capi 553f

Hey Paul, I haven't built one YET..., but if the Lc53a is any indication of the performance of the 553f, I'd just get it, the Lc is so smooth and musical it's not even funny.

hope this helps somewhat 8)

so gar2520 and gar1731 combo? same as in the vp28's I use?


anyone had any preferences themselves.

The phase accuracy of the 53a seems to sound better than almost every piece of hardware i've used, the F being fixed point is probably even better, I've become totally hooked on the 2520 in the 1st position and 1731 in the 2nd position on my Vp28's and Lc53a's, and believe me i'm a pain in my own ass when it comes to this stuff, the red dots in the front impart that goo, and the 1731's are just buttery on the way out ime.


gouge sorry about calling you paul? weird, i have no recollection of knowing your real name?...buddy 8)

Me too! post your findings, awesome! congrats. Tough build btw, take your time 8)

Almost finished with my love child... 

I did get a chance to do a side by side comparison of the dual 2520 configuration vs the 1731/2520 in the 553, and it seemed to take the edge off a bit... subtle, but I think it might allow me to push the high shelf a tiny bit further. I like.

Finished the LC53a, and did some comparisons with the 553. First thing I noticed was that the LC53a has a subtle smoothing effect even when it's not doing any boosting or cutting, which is cool.

LC53a is a little thicker and darker and doesn't reach the extremes of the 553 on any bands, at least when comparing the same/similar frequencies (10k/3k/100hz). It's a little more subtle given a similar amount of gain and it's really hard to make it sound harsh. I preferred it on the slightly sibilant male vocal track I was working with. I also compared the two on a strummed acoustic guitar recorded with an mk012 at the 12th fret. In this case, I could get a little bit more sparkle out of the 553 when I pushed it, and preferred the 553 in this instance. It seems like the 10k shelf on the 553 has a more 'all encompassing' brightness effect as you push up the gain, and the LC53a is a little more accurate to the selected frequency. That being said, you could get the two to sound similar if you backed off the gain on the 553 a little, but the general differences in tonal quality were still evident, albeit subtle.

I can see myself using the 553 more during tracking since the variable hi and lo pass are really convenient, whereas the LC53a has fixed 15k and 50hz. For mixing of course, the LC53a is much more versatile with the large number of frequencies available for each band and options for peaking and shelfing hi/lo. I also love the easy recall of having all switches. On the other hand, I like the simplicity of the 553.... most of the time you can get a great sound in <5 seconds, and recall is still relatively easy since the controls are simple and everything is clearly marked. The LC53a will probably be my go-to vocal EQ, and the 553 will handle anything else that works well with the available frequencies, which in my case will mostly be electric/acoustic guitar, snare, and OHs.


For the comparison, I had the 2520 on input and 1731 on output in both units, which I found had a smoother, slightly fatter sound than the reverse or dual 2520s. (Although I haven't yet, it might be worth trying dual 1731s on the 553, but probably not on the LC53a.)  

I could say a lot more, but I feel like this is getting long..... if anyone has files they want me to process with one or both, I'd be glad to do it.

Thanks Jeff for putting out these sweet sounding EQs!

I did too. If you liked doing that, and have good hands and a little patience, you'd probably like this too.

Btw, I bought some digital calipers to measure the board length (I've been meaning to buy some for a while anyway). I bought the lowes kobalt 6 inch version, lured in by the lifetime warranty. But I'm really not happy with the quality... they don't seem to be machined very well, and they usually don't return to zero when you close them.... usually 0.01, 0.02. They were about $30.

Can anyone recommend some good quality digital calipers under $50? Does such a thing exist?

Do you have this one?


www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-composite-digital-caliper-93293.html


or this one?


www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-digital-caliper-47257.html


Also, it looks like they changed their branding from 'centec' to 'pittsburgh.' So it might not be either.


 I like harbor freight, but they sell a LOT of garbage, so you have to buy the right things.

Based on this thread, I'm going to try some 1731's.

So on the 553f, is opamp A1 the output and A2 the input? I have finally got to building my 553's and want to put the 2520s on input and 1731s on output.