[sdiy] pro EQs

[Kenneth Elhardt]

-pH writes:
>>inexpensive,  quality, "pro" parametric EQ? Where? the only inexpensive
ones I ever see are the cheap chinese crap that sound like crap-- they may
be fine for clubs or twisted effects but for recording?<<

First of all I have to take that "quality" and "pro" wording with a grain of
salt in relation to the original post I was refering to since he said his
diy skills are very limited and it didn't sound like his homemade EQ was
going to be pro quality just based on that.  He also says paremetric or
semi-parametric so it doesn't sound like he is so discerning in his needs.
However, one unit that comes to mind that outspecs just about everything
else is the Behringer T1951 Tube parametric EQ which is their higher-end EQ.
It uses parallel filters for minimal phase shift, constant-Q, gold plated
XLR and 1/4 balanced I/O, individual bypass per band, tube warmth controls,
stereo 4 bands per channel.  At $150 why would anybody try to build their
own without checking it out first.  If you're willing to go digital there
are units for $300 to $350 and they'll do a lot more bands per channel.  And
if you go for a used unit as you did, ebay always seems flooded with EQ's.

I don't know what his time is worth plus the cost of parts, but spending
several hundred dollars on a commercial EQ seems like a better deal than
having to build one from scratch.  Looking through some catalogs though it
seems like my memory might have been thinking more about Graphic EQ's, as
there's a lot more of them for great prices.  But I have some older
higher-end stereo parametric EQ's like AudioArts and Symetrix that are
comparible to Orban which can also be searched for on ebay.

Dustin Sedlacek writes:
>>i can understand that frustration , you are on the list for new ideas.<<

Actually I'm not seeing many new ideas.  That's the thing.  Designing a
better mousetrap is good, but I'm seeing what looks like people building
what's already available and/or doing things that are so old and outdated.
I'm seeing a lot of talk about crude 8-bit audio DACs and wavetable
oscillators and ancient 6502 processors.  It's like I'm back in the 1970's
again.

-Elhardt