Klark Teknik EQP-KT Classic Tube Equaliser with Switchable-Frequency Selection, Variable Bandwidth and Custom-Built Midas Transformers

I used to record back in the tape age and then went on with life. I came back into recording after a couple decades, really excited to use digital. I bought into the plugin hype and now have a collection of plugs of all types whether I need them or not. The funny thing is, even with good mics, my mixes still sounded dull, small and boxy. So I had my interface modded to have "pro" sound. That did help with finally being able to use hardware instead of plugins, because most interfaces have cheap parts and choke your sound. Before adding a pair of these Pultec-type eq's, I invested in an SSL G bus compressor clone(Audioscape) and a Revive Audio modded ART stereo tube preamp. Either of those units were better than any kind of plugin, period. Put together, they really gave my mixes or masters some great panache, but something was missing. So I wondered if the Klark Teknik would help at all. In my first usage, it was spooky how close the UAD Pultec was with same settings, but one thing was for sure, only the EQP-KT had sheen as well as depth and body that the plugin did not. In fact, it was as if the plugin was choking the sound. Anyways the Eqp-KT is a bit on the wispy side as compared to a mic preamp, so it's awesome that I have the modded ART to fatten up the signal chain. I have read about modding services for these units to bring out some more sonic girth, but in my situation, it looks like I've got the best of both worlds when I use those units together. Anyways, the original Pultecs coupled an unbalanced input with a balanced output by way of a middle transformer. The mod service adds this third transformer back into the circuit along with other upgrades. While I'd love to have a mod done because every time I do, I can't live without it, these really aren't lacking to where I'm wishing for a mod because everything sounds so much better. Then after the units burned-in, they sounded really deep and more "gooey"! I don't know how close these need to be to the originals or more expensive clones to be useful to everyone, but if you want high-end sheen and smoothness for your digital recordings and are getting nowhere with plugins alone, then these are your very soft and airy friends.

I put a pair of these equalizers between the preamp and amp of my audio system (Accuphase electronics, Von Schweikert speakers) to eliminate a bit of upper bass bloat in my listening room. The "Pultec low end trick" of simultaneously boosting and cutting the bass worked great. The units are solidly built and run cool to the touch, and the switches feel pretty good and aren't noisy when operated. The units do introduce a small amount of hiss, but you need to put your ear up to the tweeters to hear it. Imaging and soundstaging are unaffected. All in all, I'm extremely pleased with this purchase.

NOTE: I can't compare to the original or high end clones.... BUT... While this sounded pretty good stock, I had a few old tubes laying around and it did smooth out the top-end a bit (this will vary by the tubes used, of course. Mine were GE AU and a "made in Britain" AX tube that had almost all markings wiped off over time...). I know that EQ isn't super required on the way in, unless you're not at all in the box, but for vocals, this thing adds a bit of mojo to my chain, for sure.

Pros:-Sounds great - nice subtle EQ that I like at every setting I've tried.-Knobs are all stepped so recalling or matching settings on a second unit is really easy.-power and bypass switches are nice and thocky, really satisfying to flip.Cons:-they peobably wont come fully level matched, I bought 2 and one was around 0.7db louder than the other. Not a big deal (or anything new for analog gear) just put a test oscillator and dual mono gain plugin through them, match the levels, save a preset, and you're in business.-some of the knobs feel really cheap.-might be more subtle of an effect than some would think.Overall great for the price, probably won't last forever but hey its a decent EQP for less than $500 a piece.

Using this as the final portion of my hardware vox chain pre coming into the box. using a mic > WA73EQ > WA76 > EQP-KT. gives me a great sound once dialed in appropriately. add an SSL channel strip to fine tune how the vocals need to sit int he mix and we're golden. unbelievable price. Matches up decently well with the original Pultec based on comparison videos and listening via decent studio monitors. the difference is slight in comparison but definitely not worth the more than 10x the price. i'm down for marginally diminishing returns in terms of squeezing out the extra 2-5% (to get to 98%) but the last 2% is wayyyy beyond the price range i'm willing to put down and in the end, in the mix, is probably indistinguishable to most, and definitely all casual listeners. PS, only using it on vox.

The media could not be loaded. Love klark products,go analog or go home...sounds awesome!!shipping was normal..came packaged pretty good no damage.im impressed with klark teknik products,bought the 1176 and the 2a clones!

Received a defected unit and customer service was extremely difficult and unfriendly. To ensure it was user error, I bypassed the unit and patched my other outboard gear and everything worked perfectly. As soon as I added it back to my chain it stopped working. I should have avoided being cheap and paid the extra money for the Warm audio unit.

I saw these on one of my recording groups and decided to give it a try. It was between this and the Warm Audio version and I gave this a shot because of the price point. I changed the tube to a Tung-Sol and although it sounded great before, it really adds some girth to whatever you apply it to. My kick drums sound Godly when I apply this EQ coupled with a compressor. My bass sound enormous and well rounded without becoming boomy. This is probably the best addition to my studio in years. Of course I have the plug-ins in my DAW and live mixer (Midas MR-18) but there is a warmth that this gives that is hard to emulate digitally. I am yet to try this on my mastering bus, but I am confident that I won't be disappointed.