With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Thanks for any help/input.

Craig

"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Thanks for any help/input.

Craig

They can be helpful, particularly with subwoofer(s), but room acoustics
should take priority.

"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Thanks for any help/input.

Craig

equalizers are like tone controls. they are as valid as ever
all systems are toys
carl

"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Since an equalizer's best use is to try to correct problems with room
acoustics they will be useful as long as we have rooms that are not
acoustically perfect. The only way new systems will obsolete them is to have
them built into the systems, which is beginning to happen. I hear that it's
a big help.

Wylie Williams

Wylie Williams wrote:
"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Since an equalizer's best use is to try to correct problems with room
acoustics they will be useful as long as we have rooms that are not
acoustically perfect.

Actually, no.

Equalizers are most useful in helping correct balance problems with
recordings.

Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the sound from how it was
originally mixed and recorded. My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs
on them.

Kevin Smith

"Wylie Williams" wrote in message
...
"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Since an equalizer's best use is to try to correct problems with room
acoustics they will be useful as long as we have rooms that are not
acoustically perfect. The only way new systems will obsolete them is to
have
them built into the systems, which is beginning to happen. I hear that
it's
a big help.

Wylie Williams

Craig James wrote:
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Thanks for any help/input.

Craig
I think EQs are actually necesary to get people in to high end - which
means eventually eliminating them.

I have helped several friends get the most out of their "rack systems".
In doing so I used test discs and a sound meter to show how far off
their systems are especially when they had to mount speakers in
cabinets/shelves. Doing that drives the low mids all over the place -
more than 10db swings. Most of these people did not want to replace
everything, So I got them 10 band EQs from Ebay-used. Every one of
them appreciates the difference. One even upgraded his satellites with
Paradigms.

EQs-in examples like this - provide dramatic A/B differences.

EQs can be useful to correct for room problems. Even the best rooms
usually have some problems. A 10 band (octave) equalizer is not really
up to the job however. A 1/3 octave or parametric equalizer can correct
for most room problems. It is best used in conjunction with a signal
generator and a sound pressure level meter.


---MIKE---

Hi Craig,

With all of the new features/programs with the
surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is
necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another
'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Quite the opposite. With the computational power of
modern DSPs, we are at the threshold of a new age of
digital, time-based equalization. Read the
October/November issue (#150) of The Absolute Sound
magazine for a discussion of digital EQ. I have the
Tact Audio RCS 2.2X room correction system and the
results are fantastic. There also is a review of the
RCS 2.2X in that issue and in the August issue of Hi-Fi
News.

Regards,
Tip

Kevin Smith wrote:
Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the sound from how it was
originally mixed and recorded. My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs
on them.


Thena again, equalizers were almost certainly used on the vast majority
of recordings you enjoy, during their recording, mixing and mastering.


So they can hardly be called totally unnecessary, can they?



--
-S
Your a boring little troll. How does it feel? Go blow your bad breath elsewhere.

Steven Sullivan wrote:
Kevin Smith wrote:

Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the sound from how it was
originally mixed and recorded. My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs
on them.



Thena again, equalizers were almost certainly used on the vast majority
of recordings you enjoy, during their recording, mixing and mastering.


So they can hardly be called totally unnecessary, can they?



In the mixing and mastering stage, the studio engineers have the
advantage of being able to boost one specific channel, be it the vocal,
drum, cymbal, or bass. EQs in the consumer medium can't help but boost
or cut everything since all we have access to is the mixed down version
of a recording.

CD

Steven Sullivan wrote:

Kevin Smith wrote:

Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the sound from how it was
originally mixed and recorded. My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs
on them.



Thena again, equalizers were almost certainly used on the vast majority
of recordings you enjoy, during their recording, mixing and mastering.


So they can hardly be called totally unnecessary, can they?

Mind you, these are 30-50+ band monster mixing boards. A 6-8 band
equalizer is hardly any more useful than tone controls. I have
seen a few 30+ band home models, though.

