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Really silly equalizer question

arcorob

arcorob

Addicted Member
I know what an EQ does and I have used them before in varying capacities..but honest, do I need one ? Will I really gain something postive or just drive myself berserk tweaking and tuning evry littel sound ?:D

Seriously, this should spark a good topic...who has one and uses them ? Are the 'non-users' non-users because they feel the right setup should not require it ?

Thanks in advance...I have a shot to get a Aria EQ-522 10 band and wondered ..is it worth it ?
 
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One thing you can use an equalizer for is to fine tune a room to your speakers. The curtains you have hanging in a room, the hard flat surfaces, the sharp angles, the material you have on your sofa, all color the sound of a room. With a sound analyzer and white noise, you can match your system to the room. Once it is set, avoid temtation and cover the eq with a ventilated cover to lock it down.
 
Good question.
I used eq's forever. I liked the way they looked in the system for that 'hi-tech' appearance and something to play around with. I enjoy tweaking my junk if you know what I mean.
Eventually I realized that they were just not necessary. Another link in the chain. I don't use them anymore and don't miss 'em at all.

However, if you prefer to use one set it to flat at first. Adjust it in small increments for each frequency and listen. From experience I recommend not to set it to the 'smiley face' setting. I did that in my college years and liked the bass boost and squalking treble. Didn't really care about good fidelity, I guess, but thought my gear sounded great.

Now I have it all set to flat and realize that's the best my stereo can sound. it just takes a little time to get used to it.

Hope that helped!
 
Thanks....

What do you think about one like THIS ?

Thats if I even need it...I sort of have a perfect sound room (maybe a little bounce for being fairly empty)
 
I've got the big old Pioneer 12 but haven't used it in several years. It was just not necessary with the good equipment and speakers, and I expect it introduces loss with 12 crossovers (is that correct?) and pots that might introduce distortion. When I start to experience hearing loss, I will delay the worst a year or two by using it to compensate, but until then, it is just a pretty face on the shelf.
 
arcorob said:
What do you think about one like THIS ?

Thats if I even need it...I sort of have a perfect sound room (maybe a little bounce for being fairly empty)
Click to expand...

It's tempting to introduce pro-gear into ones system. I visited Sam Ash many times to look around. I don't think it would be worth it. Better to upgrade your speakers or power amp. :yes:
 
Years ago I had and used the standard 10 and 12 band equalizers. I also used range expanders, Sonic Holograms and subharmonic synthesizers. I slowly stopped using such devices. By the mid 80's I had none of those devices. My preamp didn't and still doesn't have tone controls.

Recently I started using a Behringer DSP DSP1124P only in the feed (from 85Hz down) to my sub woofers. I use it the same way I used an equalizer back then. I measure levels with a meter and adjust for the flattest response. Of course the tools are somewhat better. A 12 band digital parametric equalizer and the Room Equalization Wizard application provide more accuracy and make it a lot easier.

I have a dedicated acoustically treated room. The Behringer is a last resort for room problems that nothing else has been able to tame. The DSP1124P has allowed me to smooth the bass response and extend it to -3dB@18Hz. It's also +/-2dB to 85Hz.

There are three major things I don't understand about the way many use equalizers. First, using one as a constantly tweaked tone control is counterproductive. Second, setting one in the ubiquitous "smiley face" makes no sense. Third and last the bands on a 10 or 12 band Eq rarely if ever fall at the right frequencies to correct for room dependent response problems.
 
My take on an EQ:
an analog EQ will introduce more issues than it corrects, simply from issues like phase shift caused by the components within the EQ itself coloring the output.

Digital EQs don't suffer from this issue, and can be really handy for room acoustics correction. That said, I don't tend to use an EQ just for random aesthetic "sound shaping." I have a pair of speakers that use an EQ module to correct a couple of small issues in their design (KEF 104/2 mains with the Kube to extend low end and correct the midrange spike) and I have an AV receiver with another pair of 104/2s that has Audissey DSX room mcorrection (a form of EQing), but while I have a pair of Onkyo Integra EQ-35 units with 12+12 band analog EQing, I don't use them in the signal path.

In short, the simpler you can keep things, the less you'll alter the source material, and the better your result should be when that source material is amplified, reproduced, and reaches your ears. After all, you want it to sound like it did when it was recorded.. or most of us seem to in my experience.
 
PS if you want a pro EQ, look at something more like the Alesis DEQ30. It's a 30+30 band digital 1/3-octave EQ (pro-level XLR type stuff) available with RCA level and optical level in/out.
 
some do, some don't ...

If you've used them before you should already know or have a sense of what they can do.
And if you have to ask, you probably don't need one.

The reasons one may get one is curiosity, fun, or trying to address a weakness in their system without buying more expensive components.

