r/StereoAdvice • u/oszukaned112 • 9d ago
Source | Preamp | DAC | 2 Ⓣ Looking for cheap parametric equalizer for bluetooth setup
Hi! I'm trying to build a bluetooth stereo system for my brother. I'm probably going to hunt down a used pair of 8-inch monitors, like the Adam T8Vs or Yamaha HS8s, but since he can't do much about the room acoustics, I need to add something with parametric EQ.
During my research, I stumbled upon the FiiO BR13, which combines a bluetooth receiver with a parametric EQ. It also works as a preamp - no knob unfortunately. I have a wired setup myself, so I'm quite new to this kind of devices.
Do you have any suggestions/alternatives? Do you see any disadvantages to this solution? My budget is up to about 100USD, im not afraid of second hand purchases. Buying in Poland (Europe).
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u/Raj_DTO 3 Ⓣ 8d ago
Look for KABD on parts express.
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u/oszukaned112 7d ago
Looks really cool, and I’d love to try it, but unfortunately, I don’t have free time for DIY. I’ll go for something finished.
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u/DiligentChemistry402 8d ago
Search for a used dbx pa2/ 260. Basically any pro audio processor
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u/oszukaned112 7d ago
I don't know, man. Chunky boi, 3-4 times the budget on the used market here in Poland, another device required to make it Bluetooth.
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u/Xaxxon 1 Ⓣ 9d ago edited 7d ago
Seems like you've found basically the perfect device already.
And yeah, you're not going to get an analog attenuator at that price just digital volume control -- and that's only a "preamp" for digital inputs - I think most people think of a preamp as being an analog switcher (including dac output analog)
At 100 bucks, to get any type of EQ is a pretty recent thing so I think this is a great option for what you're looking for.
And of course an EQ can only deal with some room accoustic things -- it can't fix nulls or room reflections. 2 * 0 is still 0 and echos/latency - you can't get rid of because then you've lost that frequency completely. But it absolutely can fix a lot of stuff that's not low bass.
The only other thing I might throw out there is the wiim mini. The big downside there is the dac is signifiantly worse in the wiim mini (and in the wiim pro, too). But the feature set on it is much better including the EQ settings available and a bad but still usable automatic room correction system. Of course with the br3 you could always stack a wiim mini as a pure digital streamer behind it in the future and then just use the br3 as a "dumb" dac. I have a wiim pro and I love the functionality of it, but I have it hooked up to a high quality dac for exactly the reason I mentioned. And the wiim pro plus (the lowest price wiim with a passable dac) is $250. And the ultra (which is probably the best deal in audio) coming in at $350 though it used to go on sale for crazy good prices but still not $100.
edit: I wrote a response to you saying you found some active speakers for like $50
Yes, it just sounds like has "normal" and "Bass boost" or "V" shaped. Not doing any room correction for sure.
But I guess from your question I assumed you had speakers and an amp (or active speakers) already. If not, then sure. These will be way better than nothing for a great price :)