Update: I got this and took it to Brasil and put it in the headphone rig as described. It did just what I had hoped and suspected. If I want more/less of any of the frequency bands it does a nice job of shaping them. If I don't want anything changed I disengage it and it disappears completely, no artifacts or degradation with it in the signal path. Very nicely executed little piece of kit IMHO. Happy listening.
I put the Loki between the single ended outputs of the Bricasti to the single ended inputs of the Tron Antares headphone amp.
I received a Loki loaner in a loaner box along with some headphones and I've been demoing it my main system for the last several days and I'm really digging it. It has several great uses. It works great as a loudness control for nighttime listening when everyone else in the house is alseep. I also find most rock CDs released about 1998 onwards have highs that are tipped up enough to make things unpleasant and adjusting the two high knobs just a touch to the left helps a ton with this mustic and it doesn't destroy the imaging like tone controls I've used in the past do. It also worked well with headphones that are too bassy or have weird peaks in the treble, I can actually enjoy my Grado SR-125 again. It's an extremely transparent device, when knobs are set at 12 o'clock I have a really hard time telling whether it's switched in or not. I placed it both between my source and pre-amp and also between my preamp and and amp and it seems equally as transparent in both places. I highly recommend the Loki to anyone on the fence about purchasing one.
When you state, out of circuit, did you mean not plugged into your gear or plugged in with the bypass button engaged. I would like to know opinions about sound change ( if any ) between the Loki plugged in and not in any gear.
Bumpage! Where exactly would be the recommended placement within the chain of equipment? I am considering using it in a vinyl rig, so would after phono stage before preamp be ok?
Yes, that works but it would also work just as well sticking it between the preamp and power amp if you're using separates.
I would put it between the pre-amp and power amp. This way it would not affect your turntable's capacitance.
Why it would affect the turntable capacitance if put after the phono stage which is line level output?
A separate phono stage - like ART's DJPRE II, Schiit Mani, or Rega Fono Mini. Which then connects up to an analog line-level input on his line-stage preamplifier. Adding a Loki between the phono stage and the line-stage preamplifier is fine. But it shouldn't be used between the turntable and the phono stage.
I define a phono stage as a device that amplifies your turntable output to a higher voltage, or as stated before, brings a lower TT output up to a line output. In my rig the Hagerman bugle 2 is that device. The signal from there goes to my preamp which operates as a volume control and hub for various inputs, in my rig this is the emotiva dc1
I have been eyeing the Loki for a little while, but since I have an integrated amp, I have no place for it, I would have to choose between the headphones or speakers...