As far as an interesting topic, you will get many on different sides of the topic depending on where there experience and evolution of their systems are. If you're interested all you have to do is do a search to find threads on equalizers, tone controls, loudness and get similar reasons why they do or do not like using them.

There are those who believe they don't need them because their systems sound great without them and they just add a layer of potential distortion between them and the music. And they can require more playing around with and space than they're worth.

There are those who feel it is an inexpensive tool to use with existing gear in place of room treatments or buying different more expensive equipment.
 
I've been using using EQ's in my large powerful systems for years, as really helps calm down bass room boom problems. I play several older recordings, that have way to much honking midrange, and helps a lot there. Same thing with many pop recordings, that have the bass way jacked up. My Audio Control includes a switched 18db/octave 20hz filter, that really helps out with TT feedback. The price of something like that alone, insn't exactly cheap.
 
Ya know

I don't really need one...my system sounds awesome..I think it was one of those "What can I add" moments...answer is ..Nothing...My components are awesome, I have every cleaning tool imaginable...Guess I'll save the money for albums. :-)
 
I never listen without an EQ.. I set it and forget it.. every now and then I'll have a recording that has problems, and I may change a couple things on the EQ to make it sound better, but after I am done listening I set it back to the way it was.. mostly used to tune for the room/overall sound..
 
I have one for "system vs room" correction. Also its important to realize, while various people think their system sounds "awesome" without EQ, this all well and good, but it changes with the varying volumes you may listen to music...
My system sounds "awesome" without EQ too, but unfortunately our hearing doesnt quite work like that.....

I use mine to fatten the system up when I'm listening to it at low levels...
If I have the system cranked, I often soften it up around our hearings most sensitive frequency.....
No two recordings are the same, and to maintain consistency a small amount of EQ can help this....
Often the sound of a recording may have something which can not really be noticed at lower levels, but when its cranked, sometimes little things can poke through and need adjusting.....
There are so many variables in music that I believe an EQ can be quite useful....
Only to be used sparingly, because shhhh, theres not much left in the world, so if you use too much there will be none left....:D

I use a BSS FCS 926 Varicurve. Its a stereo 6 band parametric EQ. It actually has analogue filters which are digitally controlled.
It has an RTA, a pink noise generator output (mic level). It also has 50 memory presets
It has a remote control (wired) as well which works through an interface, which uses BSS's own protocol over midi of all things....
The remote can control up to 16 Varicurves at once.
They came out in about 1994 and have recently been discontinued....
I have been using them since then, they are possibly the best sounding EQ I have ever used, and in my job I have been fortunate enough to have used almost everything....
Heres the Varicurve EQ sitting on top of my BSS FDS360 crossover
p1070174n.jpg

p1070172x.jpg

This is the remote, which sits next to me on the couch in the listening sweet spot....
p1070171d.jpg


Other brands I recommend.....
Graphics, are XTA GQ600, Klark Teknik DN3600, DN360, DN27, BSS FCS960.
Parametric I like are , the BSS Varicurve FCS926, Meyer CP10.....
 
If i must, i like the old fashioned route myself. The parametrics are Klark Teknik DN-405's rebadged, and repackaged as Altecs.

But, acoustic anomalies are best met with acoustic solutions where possible.

eq.jpg
 
Used one maybe once?

I do remember using an EQ maybe once to correct an old vinyl record when making a recording, it mostly stays out of the chain.:scratch2:

When I re-do my system, an EQ will be available (via patch bay) but will not be in the system all the time.:no:

Mark T.:music:
 
Years ago I used, an still have, a very high end parametric EQ. It was best used for tailoring certain LPs and/or CDs that had annoying peaks and valleys in their recording processes, etc. Over the years I began to realize how important it was to "tune the room to the system and not the reverse. In realizing that I was able to accomplish it with time and loads of patience. That EQ is still there and has a interconnect going to it and from it but neither is hooked to anything currently and hasn't been for years. My room and system are one now and there have only been a couple of rare times when I have felt the need to use the EQ anymore. Like someone else in this thread said, it does however look great sitting there in line and at the ready. Another light and LED here and there always seems to make a system look neater in the dark anyway IMHO....................

Good Listening to you..............Terry:thmbsp::music:
 
Depends on the acoustics of your space, of course. But paying close attention to speaker placement and reflective/non-reflective surfaces, floor, ceiling, etc. will pay off.

Maybe if I had a super-hi-tech eq like some of the AKers in this thread I would choose to use it. I've had some really nice ones including a giant ADC model 'something' (can't remember). After using it for a few years I realized my gear sounded better without it. But it really looked impressive! Never heard what a parametric eq could do, or others like that, though. Perhaps they make a big difference.

I upgraded my amp/preamp and speakers and THAT was a huge improvement! :yes:
 
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