Equalization Questions

[Shaun Matherly]

Can someone explain to a noob how to set up equalizers?
I don't understand the slope and how db's/ octave work The set-up is as
follows

1997 Ford T-Bird
Kenwood KDC-X889 internal amp off
Sony Xplode 4 channel amp driving JL Audio 5x7s in stock rear location and
Boston Components up front
Alpine MRV T-500 bridged driving a 12 inch JL in a ported box in the trunk
facing rearward

I just got the headunit replacing an X-815 which had less control but
sounded louder if that's possible.

Thanks for any help
Shaun

[MOSFET]

> Can someone explain to a noob how to set up equalizers?
> I don't understand the slope and how db's/ octave work The set-up is as
> follows
>
> 1997 Ford T-Bird
> Kenwood KDC-X889 internal amp off

That's quite a question, where to start.....

OK, your new HU has a four band paremetric EQ. What that means is that as
well as being able to control the boost/cut at each of the four frequencies
(like having four bass and treble controls), you will be able to set which
frequencies you want boosted and cut. I assume what you are really asking
here is how the heck do you decide on which four frequencies to use.

There are two ways to go here: the "right" way and the "poor man's" way.
The right way (and the easiest) is to go to a car stereo shop that has an
RTA (Real Time Analizer). They will play some pink noise (sounds like
televsion "snow", it is all frequencies from 20Hz-20kHz all mixed together)
on your stereo. A graph will be plotted showing peaks and dips at various
frequencies. Because of the unusual nature of cars, there will ALWAYS be
extreme peaks and valleys at various frequencies because of accoustic
phenomena like cancellation effects, standing waves, etc. You can then take
this graph and use those frequencies where there are extrmeme peaks and dips
to set the frequencies of your parametric EQ. By boosting and cutting at
those frequencies, hopefully you can then get a flatter frequency response
curve. This is KEY as a fairly flat frequency response curve is CRITICAL to
an accurate sounding stereo.

OK, then we have the "poor man's" way, in other words, the way I did it.
You have to have an SPL meter (measures volume in decibels db's) and these
can be bought at Radio Shack for about $50. You also must have a certain
kind of test disc. I use Sheffield Labs disc, "My Disc". This disc has a
passge where every frequency that an RTA would use (30 frequencies) are
played individually. You then have to measure the volume (in db's) of each
frequency individually and then plot your own frequency response curve.

And that's pretty much it.

MOSFET

[Shaun Matherly]

Thanks MOSFET. This will intrigue me for a long time to come. And yes you
are right I was asking which 4 of the 24 available frequencies to use. Plus
I won't even go to the crossover ranges available. What's really strange is
I could probably find a teenager that could set it up in 10 minutes. I
appreciate the input

Shaun
"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
>> Can someone explain to a noob how to set up equalizers?
>> I don't understand the slope and how db's/ octave work The set-up is as
>> follows
>>
>> 1997 Ford T-Bird
>> Kenwood KDC-X889 internal amp off
>
> That's quite a question, where to start.....
>
> OK, your new HU has a four band paremetric EQ. What that means is that as
> well as being able to control the boost/cut at each of the four
> frequencies
> (like having four bass and treble controls), you will be able to set which
> frequencies you want boosted and cut. I assume what you are really asking
> here is how the heck do you decide on which four frequencies to use.
>
> There are two ways to go here: the "right" way and the "poor man's" way.
> The right way (and the easiest) is to go to a car stereo shop that has an
> RTA (Real Time Analizer). They will play some pink noise (sounds like
> televsion "snow", it is all frequencies from 20Hz-20kHz all mixed
> together)
> on your stereo. A graph will be plotted showing peaks and dips at various
> frequencies. Because of the unusual nature of cars, there will ALWAYS be
> extreme peaks and valleys at various frequencies because of accoustic
> phenomena like cancellation effects, standing waves, etc. You can then
> take
> this graph and use those frequencies where there are extrmeme peaks and
> dips
> to set the frequencies of your parametric EQ. By boosting and cutting at
> those frequencies, hopefully you can then get a flatter frequency response
> curve. This is KEY as a fairly flat frequency response curve is CRITICAL
> to
> an accurate sounding stereo.
>
> OK, then we have the "poor man's" way, in other words, the way I did it.
> You have to have an SPL meter (measures volume in decibels db's) and these
> can be bought at Radio Shack for about $50. You also must have a certain
> kind of test disc. I use Sheffield Labs disc, "My Disc". This disc has a
> passge where every frequency that an RTA would use (30 frequencies) are
> played individually. You then have to measure the volume (in db's) of
> each
> frequency individually and then plot your own frequency response curve.
>
> And that's pretty much it.
>
> MOSFET
>
>

