ARTEQ Effects Pedal (EQ341)

Hooked up my new ART 341 today between a Grace internet tuner (200 model) and a Qinpu A-6000 Hybrid tube amp running a little cheap set of BIC DV62si speakers. First off, the reviewer that said the RCA jacks on this EQ are undersized is full of it. They are the correct size and my premium plugs fit them very snugly.I've owned lots of consumer stereo equip in my lifetime all the way up to Onkyo M-504s, M-508, Bose 201, 301, 501, & 901s, various Polks, JBL 4312 Studio Monitors, Japanese non-export Onkyo Monitor 1000s series speakers, Dbx stuff, Klipsh Reference speakers (have now), Onkyo EQ, Onkyo HT (have now), and lots more.For $99 this is the best EQ I've ever had. I've had some junk too like the Audiosource EQ. This EQ is less money than Audiosource junk and is far superior! It can be used with pro equipment or consumer 2-channel unbalanced.It is commercial grade quality. Ultra-quiet noise. The potentiometers all feel very good quality. I think it's nicer, and as good quality or better than an older Dbx unit I used to own. It has the pro features the Audiosource junk doesn't like left and right output adjust, overload clipping indicators, selectable 6 or 12 db scaling, plus a ground lift for any hum, and the pro jacks in the back also. Because it an be used either for pro use or in the home on consumer components, it is much more flexible and should hold it's value better.It's more compact than the Audiosource with its big irritating led spectrum display which I had turned off cause its just a gaudy light show that matched in color to nothing else anyhow. Some of the function buttons on the AS eq were labeled opposite the positions, etc.This EQ is no nonsense business EQ. It might not be top of the line pro stuff, but it's damn nice in my opinion. Low cost and very good quality not easy to find. Check out ARTs website. Their stuff and their site looks good. Great value for what the price.Anyhow, after getting this EQ tweaked in my little system sounds pretty dang good! Hell of a lot better than flat with nothing. The BICs are definitely worth the $108 I paid for them, but at that price tey are still a lower cost, lower density, 6", bookshelf speaker. They are a bit strong in the mids and a bit weak in the bottom. The high end is good on them. Once I put a smile on each side of this 15 Band as starters and then dropped the outer edges low and high just a smidge and she is sounding pretty nice for what it is. Got the boominess, resonance out of the bottom end and tightened it up. Got some crystalline out of the top end, and toned down the midrange a bit. Sounds pretty good thanks to this ART 341. It's a very nice piece for only $99. You can't beat it.Yes, you do need an EQ for most setups regardless of what some audio snobs say that think because they have lots of money to buy stuff they actually know anything. There are so many characteristics and variances to equipment and speakers and their environments that the chances of getting the perfect match between everything without EQ is rare if impossible in the real world.The trick is knowing how to use an EQ, which many don't. You need a good ear, lots of time fiddling with them, but once it's on, it's worth it. I can't stand most systems without it anymore. Most systems sound ok with just a bass and treble control, but still mushy. To get that crisp, clean, powerful, Hi-Fi sound out of all the muddy resonances you need a good EQ.This is definitely one of those BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK items!EQs are not a 70s fad. They are a necessary component, and all the professional sound people use them.Get one! You won't be disappointed.P.S. I'm an old electronics engineer so when self=proclaimed "audiophiles" throw terminology around they read in a brochure or parrot from a sales guy, I actually know what it means besides being buzzwords.

So far, I am quite pleased with the performance of this equalizer. Once I got past the hook-up oddity (see below), it performs as I expect an equalizer to do.I've used only the unbalanced inputs and outputs and am rating the performance only on subjective data in an excellent A/V system. The noise level is low enough that it adds nothing detectable to the sound. Same for distortion, sound remains very clean to my ears. The equalization adjustments are typical of low-cost equalizers: control sliders are a little loose-feeling and difficult to set exactly. Nonetheless, I've used the unit very successfully to improve the sound of classical concert TV broadcasts that are weak in the bass and treble.Some noise reduction is possible if you have some 60 Hz hum or high frequency hiss, but this will be at the expense of the fidelity of the sound. If you have a choice, such noise should be eliminated at the source.One caution: I have never run into an audio component with the odd color coding used here. Both white jacks are INPUTS. Both red jacks are OUTPUTS. If you hook it up with the usual white=left and red=right color code, you will get no signal through it! The labeling on the panel and in the manual is correct. You just need to avoid thinking that you can connect it using your existing knowledge of stereo hookups.One wish for product improvement: As a home user, I wish the rack-mount "wings" were a removable attachment. I'll probably cut them off, because they are ugly and prevent the unit from blending in with other components.I'd recommend this unit to anyone who needs to compensate for poor recordings, marginal speakers, or unusual acoustics. Of course, it cannot turn distorted sound into clean sound.

I'm very pleased to have made this purchase, as the ART EQ341 seems to be very good in initial overall quality & excellent in sound quality...especially considering the price! It connects simply to my receiver - between the pre-amp & amp sections - without 'most' of the apparent concerns that were mentioned here years ago. Nice to believe this company does something about fixing consumer issues! Cosmetically, although the rotary level setting markers aren't "perfectly" lined up to the center detent positions(it won't matter in use anyway), this unit is much nicer looking than it appears in the picture and, with a little creativity, 'CAN' fit in very nicely even outside of a rack...IMO. One idea: If you're handy with woodworking and want a more 'traditional' appearance, it would be pretty easy to build a simple casing that matches your other components for the EQ341 to slide into. The only real word of caution I have is about the plug. If your plans are to plug it into a switched outlet of a home receiver so that everything comes on together, remember that this unit's plug is 3-pronged... and receiver outlets generally aren't. Although there are ways around this, I strongly recommend against ones defeating it's purpose.Anyway, the 'feel' of the sliders - combined with the apparent sturdy construction of the unit as a whole - is quite impressive. It kinda reminded me of an old EQ I used to treasure in the late '70s thru early '00s; size excluded, of course. Sonic accuracy has always been a large part of my musical life, and this unit's ability to equalize a wide spectrum of sound without adding unwanted distractions is quite good...perhaps more than I actually need at this point, though! My ears are getting a bit old, so I couldn't really hear the 16k band adjustments. But a friend tells me that she can & that it gives the music a somewhat more 'open' quality. The 6.3k & 10k bands 'sorta' did that for me while helping vocal definition in some instances. By the way: this was using the +/-6db range setting.I have CDs containing some very deep bass & speakers that can reproduce it well...and the ART EQ341 didn't disappoint in balancing this area either. The 40hz, 63hz, & 100hz sliders did an excellent job compensating for some of the compromises made with my left channel speaker placement, while the 25hz band helped me utilize more of the combined speaker's bottom-most capabilities. I also found the 1.6k, 2.5k, & 4k bands gave vocals a little more impact/clarity, while the 160hz, 250hz, 400hz, & 630hz bands were effective in bringing the stage closer or pushing it back a bit. And the 1k slider adjusted that very important band rather nicely. These are just a few of the almost limitless ways the EQ341 can effectively tailor the sound to one's own need/preference.When doing research on this unit, I read several conflicting statements concerning the length of the warranty supplied by ART. Well, I'm happy to report that the User's Guide clearly spells it out as THREE YEARS with the normal 'industry standard' conditions & exclusions.A couple years ago, I almost added this EQ to my stereo but didn't, mainly because it seemed way too inexpensive considering how protective I am of my system. Plus, I'd never even heard of Applied Research & Technology(ART) before. But now that I've picked one up, I'm glad that I finally made the move. Because even though it isn't perfect, at $115...there's no better way for me to increase my listening enjoyment!!