Should I dig out my EQ?

83Hertz

Well-Known Member
Buried somewhere in our storage unit I have an RCA brand EQ from radio shack, likely from the late 1990's. I'm wondering if it would be worth the time and energy to dig it out and use it with my system... technics SL-BD10 TT, Pioneer SX-4 receiver, Realistic Minimus-7 speakers. I like how it sounds now, and it would require a lot of digging to find the box the EQ is hiding in... but then again I'm intrigued by the possibility of making it sound better...

Your thoughts?
 
Welcome to AK

If your goal is to boost the bass you must be very careful boosting the bass on the Minimus 7. When you boost the bass the amp can clip very quickly. Minimus 7's woofers in my experience do not handle a clipped signal for very long. If you desire more bass, a small powered sub might be a better choice. Sold Minimus 7's for 15+ years and replaced dozens of the 4" woofers. Mine sound nice with an older Optimus passive sub.
 
Unless you have access to a good quality microphone and room correction software, if it's a hassle I wouldn't bother. That's if you're going for "flat" response. If you just want to play with the sound (nothing wrong with that) go ahead.
 
Thanks for the input!

More specifics:
I'm not looking for more bass, I'm actually surprised at the bass response of these little speakers! When I was a teen I was an acousticly-dumb bass nut, but as I've matured I've come to appreciate a more balanced, natural sound... I'm also not looking for a technically flat response. I'm looking for what sounds good to my ears- in other words, I would just want to tinker with the sound... Another piece of the puzzle is that I should probably clean out the storage unit anyway and get rid of some useless junk...
 
An EQ can make or break a system.

Done right = make
Done wrong = break
Wrong = any attempt to use without doing your homework
Homework = software analysis, baffles traps etc, and finally a software DSP tweak.

PS ... bass is a lot more complex than most folk give credit for. A slight tweak in one narrow range can bring out an instrument that had been hiding, while burying several others. That's where a DSP solution shines, and you can tweak very specific and narrow problem areas without losing any music.
 
Music is an emotional experience for me, not a technical one. I don't really care about the specs, as long as it sounds good. Of course, I'm not gonna drive a 40 watt speaker with a 400 watt amp, so I guess on some level I do care about specs, and I do know better sound comes from equipment with better specs, but I don't obsess over the numbers. So I guess my question is can I make effective changes using my EQ, the two "microphones" on the sides of my head, and the "processor" inside it?

I'm not worried about physical damage to my speakers. I don't play my music very loud, and I can't stand any amount of clipping/distortion, it stands out like a sore thumb to me, and I avoid it like the plague... even in my bass-happy teenage years I would routinely turn down the bass or volume on friend's systems until the ugliness went away...
 
IMG_3907.JPG I found it, and the signal cables were in the same box, but now that I see it, I don't think it fits visually with the rest of the system- it looks too modern.
 
It's all relative. To me your whole rig looks too modern while others would find it retro. But since you just want it to sound good why should you care? Function before beauty is my motto - you?
 
Thanks for all the input! I do think that form follows function, but not too far behind... if I felt that the EQ added a lot to my listening experience I'd run it, but after playing around with it for a while I found I actually prefer the sound without the EQ. To me there is enough of a difference in style and not enough improvement in sound to tip my scales towards not using the EQ.
 
Just the act of adding an additional device to your string of devices opens up the possibility for more negative problems. It is the "Less is More" theory.
 
I agree- less is more! Like driving a carbureted truck because it's way less complicated than the new technology-packed junk I have to work on all day...
 
To each their own. I never really felt the need for one. I had one for years but it was seldom used. It looked cool.
There are lots of ways to make your system sound different. That's not always the same as better, though.
 
Thanks for all the input! I do think that form follows function, but not too far behind... if I felt that the EQ added a lot to my listening experience I'd run it, but after playing around with it for a while I found I actually prefer the sound without the EQ. To me there is enough of a difference in style and not enough improvement in sound to tip my scales towards not using the EQ.

Concur.
 
If you have the flexability, move your speakers around first, IMO.
My main amps are without tone controls. Speaker positioning can do a lot. Many have thier speakers too close to front wall. Of course a lot of variables.
 
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I got one after a hearing test. My plan was to boost the frequencies that I had lost (6,000 Hz, R>L). It did work, to an extent but the graphic EQ's frequency bands didn't line up with my deficiencies and I worried about having the thing in my signal path. Why did I spend all that money on ICs only to interrupt them with this thing?

Maybe If I had gotten a parametric equalizer.......;^)
 
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