[MOSFET]

> Thanks MOSFET. This will intrigue me for a long time to come. And yes you
> are right I was asking which 4 of the 24 available frequencies to use.
Plus
> I won't even go to the crossover ranges available. What's really strange
is
> I could probably find a teenager that could set it up in 10 minutes. I
> appreciate the input
>
> Shaun

I'm glad I could help.

But if a teenager tried to set that up in 10 minutes, I can promise you he
would do it wrong. Only a very, very experienced accoustic expert could set
up a four band parametric EQ by ear. To do this right, it takes much more
than simply messing around and seeing what sounds good. You simply MUST
have some type of test equipment. The problem with trying to set up an EQ
by ear with music is that some of the specific problem frequencies may not
be represented in the music you are listening to. And even if they were and
you could hear a specific problem (and you could even zero in on the problem
frequency, which is difficult), you would not know how an adjustment would
effect adjacent frequencies.

I know this is probably trickier than you anticipated. The thing is,
though, just as your HU can be carefully adjusted to achieve unusually
supurb sound, if not done properly, it can also produce unusually crappy
sound (you can mess it up much more than a simple bass and treble control
would allow). I would take your time and do it right.

MOSFET

[ZoSo]

But then, what sounds good to you may not sound good to a teenager.
Sometimes "play it by ear" is good advice.
Take some time and mess around with the EQ untill it sounds right to you.

Z


"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
>> Thanks MOSFET. This will intrigue me for a long time to come. And yes you
>> are right I was asking which 4 of the 24 available frequencies to use.
> Plus
>> I won't even go to the crossover ranges available. What's really strange
> is
>> I could probably find a teenager that could set it up in 10 minutes. I
>> appreciate the input
>>
>> Shaun
>
> I'm glad I could help.
>
> But if a teenager tried to set that up in 10 minutes, I can promise you he
> would do it wrong. Only a very, very experienced accoustic expert could
> set
> up a four band parametric EQ by ear. To do this right, it takes much more
> than simply messing around and seeing what sounds good. You simply MUST
> have some type of test equipment. The problem with trying to set up an EQ
> by ear with music is that some of the specific problem frequencies may not
> be represented in the music you are listening to. And even if they were
> and
> you could hear a specific problem (and you could even zero in on the
> problem
> frequency, which is difficult), you would not know how an adjustment would
> effect adjacent frequencies.
>
> I know this is probably trickier than you anticipated. The thing is,
> though, just as your HU can be carefully adjusted to achieve unusually
> supurb sound, if not done properly, it can also produce unusually crappy
> sound (you can mess it up much more than a simple bass and treble control
> would allow). I would take your time and do it right.
>
> MOSFET
>
>

[MOSFET]

> Sometimes "play it by ear" is good advice.
> Take some time and mess around with the EQ untill it sounds right to you.
>
> Z
>
The problem with this advice is that until you have it set correctly, you
may not know what sounds best (or right) to you. Again, most experts agree
that a frequency response curve without huge peaks and valleys sounds best.
True, just messing around may give you some nominal improvement, but it will
NOT give you the best performance possible.

