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To EQ or not to EQ? - Page 4

post #46 of 60
7/19/08 at 10:34am
I always use the EQ setting on my mp3 player and bookshelf stereo, but it still doesn't satisfy my tastes--especially because they only give you five bands to tweak. On particular Mp3's however, I will edit them to add more or less frequency--especially live concerts.
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post #47 of 60
7/21/08 at 5:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by synaesthetic View Post
I have not found an EQ setting that plays nicely with all my music.
That's hard to do

The more music I listen to... I guess I don't really use EQ nowadays even when not critical listening :| still do though sometimes. I guess I can start to understand the phrase EQ = distortion mentioned earlier
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post #48 of 60
7/21/08 at 9:11pm
I use the EQ really REALLY lightly,just a little here and there just to fine tune things. I used to EQ a lot more back in the day but I've sort of cooled off on it. Most of the times I just add a little low end to add some solidarity to the bass.
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post #49 of 60
7/23/08 at 7:40am
Maybe everyone could try and wean themselves off of EQ? Using less and less until it's flat. (Once you go flat you never go back) and EQ really does add distortion.

Not using EQ makes most sense for headphones but less sense for speakers. This is because the room in which your speakers are located may have either standing waves or resonant frequencies which will distort the music naturally.

As an experiment just take your laptop playing a song and carry it between different rooms and the 'EQ' will change as you change rooms. The bathroom will boost the highs (if you don't have carpet) and a living room will absorb more of the highs (if it's softly furnished).

So EQing is not such an issue with headphones. If there are standing waves and resonant frequencies then it's probably time to change them. Others may be able to chip in on how to measure standing waves and resonant freq. for headphones.

But it does seem that if one part of your equipment is lacking in some way then maybe it's time for a change, if money allows. On the other hand if one part is really lacking, and there is nothing you can do about it, then EQ maybe the lesser of two evils. i actually have one of those tape player things in my car that connects to my ipod, it sounds horrible and muffled so i do need to boost the treble on the tone controls. It is the weakest link and EQ can cover that up, but deep down I know i have a bad component.
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post #50 of 60
7/23/08 at 8:11am
I like to EQ down the mid-high range (4-7kHz) as I find it to be particularly fatiguing. I only listen to one style of music so I don't find myself swapping between presets too much. Note that I usually only set the EQ when I am listening on my Denon D1000s - that particular range isn't anywhere near as clear as it could be. But I don't mind missing out on that range too much, I never like that part of the spectrum too much anyway . Give me bass, mids and high highs any day...
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post #51 of 60
7/23/08 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tinseljim View Post
Maybe everyone could try and wean themselves off of EQ? Using less and less until it's flat. (Once you go flat you never go back) and EQ really does add distortion.

Not using EQ makes most sense for headphones but less sense for speakers. This is because the room in which your speakers are located may have either standing waves or resonant frequencies which will distort the music naturally.

As an experiment just take your laptop playing a song and carry it between different rooms and the 'EQ' will change as you change rooms. The bathroom will boost the highs (if you don't have carpet) and a living room will absorb more of the highs (if it's softly furnished).

So EQing is not such an issue with headphones. If there are standing waves and resonant frequencies then it's probably time to change them. Others may be able to chip in on how to measure standing waves and resonant freq. for headphones.

But it does seem that if one part of your equipment is lacking in some way then maybe it's time for a change, if money allows. On the other hand if one part is really lacking, and there is nothing you can do about it, then EQ maybe the lesser of two evils. i actually have one of those tape player things in my car that connects to my ipod, it sounds horrible and muffled so i do need to boost the treble on the tone controls. It is the weakest link and EQ can cover that up, but deep down I know i have a bad component.
But it's all subjective. I personally don't like listening to a flat EQ, I don't enjoy the sound.
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post #52 of 60
7/24/08 at 4:28am
I used to use EQ extensively, mainly because I didn't know any better, and only use whatever stock bud that comes with the player. Ever since I buy better headphones/earbuds, I stop using EQ altogether.
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post #53 of 60
7/24/08 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by akki007 View Post
But it's all subjective. I personally don't like listening to a flat EQ, I don't enjoy the sound.
You could say that it's all subjective and you would be right.

Every point of view is just that - a view from a point. BUT there are better places to stand that will provide a better vantage point.
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post #54 of 60
7/24/08 at 12:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tinseljim View Post
Not using EQ makes most sense for headphones but less sense for speakers. This is because the room in which your speakers are located may have either standing waves or resonant frequencies which will distort the music naturally.
The Fletcher-Munson equal loudness contours apply equally to headphone listening as they do to speaker listening. EQ can be used to compensate for the natural tendency of the ear to attenuate higher and lower frequencies at low volumes.
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post #55 of 60
7/24/08 at 6:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by akki007 View Post
But it's all subjective. I personally don't like listening to a flat EQ, I don't enjoy the sound.
x2. I don't believe that there is only one 'right' way to hear music. What sounds right to your ears, is right for you. If that means a flat EQ, so be it - if that's not your cup of tea, tweak it till it sounds good for you.

I have always leaned towards players with good EQ controls and I enjoy playing with them. Having said that, when you tweak the EQ yourself, you discover several bad sounding settings and fewer good ones. You have to persevere to find good settings, but for me that's worth it, to hear the music the way I want.
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post #56 of 60
7/25/08 at 6:06am
When it comes to EQ on digital portable audio devices, no I do not EQ. The main reason is that the EQ sounds bad to me because I can hear huge amounts of distortion, especially with the bass audibly clipping (not enough headroom on the EQ).

When I have access to a good eq that won't clip or distort (at least not to where I can tell) like bad ones, I generally will use a "house" curve. In other words, starting around 120hz, I have it so that a boost is applied that increases in magnitude as frequency lowers. It ends in the 20s of hertz. In my amp, it is 1st-order due to the way the rc circuit in the feedback loop works.
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post #57 of 60
7/25/08 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by arande2 View Post
When it comes to EQ on digital portable audio devices, no I do not EQ.
That's one of the reasons that I use Rockbox. Its EQ is flexible enough to allow cutting frequencies rather than boosting, and it also has a pre-cut feature that reduces overall gain so that if you are boosting particular frequencies, you still have headroom to spare.
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post #58 of 60
7/25/08 at 6:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pata2001 View Post
I used to use EQ extensively, mainly because I didn't know any better, and only use whatever stock bud that comes with the player. Ever since I buy better headphones/earbuds, I stop using EQ altogether.
Seems to be the case with me too.

Hardly ever EQ now... It hasn't been long since I posted this thread too. My ears are adjusting to the gear I guess. I still use my ipod>ibuds today.
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post #59 of 60
7/27/08 at 4:44am
Some people buy new earpieces because they find that the earpieces have been too boomy or too bright etc. Wouldn't that have been solved by eqing? why do they prefer to not eq but instead sell it to buy something that suits their taste in a flat eq? ( actually not sure if anyone does that)
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post #60 of 60
5/2/11 at 6:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by majkel View Post

Answer D - I don't use in general but if I really have to, I do.


same I used to always have a custom eq on my music, but now I use the standard eq settings, actually now I barely use it I think it has to do with your ears getting used to the headphone thats what happened to me. 

Oh and what do you guys think about the SRS iwow, does it just mess with the eq or will it just do some compression shit. Oh and does it double as an amp in the sense that it will help pump a little more juice in my m50's?

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