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As I would learn with this three-horn system, driver correction is an essential function. Coupled with steep crossovers the process nudges drivers to work from their happy place by limiting their output to a bandwidth that is comfortable for them whilst taking driver interaction and crossover-related phenomena out of the equation. So the DEQX is simply in another league when it comes to long-term systemic bang for the buck. It’s also much more expensive when compared with the Behringer though not with other audiophile-oriented boxes that process signal. Nonetheless $5.495 for a current DEQX HDP-4 isn't chump change to a guy like me. That said, DEQX also offers other products which may very well meet your needs at significantly lower cost. In this situation you might ask yourself: What's been the cost/benefit ratio of other black boxes I’ve tried or could try? I can think of a signal processor priced around $4.000 which is said to improve ambience, image depth and layering [qol – Ed]. And there’s a well-respected two-channel three-band analog parametric equalizer also priced around $4.000 [Rives Audio – Ed.]. The first item’s approach to making a difference has struck some as basically a variation on the Blumlein Shuffler technique which can indeed make for some interesting differences. A potential downside is that it imposes the same process on every recording in every system and room because it comes without a console of controls that would allow you to customize the effects for your setup/preferences. Some have noted that those controls can be found on 'pro' products which employ the same technique yet cost half.

The other product is a high-quality three-band analog parametric equalizer. If you insist on a pure analog approach, this may be right up your alley as it does offer controls that allow you to customize for your setup/preferences. However it does not offer the technology to generate speaker correction filters or function as a preamp with both digital and analog inputs, a DAC and a three-way crossover. Prior to giving DEQX a spin you might ask yourself: How satisfied am I with where I am in my journey? What degree of control do I currently have over my speakers, my system, my room and their interaction? If you already find yourself among the satisfied, good on ya. Go buy more music, travel or donate to your favorite charity. Most audiophiles I meet don’t seem to have arrived at that happy place yet. And it was from the pull of said place that three more questions arose: How much money/time have I already invested in my reference rig? (If you get around to doing the math, you could find yourself alarmed. I know I was.) What would I pay to be done with incremental improvements and spend more time enjoying my music collection? And when would I like that systemic shift to take place?

The exit. One unspoken audiophile rule is that we don’t talk about being done lest we expose ourselves to the mockery of our genus both when we say it and then again when we fall off the wagon and bring home the next fix. Trust me, I know. I am one who has smirked at those who dared utter the ‘d’ word. So has Pete and most every other audio idiot in our pretty big circle of ‘phools. Not that that makes it okay. It just is.
We all know that it’s one thing to be gobsmacked by a system at a show and another to replicate that feat at home. With each upgrade you aspire to get that effect into your room. In practice and speaking for myself and many others who have related their struggles, the wish is seldom fully granted. Even after years of balancing my system through careful component choices, cabling, setup and room treatments, my system could—and this time did—still get better.


Moreover this time it exceeded my expectations. And instead of the usual twinge of discontent creeping in slowly, I got long-term non-fatiguing transparency and resolution, improved depth and layering, spot-on tonal balance plus the kind of liquid vibrancy and instrumental dimensionality that consistently sucks me into the happenings. And should circumstances demand—be it speaker changes, a piece of gear needing replacement, the annual furniture re-arrangement drill performed by my lovely bride or even moving to another room—it’s nice to know I have the tool to reliably re-integrate the system.

When we first stumbled upon that experience in Denver, the one that would drive our audio-related pursuits for the next seven years, Pete and I had no idea there were digital demons in the heady mix we heard during the wee hours of that morning. All we saw was the thermionic glow of tubes, a turntable and the Cogent True-to-Life loudspeakers. When we mention the DEQX, some people speak of the danger of 'digital fingerprints'. They may exist and perhaps we’re just lucky or deaf but we didn’t perceive them then and there nor do we sense them here and now.


The only warning I would offer is to be sensible with the volume control. It’s a given that the better the system and the less distorted the signal, the more relaxed our listening experience becomes. What a happy place to be. A side effect of this phenomenon is that my system has become one where visitors keep asking me to turn it up - until I point out that they are shouting quite loudly at me. It’s as though they don’t think a system is playing at an adequate volume until they hear distortion creep in. Color me guilty too. I have intermittently found myself listening at less-than-healthy volumes because I don’t hear the typical cues that tell me the volume is out of hand (including my wife hollering at me to turn things down, again!).
I guess it’s fitting to wrap up the Hornographic Pursuits series on the weekend of RMAF 2013. Pete and I decided to skip the show this year. He’s got a steady stream of orders for his String-Theory™ Woody™ Tonearms. I’ve got a calendar full of mediations to conduct. We’ve had a good run here at the Institute. With experience gained, advice from the DEQXpert and proper tools at hand, we are ready to make the final adjustments to Pete’s horn system. As he's quite fond of saying, "it’ll be easy". To which I usually respond, based on our many misadventures, "let us pray".

Between us, Pete and I now have four high-performance speaker systems on our hands: the Po’ siblings (horns), the 604 Dream speakers (coaxial drivers, MLTL) and the Beveridge 2SW-2 (electrostats). With the heavy lifting behind us we now have a lot more time on our hands too. We’ll manage to put that to good use as we converge on our original objective: enjoyment of our ever-expanding music collections. Now that will be easy.