Cigars n scotch -

There is a lot of opinions on what substantiates "need". I think really when it comes right down to it, the "need" is control. How much control is up for lots of debate. Different brands place different emphasis on features and that can become a rainbow of items. At the core, you should look at

- How easy is it to volume up and down the tower zone from a safety point of view. If you have a rider on and drop them, you want to be able to easily adjust tower volume.
- Do you want to be able to plug in an iPod into a device located close to the helm?
- does your source deck need a little help voltage wise? (most factory decks do). Most new upper scale ones, don't.
- Do you want to be able to fade between zones? tower to cabin etc?
- Do you want independent control of your sub?

Just about everyone of the things on this list can be accomplished by other means. These preamp eq's just bundle it all into one box. I think thats the bottom line. As your system becomes more elaborate, these devices become increasingly important because of their functionality. On the other hand if you have a simple system and wanna keep it that way, I agree with KG... put an LC1 knob on the dash and use it to volume up and down the tower zone. Nothng wrong with the k.i.s.s. method.

-Brian
Exile Audio