MOSFET

[Scott Gardner]

On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 20:43:32 -0800, "MOSFET" >
wrote:

>> Sometimes "play it by ear" is good advice.
>> Take some time and mess around with the EQ untill it sounds right to you.
>>
>> Z
>>
>The problem with this advice is that until you have it set correctly, you
>may not know what sounds best (or right) to you. Again, most experts agree
>that a frequency response curve without huge peaks and valleys sounds best.
>True, just messing around may give you some nominal improvement, but it will
>NOT give you the best performance possible.
>
>MOSFET
>

You're absolutely right - any system that is infinitely adjustable is
also infinitely MIS-adjustable. Considering that most parametric
equalizers let you adjust center frequency, "Q", and amount of
boost/cut, and you usually have anywhere between three and thirty
bands to adjust, the odds of stumbling on the combination that sounds
"best" to you are remotely slim.

I'm facing the same dilemma right now with one of my motorcycles. The
front forks are adjustable for rebound damping, compression damping,
and spring preload. The rear shock is adjustable for the same three
things. In addition, the rear ride height of the bike is adjustable.
So, that's seven different things that I can adjust independent of one
another. What do you think the odds are of finding the optimum
setting by just "messing around"?

I'd suggest that he spring the money to have his EQ professionally
adjusted. Even if the technician doesn't come up with the "perfect"
settings for his taste, at least he'll be in the ballpark and can
start playing around with *small* adjustments to fine-tune it.

Scott

[[email protected]]

Shaun Matherly wrote:
> Can someone explain to a noob how to set up equalizers?
> I don't understand the slope and how db's/ octave work The set-up is
as
> follows
>
> 1997 Ford T-Bird
> Kenwood KDC-X889 internal amp off
> Sony Xplode 4 channel amp driving JL Audio 5x7s in stock rear
location and
> Boston Components up front
> Alpine MRV T-500 bridged driving a 12 inch JL in a ported box in the
trunk
> facing rearward
>
> I just got the headunit replacing an X-815 which had less control but

> sounded louder if that's possible.
>
> Thanks for any help
> Shaun

EQ setup is as easy as nothing. I got installed myself my first EQ
when
I was in High school.. It's damn easy...

[MOSFET]

> wrote in message
ups.com...

> EQ setup is as easy as nothing. I got installed myself my first EQ
> when
> I was in High school.. It's damn easy...
>
Of course it's easy for anyone who spends a grand total of $100 for their
stereo.

MOSFET

[[email protected]]

MOSFET wrote:
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>
> > EQ setup is as easy as nothing. I got installed myself my first EQ
> > when
> > I was in High school.. It's damn easy...
> >
> Of course it's easy for anyone who spends a grand total of $100 for
their
> stereo.
>
> MOSFET

it's same made in china stereo system. What do you think really
different from your grandscale system with mine. You just have more
noisy, heavy, unnessarily capacitor and fat-cables! It's same CD unit
play same music after all. Don't tell me stuff about DVD player!

[Antispammer]

you mean US dollars or Pesos ?

muaaaaaaaahahahahhaha


"MOSFET" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>
> > EQ setup is as easy as nothing. I got installed myself my first EQ
> > when
> > I was in High school.. It's damn easy...
> >
> Of course it's easy for anyone who spends a grand total of $100 for their
> stereo.
>
> MOSFET
>
>

[[email protected]]

Antispammer wrote:
> you mean US dollars or Pesos ?
>
> muaaaaaaaahahahahhaha
>
>

US dollars. I'm serious. I did spend $100 for CD + Amp + speaker
and box. Unbelievable cheap and it sounds better than ever...




> "MOSFET" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > > wrote in message
> > ups.com...
> >
> > > EQ setup is as easy as nothing. I got installed myself my first
EQ
> > > when
> > > I was in High school.. It's damn easy...
> > >
> > Of course it's easy for anyone who spends a grand total of $100 for
their
> > stereo.
> >
> > MOSFET
> >
> >