DIYRE EQP5 Passive Equalizer Kit - 500 series SS Pultec

They are probably the same as those on every other kit i've gotten from them, and they do step.  they aren't chunking through like a capi pot, but they certainly are countable and stereo-able.  

I ordered a pair, can't wait to build them. If you give me some sort of cliff's notes on confirming the stereo capabilities, EmRR , I'd be happy to test for you. Anyone know what the doa/transformer add on cost will be? at least this'll reduce sticker shock in a few months. It'll also give me more stuff to build

Please keep us posted on your impressions of the kit, build and sound. I have my eye on this one, too and I'm waiting to see/hear some real world reviews of it.

Any luck getting it completed? I saw they now have the Vintage output bundle available now, too. Would love to hear what you think of the build and sound. 

www.diyrecordingequipment.com/products/eqp5-vintage-output-bundle 

Ordered a pair of these last night. Going to drop a Jeff's Litz 2503's in with Gar2520's and rig a switch to flip the analog circuit in and out. Peterson mentioned to me that they've set these up so the 2503 can be dropped right in with a couple of dummy pads because of a couple of extra wires from the 2503. I'm hoping I can get a schematic at some point to see if the circuit can be further modded to taste, but, for now I think my plans should suffice.

The reason for being able to switch in and out the analog circuit for me is palette choices on mixes. I'm just going to hardwire these into my buss following my VP28's, so depending on the mix I may not need any color from the eq's, just detailed transparency. These really are what I've been looking for to go on my buss. I'm not a fan of being stuck with or without coloration in a pultec style eq. These come along at a staggering $199 price point and offer me a way to switch and out of color with what I'm hoping is a classic pultec eq bump and lift.

Most likely I'll make my own thread detailing how I set these up and my own thoughts/impressions on the build and sonics. And, I'll be able to detail any mods I choose for my own needs.

-Jerome

I got mine all built and calibrated and after listening for a while I can report that these do exactly what a pultec does, and they do it extremely well. I mean, extremely well. I honestly couldn't believe my ears, for something that is priced that low and is that simple of a build, I was totally not expecting that. 

I will say though, I've done some mod's here. I put in a pair of Jeff's Litz 2503's and also swapped out the NE5532's for OPA2134's. I'm not really sure how the signal is routed, but even in the mode for the DOA/Transformer the IC opamps lend themselves pretty heavily to the sound of the EQ. For me, the OPA2134 is simply just an opamp I'm familiar with and trust, and for me if helped to settle the lowend down and tightened it as well. The 2134's also smoothed out the topend. What I can say though, is if you're just going the IC route you might want to keep the NE5532's because to me they seemed a bit move lively, not punchy, but more lively and aggressive. I am going to go on and order in some OPA16XX series opamps to throw in because they'll smooth the top out even more and also give a little warmer tone. I've also already ordered a pair of Scott's 1731's that will be here Monday, so I can tell you with absolute certainty the sound is just going to improve even more. 

So, as of right now, I'm running them with the stock values on resistors and caps. I have the 2503 Litz, the OP2134's and GAR2520's. I've set my Q to 2.5k which on my boards is a shade over 2 o'clock, running them pretty broad, and probably am going to go even broader.

I think what really grabs me the most here is just how punchy these are. There is a ton of headroom and throw on these knobs as well. I'm using them on my mixbuss and just 15 notches (maybe 9 o'clock?) on both the low gain and low cut makes the mix clear, keep the meat, adds some very nice sub and is just punchy as hell. On the topend basically the same levels and on 10k and nothing shrill, nothing stingy, just a nice smooth lift that's incredibly musical. 

So, obviously you can see that I'm blown away here, and I'd have to rate these eq's in the price range of say a $700-$1k per channel pultec. 
Pricing out my versions: $199 kit | $40 2503L | $20 GAR 2520 | $10 misc parts. When Scotts 1731 arrives you can add about $50 to that total. 

I stated above I was going to incorporate a switch to flip between SS and DOA's but after surveying how much real estate I have on the front panel and inside, it's just not worth my time to do that. Maybe at some point I will, but I'm really happy with them in just DOA mode. 

I also want to make another note here, the customer service from Peterson was first class. A good guy and I'm going to take a hard look at more of his products and see if there is anything else I could use, I appreciate people that care, Peterson does. Also another note, the freaking packaging these came in was top notch, everything labeled so clearly and easily I was able to build these in less than 2 hours a unit, that includes dialing in and testing. 

Great job on this and I'm for certain getting a few more soon. 

- Jerome

Files added^^

I've got to comment again after using these nearly every day. To trust something on my mix buss is like trusting a plane or car that I'm making a voyage in. It's the last link in the chain, everything I've worked hard to create can either be enhanced, retained or destroyed by it. I can tell you these are now hardwired into my buss chain. I had it so they were an insert at first, but now because of more control over gain staging, the ability to "drive" the circuit, I've put these behind my VP28's. My chain now is Antelope Satori Summing buss > VP28's > EQP5's > Lavry Black AD10.

The best I've found with this is at the start of every mix zero them out, and put them into bypass and mix. I get my balance and mix where I want it, then I pull up a reference track of what the producer or artist has asked me sonically match and I use these eq's to add and subtract the top and bottom until it's there, and it's incredibly accurate and pure, but also adds another dose of rounding and saturation because of the tranny and SL1731. I really never thought I'd actually hardwire them into my buss, it was what my idea was but I was expecting them to not be worthy to live there, but this is a prime example of why simple circuits seem to always be some of the best. There are literally a handful of parts in the eq's and every component is the highest quality, and they can do that because there are so few components. I'd really love to see more and more of designers doing this, designing very simple and keeping in mind purity of the signal path.

I'm going to build another pair, one for vocal and another for bass. I imagine these will get treated with SL Red Dots and I might look into fitting the 16XX series of Burr Browns into them as well.

So, honeymoon is over, these are officially great EQ's.

The OPA2134 is definitely more easier sound. NE5532's are great, don't get me wrong, and I don't think they are a poor choice by any means in the original BOM, but for me I liked the more laid back and smoothness of the 2134. I'd say for sure going with either a SL1731 or SL 2520RD is a must. The Gar's are great, but they do put a bit of a veil on and for the buss that's something I don't want, I want color, saturation and glue, but I don't want a lack in my clarity. The SL1731 is the best I've found for these EQ's if you're going for punch, color and clarity.

The 2503 is the only transformer I tried, but I've always loved the sound of those transformers and it was easy since this EQ is setup to take the 2503. I went with the Litz version as well, just watch your wire color matching!

That's really all I can say. Just make sure when you order if you're going to go with a 2503 and your own choice of DOA to tell Peterson you need all the parts in the vintage upgrade, sans the tranny and DOA.

I'd also like to try BradM DOA's, but haven't had a chance to go over and buy any to try out, but it looks to be promising. 

Jerome

Brad I have two in the mail right now! Can't wait!

Very cool!  Did you order from DIYRE?  Looking forward to hearing your impressions.

It's a good thing I just put in an order for another 500!

Brad