A while back I posted about having trouble finding a software based equalizer for Windows (still nothing, BTW).
Evidently the hardware world is becoming as graphic-eq intolerant.
Somewhere over the weekend our stereo receiver lost a channel, so I dutifully trudged off this week to replace it. I’ve always been a Kenwood fan, as my first “real” stereo system was a Kenwood, purchased while working at a small mom and pop type retailer here in Holland.
Not sure if Kenwood’s market penetration is slipping, but I had trouble finding anyone selling them locally. Neither Best Buy nor Circuit City carried their products, although Circuit City had Kenwood ‘s name on their walls. I ended up at ABC Warehouse, an experience I would have avoided if I didn’t still own other Kenwood components that I wanted to be able to control with the same remote.
Of course you can’t buy just a simple “receiver” anymore, everything is video-enabled, designed to be part of a home theater system rather than the evidently old-fashioned notion of just listening to music. I don’t need all that stuff, so I bought the cheapest one I could get - which still has 6 output channels and more video switching capabilities than a small TV station needs.
What really bummed me out is that old “Tape 2 = Monitor” capability that used to allow using an external graphic equalizer is evidently now history. Not that I fiddled with my EQ hardly ever after getting it set, but I miss being able to make up for speaker and room deficiencies with more precise tonal control.
Guess I’ll just to have to throw the EQ out on the garage system….
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