Codifus wrote:
Steven Sullivan wrote:
Kevin Smith wrote:

Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the sound from how it was
originally mixed and recorded. My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs
on them.



Thena again, equalizers were almost certainly used on the vast majority
of recordings you enjoy, during their recording, mixing and mastering.


So they can hardly be called totally unnecessary, can they?



In the mixing and mastering stage, the studio engineers have the
advantage of being able to boost one specific channel, be it the vocal,
drum, cymbal, or bass.

Actually they can only do that during tracking and mixing. Mastering is performed
on the two-track.

EQs in the consumer medium can't help but boost
or cut everything since all we have access to is the mixed down version
of a recording.

As do mastering engineers.


--
-S
Your a boring little troll. How does it feel? Go blow your bad breath elsewhere.

imispgh wrote:
Craig James wrote:

With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Thanks for any help/input.

Craig

I think EQs are actually necesary to get people in to high end - which
means eventually eliminating them.

I have helped several friends get the most out of their "rack systems".
In doing so I used test discs and a sound meter to show how far off
their systems are especially when they had to mount speakers in
cabinets/shelves. Doing that drives the low mids all over the place -
more than 10db swings. Most of these people did not want to replace
everything, So I got them 10 band EQs from Ebay-used. Every one of
them appreciates the difference. One even upgraded his satellites with
Paradigms.

EQs-in examples like this - provide dramatic A/B differences.
What test dics and sound meters? I'd like to do that to my system. Do
you mean something like the Stereophile tests CDs and an inexpensive
sound meter by Radio Shack?

CD

Craig James wrote:
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems?

The white papers at :

http://www.harman.com/wp/index.jsp?articleId=121
http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/Loudspeakers&RoomsPt2.pdf
http://www.harman.com/wp/index.jsp?articleId=122
http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/Loudspeakers&RoomsPt3.pdf

argue that parametric equalizers can and should be used to control
ressonances on the room/speakers. See page 16 on the first pdf and
page 17 on the second.

Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

They are now integrated in medium-high-end receivers with an
automatic system to set it up. See, for instance, the Yamaha RX-V750
and higher models (Yamaha call its system Yamaha Parametric Room
Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) ):

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/customer/manuals/RX_V750_.PDF
http://www.yamaha-service.de/service...50_english.pdf

--
http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/

..pt is Portugal| `Whom the gods love die young'-Menander (342-292 BC)
Europe | Villeneuve 50-82, Toivonen 56-86, Senna 60-94

Kevin Smith wrote:

Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the sound from how it was
originally mixed and recorded. My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs
on them.

Kevin Smith

"Wylie Williams" wrote in message
...

"Craig James" wrote in message
...

With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Since an equalizer's best use is to try to correct problems with room
acoustics they will be useful as long as we have rooms that are not
acoustically perfect. The only way new systems will obsolete them is to
have
them built into the systems, which is beginning to happen. I hear that
it's
a big help.

Wylie Williams



I'm with you. I always listen with source-direct selected on my amp,
bypassing the tone controls completely.

CD

The stereophile Test CD2 has spot frequency test tones on band 27. They
go from 10 hz to 20000hz. They are 1/3 octave tones and would require a
1/3 octave equalizer to get the most benefit from them.


---MIKE---

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
I have helped several friends get the most out of
their "rack systems". In doing so I used test discs
and a sound meter to show how far off their systems
are ...

What test dics and sound meters? I'd like to do that
to my system. Do you mean something like the
Stereophile tests CDs and an inexpensive sound meter
by Radio Shack?

You can get a test CD from Rives Audio ("Test CD 2")
that has been calibrated for the nominal response of
the Radio Shack SPL meter: http://www.rivesaudio.com/.
Once you see what your real response is, you'll
probably wish you didn't know! But that's normal.
Read the info at Rives Audio to find out why. And stay
away from the ubiquitous 10-band graphic EQ!

Regards,
Tip

"Codifus" wrote in message
...
Kevin Smith wrote:

Equalisers are totally unnecessary and distort the
sound from how it was originally mixed and recorded.
My amps don't even have bass or treble knobs on
them.

