Although I have yet to write up the latest additions to my system and the story behind them, I do have an Alpine ERE-G-190 in my system now.
With my CD's varying wildly in recording quality, musical content and what parts get emphasized for bass, vocals and higher notes, having this parametric EQ with standard knobs that are easy to turn while driving is something that goes in the category of ESSENTIAL for my listening pleasure. I dialed up the bass level, adjusted the bass center frequency as well as the affected frequency width on the deck as well as set the parametric functions on the EQ up to enable the three frequency level knobs to have the range of flexibility I needed for my system. Not enough boom-boom? No problem. Need more punch on the vocal track? There you go! Tweets sizzling too much? Drop 'em down a bit. No need to mess with menu-driven EQ's that some HU's have and that is hazardous to do when driving in any case.
Although I don't run a sub, this parametric equalizer has dedicated functions for handling a sub and for those of you who want to blend in your sub instead of going with pure bump-n-thump, you would likely enjoy the flexibility of this equalizer. Being a half-DIN size offers a chance for some of you to set it right under the deck, where it looks slick as it works. The lights can be set for on, off or moving along with the sound levels. The knobs go in or out, so you can push in the ones you set once and forget while leaving the ones out that you will adjust. Set up the way I have, the amount of physical adjustment with the knob is small for the amount of change you get, so if you have a fine hand in adjustments, you can have some fun dialing in the sound you want. If you screw the tonal qualities up, just set the knobs back to center and play around some more.
Also included is F/R fade. With so many of today's decks being tiny buttons and menus that are hard to deal with when driving, how nice it is to have old-fashioned knobs for functions like F/R fading.
The installer told me the parametric EQ would have minimal impact. My guess is that he doesn't know how to set one up or make use of it. If I had a person in my Cadillac, changed through the discs in the 12-disc changer and showed that person the variance of disc recording and what the parametric equalizer did to bring the best sound possible from each one in addition to the ease of use while driving, that person would be sold forever on the idea of having a knob-operated parametric EQ unit. I was honestly shocked at how well the EQ worked out and it's a blast to play with as I go down the road!
Rick