Shopping for a receiver

[root]

It is harder and harder for me to understand speech on TV audio.
I would like to be able to insert an equalizer into the audio
playback. Old receivers used to run the pre-amp output and the
amp input out the back. As shipped, the outputs and inputs were
shorted together but the short could be removed and an equalizer
inserted into the loop. Are there any HDMI compatible receivers
that offer that feature?

Also, I have been looking for a receiver that offers HD radio
and I haven't found any.

Any suggestions?
Thanks.

 

[Robert Macy]

...snip...
Good electrostatic speakers ( eg Quad) can have THD levels of 0.03%, evenat
96dB SPL at 1 metre.

...  Phil

True, electrostatic speakers seem to provide the best performance for
the buck. Back in the 70's there was an engineer that lived in the
eastbay, Fremont, CA area that made sets of electrostatic speakers
using readily available materials, standard tools, and kitchen
appliances. His resulting speakers were 'metalized' mylar shrunk in
his oven over a framework. Can't remember his name, and lost all
archival records in the 8 HD crashes we went through. Anybody know who
this man was?

As part of his development during the project, he had taken his
speakers to JBL(?) in the midwest for testing in their lab and found
that at most levels distortion was barely measurable, at 120dB(?)
something like 0.1%, and at 140dB just above 1%. The main problem he
ran into was the 'beaming' effect caused by the size of the diaphragm.
To minimize that beaming, he actually split the audio into several
spectral bands and then drove strips of different widths on the
speakers in order to minimize the effect. Higher frequency narrow
strip.

These speakers in combination with 'direct' recordings gave you an
incredible listening experience. It literally was like sitting next to
the original musician(s) while they werre playing, but they had
recorded many years prior.

Sadly, I never saw the speakers marketed, nor any DIY projects for
building them yourself. Anybody see such?