Quote Originally Posted by hermanv
Ah ha! Found the disconnect. I have slowly been able to upgrade my systems to pretty good stuff. Equipment made by people who have reputations for first class (we'll maybe second class ) equipment. For the most part I am loath to attempt to improve on this stuff. At the price points I've paid one can and should expect that there is no free low hanging fruit.

Things may have changed but the analog 1/3 octave equalizers I've heard in the past sounded like crap. They were so far from acceptable that I've never bothered to listen again. Perhaps a mistake, but I'm happy in my world.
Alesis makes a damn good analog constant q equalizers. As does Rane. Both make extremely well made eq's that are a value. They are ultra quiet, pretty flexible, and totally reliable. I used Alesis in my studio for years and got their last version before they went all digital.