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#1
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Equalization
Equalization curves:
I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Thirty five years ago my parents couldn't demonstrate to me how good their favorite music sounded when they were young, and I have the same problem now; I can't demonstrate how good the Beatles music was to my young nieces and nephews, because (I guess) I can't find the equalization curves that made it sound so great (especially on European music systems). You can attach a different equalization curve to each imported song with iTunes on a Mac; the settings of ten slider controls on the iTunes equalizer. Does anybody know how to get the best equalization settings for songs on iTunes, or software to correct things? Cliff Nelson |
#2
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Equalization
Hi Cliff,
Equalisation is your problem, not your cure - let me explain... Equalisation is obviously used for shaping sound - making certain frequencies louder or quieter. In production, you would use it to make a sound different. In playback, you would use it to make sounds exactly the same accross any different set of sound setups, in any room / location - which is what your question relates to exactly. The idea of equalisation in playback is to setup a sound system and ensure every audio frequency is equal in volume level. Room shape / size and speaker grade / size influence how loud a certain audio frequency is in any given environment. So for you to 'equalise' a room and set of speakers, you would be trying to achieve as close as possible a sound to what they would have heard in the control room when recording and mixing your albums - that is to say, while playing test sound, changing your EQ until every frequency is equal in volume level, compensating for frequency level differences in your room and speakers using your EQ, and some rather expensive test equipment. Assuming your amp and speakers are half decent, you are not playing your CD at rock concert volume levels in a huge space over a huge stereo the size of a PA rig - changing your EQ is going to do far more harm than good. The goal of any amp / speaker maker is to make their product as 'flat' or equal as possible - This means, no deficiencies in them that would cause some frequencies to be much louder / quieter than others. This is why a trend with modern stereo makers is to actually remove the EQ altogether, because people fiddle with it (usually over crank up the bass) and it completely changes the sound that the artist would have wanted you to hear. So to finish answering your question, what has actually been happening all this time with you and your parents stereos is that they were / are not 'flat' or equal - infact so horribly un-flat that these stereos have affected the music being played on them to the point where you thought that the stereo in question had a certain 'sound' to it! And for better or worse, what you have been hearing is probably far from what the artist wanted you to hear! Sounds hard to believe? I can understand. The point is though that you enjoyed the sound / music and thats all that matters - dont let anyone tell you otherwise - you just may not have heard it as had been intended. My point Cliff is that if your parents stereo was pertfectly 'flat / equal', and yours is now, the music would sound exactly the same on them. But alas, there are differences between the systems (and speaker placements in different rooms), and one or likely both have their own characteristics - finding out how to reproduce these from one system to another is far beyond the scope of this post, and involves a high level of knowledge on the subject, plus expensive test equipment. If you dont have the gear or knowledge, you changing the EQ is simply changing the way it sounds, and you have no reference as to what is correct, should or should not need changing. Suggest: Getting a decent modern stereo system, *not touching the EQ*, and relax knowing that it will play back your music closer to the original intended sound than an ancient worn out stereo system. European / American has nothing to do with it, and is purely coincidence. Regarding your I-tunes etc - think about the varying quality of different recordings there are on the net and different ways people record. The amount of poor quality MP3s etc on the net is astounding. You may find dipping the mid 3 bands together on your 10 band EQ (experiment how much) gives you a slightly better sound. Good luck and I hope this in some way has been helpful to you! -Tim "Clifford J. Nelson" wrote in message news:2004061123481316807%cnelson9@adelphianet... Equalization curves: I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Thirty five years ago my parents couldn't demonstrate to me how good their favorite music sounded when they were young, and I have the same problem now; I can't demonstrate how good the Beatles music was to my young nieces and nephews, because (I guess) I can't find the equalization curves that made it sound so great (especially on European music systems). You can attach a different equalization curve to each imported song with iTunes on a Mac; the settings of ten slider controls on the iTunes equalizer. Does anybody know how to get the best equalization settings for songs on iTunes, or software to correct things? Cliff Nelson |
#3
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Equalization
Hi Cliff,
