the knobs to adjust the frequency range it's smooth and responsive. Marv suggested trying it with Denon 7k headphones (known to be recessed / peaky in areas) and it makes a positive difference! Unsurprisingly, everything sounded great through the 45 tube amp and not so great through the $99 Magni 3. I did get the Magni 3 to sound better after EQing with the Loki, but it still wasn't what I'd call a satisfying sound. I didn't go to the effort to see how the Loki would fair in a speaker setup, but I'd like to try in the future.

    All said, it's really cool little EQ unit. Big thumbs up. Tempted to pull the trigger and pick one up now, but want to wait and see if Schiit release a big brother to this with even more knob tweaking action!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2017
  10. kukur9

    kukur9 Acquaintance

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    Well it was fun reading all the speculation up to Oct. 30th, but only a few of us bought one?

    I jumped on this for exactly the reasons cited by everyone else already. My Grado SR-60 (yes!) now sounds like my GH-1 used to (now sold) sound for about, oh, half the price of the admittedly lovely GH-1 (and if I don't factor in the many many years I've already owned the SR-60). The transparency and EQ adjustments sound, for lack of a better word, "natural." The bypass is a great way to A/B the seasoning, making it easy to get it dialed in.

    I'm more than happy with my Grado sound + Schiity bass boost via Loki and Jot. And I really don't need more Loki knobs–it's set and forget.

    Highly recommended! Great little unit.
     
  11. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    A friend borrowed my Loki to try it with his modded Monoprice M1060’s. The loaner. He has never been totally happy with the bass. A little too flabby and boomy. A little tweak with the 20 Hz knob and the bass and sub-bass tightened right up. He was amazed. Very underrated unit. Not your sounds like ass dad’s EQ. This thing is different.

    Edit: Why did I post this here? Mods please move to an appropriate thread. Sorry. Should be getting more sleep.
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
  12. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Moved.
     
  13. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    For HD800SDR, any input how much to turn the 2K Hz knob clockwise to bring the recessed mid back to neutral? At the moment, I'm putting it at 3 o'clock, and the 8K Hz knob at 10 o'clock.
     
  14. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    Schiit Loki Impressions
    [​IMG]

    Chain: Audial Model S mk2 > Schiit loki > Decware mini torii


    With the loki in between my audial model S and mini torii, it’s pretty transparent even with the equalizer is turned on (but the knobs set to the middle). I feel like there might be a hit in blackground and micro dynamics but it’s very minor and in my opinion you'll be hard pressed to notice the difference,

    I did find a defect with the third (upper mids) knob. Not sure if it’s manufacture defect or if it’s been shipped one too many times. But for some reason the upper mid knob pans the centre channel (vocals usually) right when boosted, and left when minimized. This literally did not happen with every other knob which worked fine. Thankfully, my mini torii has a separate volume pot for each channel so I can compensate for the weird panning.

    Defects aside, the hardware eq while fun to for a while is but I didn't fid it too useful. Sure, it can do larger fr changes more transparently than software eq. But good software eq can do minor surgical changes transparently which is not possible on the loki. I do like the bass knob the most though. Like most bass boosting hardware eq, it can give dynamic headphones a nice fun rumble. Don’t bother using it with planar headphones like the he-6, just makes the bass thudish. The lower mid knob boosts mid mids more than the lower mids. I also like the upper mid knob as well, as it’s capable of giving more presence to the vocals. The treble knob is okay, the frequencies it boosts is more narrow than I like and just makes the treble thinner and harsher, without giving more air or sparkle.

    If I changed my daily driver to a dynamic headphone, I might actually consider getting a loki just for the bass knob.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2021
  15. TomNC

    TomNC Friend

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    A little disappointed that a full sized Loki seems unlikely at least for this year. I would pay $1500+ for a really good EQ interface from Schiit. For headphones, we do need multiple bands adjustment to address those common problems at 1-2KHz (e.g., Stax 009, Utopia, HEK), 3KHz (e.g., Stax 007), 4-5Hz (009; Utopia), 6.5KHz (HD 800; Utopia), 8-10KHz (HD 650: Audeze phones) and 12-15KHz (too many phones).

    Still hopeful that Schiit will bring about a powerful Loki sooner or later.
     
  16. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    I have been streaming a lot of '70s and '80s rock on Tidal and for my stock HD800S usual settings are:

    20 Hz: 2:00 o'clock
    400 Hz: 4:00 o'clock
    2 kHz: 1:30 o'clock
    8 kHz: 12:00 o'clock

    Never thought I would be using an equalizer but I am enjoying the Loki quite a bit. I have found that many albums I just considered OK for SQ are much more enjoyable using the Loki. Had to wait a month for it but worth the wait.
     
  17. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    Interesting that you increased 400hz. I thought the low mid is already fine as it is. This is my current setting to my hd800sdr.

    20 Hz: 3:00 o'clock
    400 Hz: 12:00 o'clock
    2 kHz: 3:00 o'clock
    8 kHz: 10:00 o'clock

    This setting assumes that 3 o'clock means half of full eq on the loki...meaning 3db change on 400hz and 2khz, and 6db change on 20hz and 8khz.
     
  18. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    Made a note of your settings will try tomorrow thanks.
     
  19. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    Let me know what you think. I really love HD800 bass and tonality after this EQ.
     
  20. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    @Jerry you were right thanks for the tip. Right now I am using:

    20 Hz: 2:00 o'clock
    400 Hz: 12:00 o'clock
    2 kHz: 2:00 o'clock
    8 kHz: 11:00 o'clock

    The slight difference from your settings I think just comes down to different ears, different systems. I am also using stock HD800S. The Loki just needs more knobs:) Also cable sensitive I had to buy an extra set of cables so in to Loki from DAC was same as out to amp.
     

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