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EQ makes all the difference - Page 2

post #16 of 40
8/8/09 at 1:23am
Argument-Fi

If you want to EQ, so be it. If you don't, then don't....
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post #17 of 40
8/9/09 at 5:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omega View Post
I object to poor implementation of equalization, but not to the premise of equalization itself.
Same here.

The same goes for tweaking. I appreciate a well converted mono to stereo track using specialized techniques but I hate mono to stereo conversions that just use reverb or a small time delay on another channel.
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post #18 of 40
8/13/09 at 2:32am
I use equalizers in Foobar before sending the signal to my DAC to fight the nasty resonances in my room (55 Hz and 62 Hz). I can't listen to music when it is not equalized, it sounds ugly. Equalizing improves the purity of the music. All frequencies become audible, none of them are obscured by their resonating neighbors. I hear so many more details...
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post #19 of 40
8/14/09 at 12:18am
EQ's are made to compensate for a non-linear response.

those who use EQ's for tone control are showing an example of disrespect towards the producer's wishes when the original was mastered live during recording.

usually i find myself lowering the bass because the producer did something to compensate for his/her lacking system.

you are supposed to use an EQ to make your speakers speak flat on the frequency curve, and then LEAVE IT ALONE.

(not like there are an exceptionally high amount of mastered audio works out there anyways)

one album i sincerely recommend for a before & after comparison of speakers/headphones that have not seen equalizer calibration - opposed to - speakers/headphones that have seen equalizer calibration:
artist: daft punk
album: discovery

you will learn that the album has much more class than the choices of sound that was used, but also the volume that these sounds were implemented.
kinda like.. did the artist pick black or white? WHAT SHADE OF BLACK? WHAT SHADE OF WHITE?
shading makes a difference
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post #20 of 40
8/14/09 at 1:44am
Every album is equalized in the mastering process, so I normally don't need to EQ. I just let the album speak for itself.

I will use EQ when I am using sub-par headphones with glaring deficiencies or spikes in their frequency response. I'll also use it with badly mastered albums. Though this the exception rather than the rule. 99% of the time I won't use EQ.
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post #21 of 40
8/14/09 at 2:19am
I have experimented with eq many times but I always wind up returning to a non EQed setup within a week or so.
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post #22 of 40
8/14/09 at 2:49am
EQ is like salt. It makes everything better but you can learn to live without it.
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post #23 of 40
8/14/09 at 11:19am
Not an EQ fan, but I'm missing something here. If I am supposed to leave the sound alone because that is the way the sound engineer wanted it, wouldn't I be required to listen to it through the same headphones he used, or at least ones with the same sonic reproduction signature? Also, if he switched from say AKGs to Beyer DTs, would HE still EQ it the same?
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post #24 of 40
8/14/09 at 12:33pm
Then you'd also have to get the same equipment he used. Maybe even have ear surgery to get his same ears and brain transplant to get his same brain. Maybe also a time machine or out of body experience to go back to that time and place where he sat in the recording studio listening to his final work.

Just kidding, but I understand what people mean when they don't want to use eq because there's fun in trying to see how well an entire system (headphones, dac, amp, transport, etc) synergizes without any drastic tweaking like eq. If you take the time you could eq a song to sound utterly amazing to you but that could become as neurotic as when people start trying different combinations of different cables to get the right sound. I don't use eq because I'm a purist but because I'm lazy and the only way I'd use eq is if someone does it for me .
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post #25 of 40
8/14/09 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloxt View Post
.........If you take the time you could eq a song to sound utterly amazing to you but that could become as neurotic as when people start trying different combinations of ........
amps, dacs, cables, tubes , headphones . . . . . . =^)
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post #26 of 40
8/14/09 at 6:11pm
find the definition of pink noise.

each frequency has the same amplitude.. and if you could visually watch pink noise on a screen, each frequency would rise the exact same level (and then simply turn on and off at intervals)

so when you play pink noise on ANY system, the audible decibel level should be the exact same for each frequency - this is the key between using your equipment rather than needing the sound engineers setup and brain transplant.

once you get the speakers to play each frequency at the exact same audible level.. the only difference in speakers is the amount of sounds the driver can produce at once.
(kinda like a computer processor and how many instructions per second it can handle)

for instance.. the creative x-fi elite pro is said to be able to cope with 10 million instructions per second.
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post #27 of 40
8/14/09 at 7:04pm
Eq'ing is going to be a different experience for different people for different songs. Its like putting different tires on a car. The car itself makes a difference on the tires, the tires make a difference on the traction.
What might work for one "car" might not be so great for another, also the "conditions of the road" might have an effect as well.

For my music listening, I only EQ some bass in hip-hop/rap and turn that off while listening to hardcore or alternative.
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post #28 of 40
8/14/09 at 8:32pm
Normally a lot of EQ is used when mixing and mastering, so I wouldn't be too worried about using it on playback
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post #29 of 40
8/15/09 at 6:53pm
I like to use all of the tools at my disposal.. If I can make my JVC FX500's sound a bit less bright, bring out the Bass in my Fostex T50Rp's, or tone done the highs in my Pioneers, with one tool, why would I not.. You can't say that Cables make all the difference in the world or tube amps are better than solid state, and then turn around and say that EQ'ing is bad. All of the above are changes or adjustments made to modify the audio signal to our own individual liking. Some are just different than others as are all of our perceptions
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post #30 of 40
8/16/09 at 4:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MH79 View Post
Normally a lot of EQ is used when mixing and mastering, so I wouldn't be too worried about using it on playback
Which is why many of us can not stand new records.
Since during mixing and mastering they have a tendency to massively over-use EQ, and hence remove the dynamic range.

What Happened To Dynamic Range?
Turn Me Up! | Bringing Dynamics Back To Music
Loudness war - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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