Equalisation is your problem, not your cure - let me explain... Equalisation is obviously used for shaping sound - making certain frequencies louder or quieter. In production, you would use it to make a sound different. In playback, you would use it to make sounds exactly the same accross any different set of sound setups, in any room / location - which is what your question relates to exactly. The idea of equalisation in playback is to setup a sound system and ensure every audio frequency is equal in volume level. Room shape / size and speaker grade / size influence how loud a certain audio frequency is in any given environment. So for you to 'equalise' a room and set of speakers, you would be trying to achieve as close as possible a sound to what they would have heard in the control room when recording and mixing your albums - that is to say, while playing test sound, changing your EQ until every frequency is equal in volume level, compensating for frequency level differences in your room and speakers using your EQ, and some rather expensive test equipment. Assuming your amp and speakers are half decent, you are not playing your CD at rock concert volume levels in a huge space over a huge stereo the size of a PA rig - changing your EQ is going to do far more harm than good. The goal of any amp / speaker maker is to make their product as 'flat' or equal as possible - This means, no deficiencies in them that would cause some frequencies to be much louder / quieter than others. This is why a trend with modern stereo makers is to actually remove the EQ altogether, because people fiddle with it (usually over crank up the bass) and it completely changes the sound that the artist would have wanted you to hear. So to finish answering your question, what has actually been happening all this time with you and your parents stereos is that they were / are not 'flat' or equal - infact so horribly un-flat that these stereos have affected the music being played on them to the point where you thought that the stereo in question had a certain 'sound' to it! And for better or worse, what you have been hearing is probably far from what the artist wanted you to hear! Sounds hard to believe? I can understand. The point is though that you enjoyed the sound / music and thats all that matters - dont let anyone tell you otherwise - you just may not have heard it as had been intended. My point Cliff is that if your parents stereo was pertfectly 'flat / equal', and yours is now, the music would sound exactly the same on them. But alas, there are differences between the systems (and speaker placements in different rooms), and one or likely both have their own characteristics - finding out how to reproduce these from one system to another is far beyond the scope of this post, and involves a high level of knowledge on the subject, plus expensive test equipment. If you dont have the gear or knowledge, you changing the EQ is simply changing the way it sounds, and you have no reference as to what is correct, should or should not need changing. Suggest: Getting a decent modern stereo system, *not touching the EQ*, and relax knowing that it will play back your music closer to the original intended sound than an ancient worn out stereo system. European / American has nothing to do with it, and is purely coincidence. Regarding your I-tunes etc - think about the varying quality of different recordings there are on the net and different ways people record. The amount of poor quality MP3s etc on the net is astounding. You may find dipping the mid 3 bands together on your 10 band EQ (experiment how much) gives you a slightly better sound. Good luck and I hope this in some way has been helpful to you! -Tim "Clifford J. Nelson" wrote in message news:2004061123481316807%cnelson9@adelphianet... Equalization curves: I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Thirty five years ago my parents couldn't demonstrate to me how good their favorite music sounded when they were young, and I have the same problem now; I can't demonstrate how good the Beatles music was to my young nieces and nephews, because (I guess) I can't find the equalization curves that made it sound so great (especially on European music systems). You can attach a different equalization curve to each imported song with iTunes on a Mac; the settings of ten slider controls on the iTunes equalizer. Does anybody know how to get the best equalization settings for songs on iTunes, or software to correct things? Cliff Nelson |
#4
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Equalization
Hi Cliff,
Equalisation is your problem, not your cure - let me explain... Equalisation is obviously used for shaping sound - making certain frequencies louder or quieter. In production, you would use it to make a sound different. In playback, you would use it to make sounds exactly the same accross any different set of sound setups, in any room / location - which is what your question relates to exactly. The idea of equalisation in playback is to setup a sound system and ensure every audio frequency is equal in volume level. Room shape / size and speaker grade / size influence how loud a certain audio frequency is in any given environment. So for you to 'equalise' a room and set of speakers, you would be trying to achieve as close as possible a sound to what they would have heard in the control room when recording and mixing your albums - that is to say, while playing test sound, changing your EQ until every frequency is equal in volume level, compensating for frequency level differences in your room and speakers using your EQ, and some rather expensive test equipment. Assuming your amp and speakers are half decent, you are not playing your CD at rock concert volume levels in a huge space over a huge stereo the size of a PA rig - changing your EQ is going to do far more harm than good. The goal of any amp / speaker maker is to make their product as 'flat' or equal as possible - This means, no deficiencies in them that would cause some frequencies to be much louder / quieter than others. This is why a trend with modern stereo makers is to actually remove