I'm with you. I always listen with source-direct
selected on my amp, bypassing the tone controls
completely.

It's not your electronics and it's not really your
speakers, it's the room that needs EQ. The room
distorts the sound more than any component in your
system. The resonant frequencies of your room will
affect the sound of the speakers. You can reduce these
effects by careful placement of the speakers and
listening position, and by selecting a speaker design
that does not excite the room modes as much (e.g.,
line-source, panel speakers, smaller speakers). And
then you can use EQ to remove the problems that still
exist. This month's issue of The Absolute Sound (#150)
has some very good articles on room acoustics and EQ
that you should read.

Regards,
Tip

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 14:49:48 +0000, jjnunes wrote:

Wylie Williams wrote:
"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Since an equalizer's best use is to try to correct problems with room
acoustics they will be useful as long as we have rooms that are not
acoustically perfect.

Actually, no.

Equalizers are most useful in helping correct balance problems with
recordings.

__________________________________________________ _____________

Actually yes!! The same problems that contribute to balance
issues on the recording side can confront you on the room
acoustics side on playback...a well set equalizer on the
playback side can make for some very enjoyable listening
in what is normally a pitiful acoustic environment. Note that
equalizer settings are always a "bone" of contention..varying
individual tastes..interpretations..nagging variables! Drat!

Leonard...

lcw999 wrote:
On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 14:49:48 +0000, jjnunes wrote:

Wylie Williams wrote:
"Craig James" wrote in message
...
With all of the new features/programs with the surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

Since an equalizer's best use is to try to correct problems with room
acoustics they will be useful as long as we have rooms that are not
acoustically perfect.

Actually, no.

Equalizers are most useful in helping correct balance problems with
recordings.

__________________________________________________ _____________

Actually yes!! The same problems that contribute to balance
issues on the recording side can confront you on the room
acoustics side on playback...a well set equalizer on the
playback side can make for some very enjoyable listening
in what is normally a pitiful acoustic environment. Note that
equalizer settings are always a "bone" of contention..varying
individual tastes..interpretations..nagging variables! Drat!

The point is that equalizers cannot correct common room problems
such as resonances and refective problems.

Hi JJ,

With all of the new features/programs with the
surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer
is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just
another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

The point is that equalizers cannot correct common
room problems
such as resonances and refective problems.

Digital EQ like the Tact Audio RCS can correct room
resonances. I highly recommend to everyone that they
read the latest issue of The Absolute Sound (#150) for
a primer on room acoustics and digital EQ. (Sorry if
I'm repeating myself ;^))

Regards,
Tip

Tip wrote:
Hi JJ,

With all of the new features/programs with the
surround sound/audio
systems these days, do you feel like an equalizer
is necessary anymore
for DVD/Stereo/CD systems? Or are they just
another 'toy' that is pretty
much obsolete these days?

The point is that equalizers cannot correct common
room problems
such as resonances and refective problems.

Digital EQ like the Tact Audio RCS can correct room
resonances.

Agreed. That's not just frequency equalization.

Tip wrote:
The point is that equalizers cannot correct common
room problems such as resonances and refective problems.

Digital EQ like the Tact Audio RCS can correct room
resonances. I highly recommend to everyone that they
read the latest issue of The Absolute Sound (#150) for
a primer on room acoustics and digital EQ.

Or read the white papers at:

http://www.harman.com/wp/index.jsp?articleId=121
http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/Loudspeakers&RoomsPt2.pdf
http://www.harman.com/wp/index.jsp?articleId=122
http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/Loudspeakers&RoomsPt3.pdf

See page 16 on the first pdf and page 17 on the second.

(Sorry if I'm repeating myself ;^))

Ditto.

--
http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/

..pt is Portugal| `Whom the gods love die young'-Menander (342-292 BC)
Europe | Villeneuve 50-82, Toivonen 56-86, Senna 60-94