Rockville REQ42-B Dual 21-Band Graphic Equalizer, 19" Rack Mount, RCA In/Out, 3.5mm MP3 Input, LED Indicators, VU Meters, for Studio and Live Sound

Of course, this is not the best of the home equalizer I have owned. This is the cheapest of them as I paid a lot more for the other ones. Simply, it does its job and I like it. Too many bands to adjust compare to my old ones (I still have one of them in use), therefore it is just a matter of practice to get used to that many controls to adjust. The spectrum analyzer is just an indicator of the input level not by frequencies but the overall sound, that is why it moves all the bars the same way always but it really responds to the overall sound input level. Another thing, most of the superior equalizers for sale, are more suitable for PA systems not necessarily for your home system but this one is. Even some people criticized the instruction manual, I don't need any kind of instructions to set up an equalizer to my home system, it is so basic. Recommended product for those who don't want to spend a lot of money and have some kind of experience in setting home stereo equipment instinctively, no instructions.

Not a bad product ...actually it is very usefull : I match it with my vintage Pioneer tube SX-34 to compensate for the speaker low range side. Pros - the 21 band equalizer is pretty linear. Don't really care about the graphics since that is more of just a signal indicator. The slider pots are simple . For proper usage , use direct first to understand the baseline sound and then start with flat settings on the equalizer. There from there do some fine adjustments if needed. Cons - that blue LED is sometimes annoying at night , but not sometimes it is good too to know if adjustments is correct. I wish they add an override control on those. The graphic equalizer display is just for level indicator not really a spectrum analyzer . Still this is a pretty good equalizer .

July 2023 // This EQ sounds great in my system. The only thing I see that I don't care for is the operation of the cheesy Level meter. It looks like a Spectrum Analyzer but only bounces up and down based on the input level and band settings. I would prefer a regular VU meter...LED or analog... the way this meter works cheapens the look of the unit to those of us that can grasp what it is actually doing. Despite what I see as a single flaw, It is a great little unit for the price. // Now November 26, 2023... After only 4 months the first of the level markers on the sliders has failed. I guess poor construction practices are a sign of the time.... Now 10 months later...on my second unit an on this one, way worse, all the spider lights are on and off all the time. Still sounds great, but lets be real....need to look like quality as well. Nov 30,2024- the left channel went static and failed. Not going to try a forth unit. Think I'll just trash this POS and look for one that offers at least for quality. DON'T BUY THIS!!!!!!!!!

This is not a normal EQ setup. It has no line in line out tape playback/ tape record. Instead yo hook your components straight into the EQ. The there are 2 sets of outputs. I have one going to my amp and the other to a cassette player on a old analog system. I also added a bluetooth reciever to it and it works great. The problem with this is the dumbest stupidly engineered fake spectrum analyzer! What in the hell were they thinking? It pretty much does whatever it wants? Changes colors changes position from normal bottom up to top down? Dumbest thing Ive ever seen! And no way to change or control it? Other than that BS it works fine and sounds ok for what Im using it for. Adjusts the sound just fine. And only 70 dollars. Im good with it.

My prior EQ has been on onr stereo unit of mine or another for 40 years! A few years ago, it started giving me problems and I bought another EQ which really let me down to the point where even though the old one was flaky, I connected it back to my stereo. But it was time to say goodbye. I purchased this one and got it the other day. I like having all the bands to shape the sound as you desire and also the fact that you can control each speaker separately with two separate bound waves. The blue lights are cool looking but I would admit that would be nice to be able to dim them or shut them off, as they are staring back at me and are very, very bright! But it sounds good. I didn't think an EQ made that much difference on the sound as far as the unit itself, but after buying the other one that I pulled back out of the system, I found out that it does! I've only had it a couple days - but so far, so good. Hopefully, I will get many years of use out of it. I would love to purchase a fully remote control unit one day if they have them. But other than that, it seems like a really good unit at a very fair price!

Having an all-silver component setup, it was nice to find something in a matching color with lots of pretty lights on it to add to my system. However, that's about all this EQ is - pretty lights. The sound quality overall isn't bad, but when the EQ is enabled, there is a high pitched background noise coming through the speakers. I know it's not an issue with any other component in my system because it doesn't come through when the EQ is disabled (set to 'direct' on the system) and wasn't present before I added this unit into the mix. I tried different inputs, changing out cables, setting all of the sliders to 0, etc. but it's definitely an issue with the wiring/grounding in the EQ portion of the unit itself. It's not noticeable when a loud song is playing but is intolerable during quiet portions or when nothing is playing. As other have said, the LED's on the sliders vary in brightness (and the brightest ones are very bright) so that's a drawback on an otherwise quality appearance. Many of them also crackle when being adjusted - nothing some pot cleaner wouldn't fix - but brand new out of the box there shouldn't be any oxidation on the contacts so that's another issue for my unit. I was also disappointed that the spectrum analyzer is only four bars on the right side of the display (nothing is displayed on the left side, seems a waste of space) and there is no customization - it cycles through different display modes on its own accord but doesn't allow you to select one of your choosing. In the user manual, it says it features dual VU meters. If there is a way to display a second one on the left side, it doesn't say how in the manual and all of my fidgeting with the buttons didn't make it happen either. Overall, it's not a bad product for the money, but it isn't without it's problems and a high-pitched background noise is not worth the improved sound otherwise. It may just be my unit with a loose connection inside somewhere but I'm not going to open it up to try and fix it. I'll give it a few more days to see if it's the type of issue to subside over time but I suspect I'll be returning it and shelling out a bit more for an Akai EA-A7 I was eying up before I pulled the trigger on this...

Frustrated with the quality of music from several surround systems I have had that were made for movies, I restored my Cerwin Vega AT-10s and purchased a Yamaha receiver to play my tunes. I don't consider myself an audiophile. I just like loud, clean music with plenty of low-end (which is why I restored the Vegas). I purchased an Esinkin Bluetooth audio adapter and the Rockville RQ42-B because I wasn't pleased with the bass response from only the receiver. Not being very knowledgeable of how to get more bass, I took a chance on the Rockville equalizer. I am extremely satisfied. I read all the reviews about the plastic feel of the sliders. They do feel a bit flimsy but I rarely adjust them after my initial set-up. Also, there is not much "play" with each slider since they are so small. The slider lights are bright but not distracting for me. The LED display appears to be purely for show and does not indicate a level of any band. I have my Bluetooth connected to the equalizer and the equalizer to the receiver so I can play music from my phone. It works flawlessly. I can rock out the house cleanly and annoy my wife and neighbors with great stereo sound. If you are on a small budget and want to improve your sound, get the Rockville RQ42.

Nice and inexpensive equalizer with bright blue LEDs which match my setup so I was happy… The meter is a bit strange. Looks like a Frequency Analyzer but it isnt… the slightly more expensive version has an analyzer which I would have purchased had I known it existed but considering how badly its advertised on this site its a wonder I found it at all… So … Its nice eye candy and has some EQ uses but would have been so much more effective with a remote for all the separate inputs the unit has, though I did find a way to route it through the line in/out on my modern Yamaha Receiver so I can use it to modify all aspects of the sound in my system… You get a lot for the small cost, but I would have paid more if, again, it had a remote like all my other components do…