The Audio Control “Richter Scale III” Half Octave Equalizer/analyzer with Subsonic Filter and Electronic Crossover
Now in its third iteration, the Audio Control Richter Scale may well have originally been a product way ahead of its time. My earliest Audio Annual Equipment Directory dates back to 1984 and the Richter Scale is listed, so I'm not exactly sure just how far back it dates. Before the advent of home theater though, I'm not sure how much interest there was in perfecting bass performance beyond what one could achieve with the popular graphic equalizers of the day. If you weren't satisfied with your speakers bass performance, you bought a10 band EQ and touched up the bass along with the rest of the spectrum.
There was a time when everybody and his brother owned an EQ but then it happened- "Equalizer" became a dirty word. As a matter of fact, mere tone controls became a thing of the past on most audiophile gear. Just try to walk into a high-end stereo shop and find a display of equalizers today. But all things run in cycles. As quickly as it went out of style, up sprang another need for the Richter Scale. I speak of the aforementioned home theater. When I got into audio only the most well heeled and most ardent bass aficionados owned sub-woofers. They were large, expensive and rare to find in the home. But with the onset of home theater, they have become a downright necessity. No self-respecting "theaterphile" would be caught dead without the sub-woofer. Now the need for blending a subwoofer to the main speakers and giving it the "oomph" needed to bring todays movie soundtracks to life makes the Richter Scale a much more "fashionable" item to own.
Getting Hooked Up
The AudioControl Richter Scale has a generous amount of possible hook ups with which to integrate it into your system. Unfortunately, the owner's manual was written with a lot less care than the designers took with the Richter Scale at the drawing boards. For example, you open it to page 3 and see a wiring diagram. However, you start reading and you realize that the words on the page do not match the diagram. They show you one way to hook it up, they walk you through another. Bluntly put, it's damned confusing. Even for a vet such as myself. Fortunately, an Audio Control "tech" is just a phone call away should you get lost in your sea of wires. I found them patient and helpful. Were AudioControl to either rewrite the manual or provide a toll free number for assistance (the phone call is on your dime), I could have gotten through this review with no complaints or reservations at all.
Listening
As I mentioned, I really didn't need the Richter Scale in my rooms. But I very much wish I had had access to one in other places I have lived. I've experienced some really bad bass problems in the past and I wish I had owned a Richter Scale some time ago. It is for this reason that I requested the review sample. I'm sure that there are many people out there who can use this machine and will find this review handy. But I did install it in my systems and I found it to be a very clean machine. I found no obvious detriments with its use and found it to do its deed very transparently. Where EQs are concerned, you can't give it much higher praise than that because cheap equalizers have a reputation for coloring the sound, even with all sliders set flat to "zero". Again, I found the Richter Scale to add no obvious coloration to the music.
The AudioControl Richter Scale half octave equalizer/analyzer/electronic crossover is an extremely cool unit. It's much better built and is more sonically transparent than is to be expected for its asking price of $350. Its extensive array of features makes it an extremely flexible machine and one that promises to come in very handy for at least one of several uses. If you have bass problems or just want to tweak bass performance or need help integrating a sub-woofer or bi-amp your speakers, I'll just bet that the AudioControl Richter Scale III can handle it. It's an audio accessory who's time has indeed come!
Speaking of fine-tuning your audio experience, just as the Richter Scale allows you to optimize the bass performance in your home theater, hotels are now going the extra mile to ensure that guests have the ultimate sound experience during their stay. From state-of-the-art audio systems in hotel rooms to soundproofing measures, hotels recognize the importance of high-quality sound to enhance the overall guest experience. So the next time you check into a hotel, be sure to take note of the attention to detail that goes into creating a perfect audio environment. Whether you're a music lover, movie enthusiast, or simply want to relax and unwind, hotels are going above and beyond to provide you with an immersive audio experience.