Schiit - Loki

DESCRIPTION

SPECS

FAQs

What is the difference between the Schiit Loki and other equalizers?

The Schiit Loki is a lot more sleeker, transparent and flexible than other equalizers. Of course, if you still prefer the old noisy ones with dusty sliders; we are not judging.

What kind of an equalizer is this?

The Schiit Loki is a single-gain-stage active equalizer. It also has non-constant-Q passive filtering. Translation: Each band in this equalizer changes from broad to narrow as the gain is increased.

Will it give me a more true-to-life sound?

The Loki can fine-tune your audio to make it better. Whether it can sound like a recording artist in a studio? Hmmm.....It depends on what you are listening to and how much bass/treble you need.

Can I bypass it entirely if I get it?

After connecting it, you can bypass the equalizer simply by switching the switch in front. We did say it ranks high on transparency.

Is it portable?

Considering you need to connect it to a power outlet, we wouldn’t really recommend it as an on-the-go device.

Now hold on just a sec—are you saying we should use equalizers now?

Nope, you’re saying that. Not us.

But you just brought out this product!

Right. And, as you’ll note, it’s a standalone product. You can add it to your system if you’d like, or act like it doesn’t exist. It won’t add itself to your cart if you happen to buy, say, a Modi Multibit (or anything else.)

Buuuutttt…we thought you were crazy minimalist audiophile types who’d put their nose up in the air at the very thought of EQ?

As with the previous question, there’s nothing stopping you from assembling a minimalist, no-tone-control system from our extensive product line. Adding Loki is a choice you can make. If you’d like. No pressure.

So why bring this out now? What changed?

The world changed, and we decided to experiment a bit. That’s it in a nutshell. The longer explanation includes the fact that tone controls have pretty much become verboten over the last three decades in high-end audio. For those of you who remember some crappy tone control and EQ implementations, including dull, veiled, nasty-sounding knobs on the front of receivers and noisy, truly awful-sounding banks of 10 to 30 sliders (usually fixed in a death-grin), you know that there’s a good reason tone controls went away. But we decided to take a look at it and see what we could make with a single gain stage (rather than 10-30 op-amps in a row) and using passive LC (inductor-capacitor) filtering wherever possible. And we found that we could create an extremely transparent equalizer that allowed for some very nice control over tonal characteristics, without the downside of traditional tone controls or EQs. So we decided to make it and see if you find it interesting as well.

But…why EQ?

Because we live in an imperfect world, and because individuals have individual preferences. Nobody can say their speakers or headphones are ruler-flat. Nobody can say that all of their recordings are audiophile-quality. Loki provides a way to adjust for imperfect systems and imperfect recordings.

But…buuuuttt…is this true to the original recording? Is it what the artist intended?

If it sounds good to you, who cares?

Aieeeee! You’re making my head hurt! I don’t like options!

Cool. Then don’t get a Loki. Nobody’s making you buy it.

Well, if I do get it, can I bypass it?

Yes. There’s a switch on the front to completely bypass the tone control stage—as in, a relay connects the input and output directly, no active devices in the signal path at all.

Wow, so I guess you guys really think this is transparent, if it’s that easy to A-B the input and output.

Yes, we do think Loki is very transparent.

Let’s talk tech. What kind of EQ is this? Parametric?

No. Technically, Loki 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.

This gain stage, is it like Jotunheim’s Pivot Point topology?

It’s similar, yes, in that it is a fully discrete, current-feedback topology, but it is single-ended.

Whoa. Wait a sec, are you saying you’re giving us a discrete, single-gain-stage, passive LC-filtered EQ, the most purist approach to tone controls…for $149? Are you nuts?

We do like high value, but we’re not crazy. At least not as an official diagnosis.

What if I want a constant-Q EQ, or a parametric EQ?

That’s cool. There are some of those out there. They just won’t be Loki.

What about software EQ?

If you’d like to use software EQ (supplied with many playback software packages these days), that’s certainly an option—and you can probably get your parametric EQ there, if that’s what you want. However, you may prefer Loki…and once you get away from a computer source, an external hardware EQ is necessary if you want tone control.

What about the name, you’re re-using that, right?

Yep! Loki is the trickster god in Norse mythology. And it’s a neat name for a tricky little product. Now that we’re off the DSD train, it’s perfect for reviving a whole new category of products.

I noticed on the PC board you’re calling this Loki Mini. Are there other Lokis coming?

Come on, now, you know we don’t discuss future products. However, we’re always open to expanding the line in meaningful ways if this model does well—including coming up with a family of Lokis with different capabilities and at different price points. After all, Loki is a trickster, ever-changing.

WARRANTY & MEDIA REVIEWS

2 Year Warranty

Don't sweat it, this Schiit Loki comes with a 2 year warranty from Schiit that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Schiit's warranty in India.

"I found Loki particularly useful with headphones, where for example I could bump up the deep bass to add weight to the sound, and tame brightness by shelving down 8 kHz."

Read More