An optical signal modulated with a stream of symbols comprising a sequence of training symbols is received at a receiver. First equalizer circuitry calculates and applies first coefficients to digital signals representative of the optical signal, thereby resulting in first compensated signals. Second equalizer circuitry calculates second coefficients based on a correlation between the first compensated signals and digital signals representative of the sequence of training symbols and applies the second coefficients to the first compensated signals, thereby resulting in second compensated signals. Third equalizer circuitry calculates and applies third coefficients to the second compensated signals, thereby resulting in third compensated signals. The first, second, and third coefficients compensate for impairments in the optical signal varying at respective first, second, and third rates, where the third rate is higher than the first rate and lower than the second rate.