ART EQ-355 Dual Channel 31-Band Graphic Equalizer

No offense to the folks at Applied Research & Technology (ART), but the EQ-355 graphic equalizer was disappointing to me. I ordered it new from my favorite pro audio retailer, received it in seemingly pristine condition, hooked it up, tried it out, then did something I'd never done before—went to the hassle of returning something I'd purchased over the Internet.

I had three gripes with the EQ-355:

• One knob (of many) was hard to turn, which left me suspicous of the overall build quality.
• The thing buzzed—purred?—annoyingly. It wasn't loud enough to be a problem on playback (in most circumstances), but I wanted to use the EQ-355 for recording acoustic music in close quarters. According to the manual, one of the switches on the back of the unit can be used to eliminate a certain kind of extraneous noise, but that switch did not solve my problem.
• The sound quality was just so-so.

The EQ-355 performs as advertised, I suppose, but it didn't improve my set-up sufficiently to justify my $147 outlay (not including shipping).

I don't mean to suggest that the EQ-355 is a piece of junk. Not at all. But if you're discriminating enough of an audiophile to feel that you need a 31-band equalizer, and especially if you have intentions of using it for recording purposes, I would suggest that you proceed with caution as regards the EQ-355.