the EQ altogether, because people fiddle with it (usually over crank up the bass) and it completely changes the sound that the artist would have wanted you to hear. So to finish answering your question, what has actually been happening all this time with you and your parents stereos is that they were / are not 'flat' or equal - infact so horribly un-flat that these stereos have affected the music being played on them to the point where you thought that the stereo in question had a certain 'sound' to it! And for better or worse, what you have been hearing is probably far from what the artist wanted you to hear! Sounds hard to believe? I can understand. The point is though that you enjoyed the sound / music and thats all that matters - dont let anyone tell you otherwise - you just may not have heard it as had been intended. My point Cliff is that if your parents stereo was pertfectly 'flat / equal', and yours is now, the music would sound exactly the same on them. But alas, there are differences between the systems (and speaker placements in different rooms), and one or likely both have their own characteristics - finding out how to reproduce these from one system to another is far beyond the scope of this post, and involves a high level of knowledge on the subject, plus expensive test equipment. If you dont have the gear or knowledge, you changing the EQ is simply changing the way it sounds, and you have no reference as to what is correct, should or should not need changing. Suggest: Getting a decent modern stereo system, *not touching the EQ*, and relax knowing that it will play back your music closer to the original intended sound than an ancient worn out stereo system. European / American has nothing to do with it, and is purely coincidence. Regarding your I-tunes etc - think about the varying quality of different recordings there are on the net and different ways people record. The amount of poor quality MP3s etc on the net is astounding. You may find dipping the mid 3 bands together on your 10 band EQ (experiment how much) gives you a slightly better sound. Good luck and I hope this in some way has been helpful to you! -Tim "Clifford J. Nelson" wrote in message news:2004061123481316807%cnelson9@adelphianet... Equalization curves: I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Thirty five years ago my parents couldn't demonstrate to me how good their favorite music sounded when they were young, and I have the same problem now; I can't demonstrate how good the Beatles music was to my young nieces and nephews, because (I guess) I can't find the equalization curves that made it sound so great (especially on European music systems). You can attach a different equalization curve to each imported song with iTunes on a Mac; the settings of ten slider controls on the iTunes equalizer. Does anybody know how to get the best equalization settings for songs on iTunes, or software to correct things? Cliff Nelson |
#5
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Equalization
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 23:48:13 -0700, Clifford J. Nelson
wrote: Equalization curves: I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Try this: plug a good set of modern headphones (an upmarket Sennheiser or similar) into your playback equipment. Set everything to flat (no eq, no nothing) and listen. This probably the nearest you get in terms of balance between bass, midrange and treble. If the CD is done with care, this is what the Sousa broadcast sounded like! In 1929: recordings, I suspect that bass and treble was terribly restricted, though. Was these on shellac records? Or wire recorders? The same goes for Beatles, by the way, although they can sound a lot better, of course. Per. |
#6
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Equalization
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 23:48:13 -0700, Clifford J. Nelson
wrote: Equalization curves: I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Try this: plug a good set of modern headphones (an upmarket Sennheiser or similar) into your playback equipment. Set everything to flat (no eq, no nothing) and listen. This probably the nearest you get in terms of balance between bass, midrange and treble. If the CD is done with care, this is what the Sousa broadcast sounded like! In 1929: recordings, I suspect that bass and treble was terribly restricted, though. Was these on shellac records? Or wire recorders? The same goes for Beatles, by the way, although they can sound a lot better, of course. Per. |
#7
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Equalization
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 23:48:13 -0700, Clifford J. Nelson
wrote: Equalization curves: I have a digital CD recording of a John Philip Sousa radio broadcast from 1929, and small changes in the equalization can make it sound like the worst band in the world or the best band in the world. Many songs that take your breath away on a European system are bland on an American system and I'm pretty sure that equalization is the reason (I've been thinking about it off and on for about thirty eight years). It would be just blind luck to find the proper equalization curves. Try this: plug a good set of modern headphones (an upmarket Sennheiser or similar) into your playback equipment. Set everything to flat (no eq, no nothing) and listen. This probably the nearest you get in terms of balance between bass, midrange and treble. If the CD is done with care, this is what the Sousa broadcast sounded like! In 1929: recordings, I suspect that bass and treble was terribly restricted, though. Was these on shellac records? Or wire recorders? The same goes for Beatles, by the way, although they can sound a lot better, of course. Per. |
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