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Can you suggest a good equalizer for my headphone setup?

post #1 of 15
11/29/03 at 9:12pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone familiar with any good equalizers? I will mainly be looking to correct treble and upper midrange flaws between 2khz and 10khz. I want something transparent that wont screw up the overall sound; but that doesnt cost more than $400. I have no idea if $400 is a reasonable amount to expect to pay for a good unit, so let me know if thats the case upfront. I will be using the unit between my source(sony 222es/555es) and headphone amp. Thanks in advance for your input.
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post #2 of 15
11/29/03 at 9:34pm
I got an EQ14 from Audiosource and is pretty decent....even when they do no longer produce it, in eBay for about 80 you can get it once in a while, it has a lot of features and is dead silent, pink noise generator, spectrum analyzer with mic to set the EQ in your room, 10 sliders per channel, and it is with me for more than 8 years now, so is not bad at all, 24/7 on.....I can bet on the new versions, there are not too many choices anyway.....unless Pro-Audio....
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post #3 of 15
11/29/03 at 9:36pm
I think the conventional wisdom here is that any equalizer will "screw up the overall sound" no matter how much you pay. You will do better to put that $400 toward a better source/amp/IC/set of phones.

-d
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post #4 of 15
11/29/03 at 9:46pm
Quote:
Originally posted by dsavitsk
I think the conventional wisdom here is that any equalizer will "screw up the overall sound" no matter how much you pay. You will do better to put that $400 toward a better source/amp/IC/set of phones.

-d
A conventional wisdom not completelly accepted for all of us.....EQ are used all along the music recording process and production, one more, will not harm IMO, some recordings need an EQ to sound right, as they were recorded wrong....yes you are adding more elements to the signal path, no more of those hi-end amps, have you ever open one of those high-end amps................OTOH in speakers at least, is very hard to get the right system, unless you custom make them to your room size and conditions, how many of us could afford to do that????
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post #5 of 15
11/29/03 at 10:49pm
sacd lover, if for some reason I had to choose an analog equalizer, I'd certainly want to investigate the Speck ASC as a first step.



Speck Electronics On The Web:
http://www.speck.com/

The ASC is "the" inexpensive little box that's currently receiving lots of consistent high praise, yet remarkably little in the way of criticism.

However, I'd definitely want to email and/or talk on the phone to Vince Poulos (designer/business owner) about my specific intended applications.

The non-transformer version retails for around $465.00-475.00 per channel, but unfortunately that's just the way things are, LOL.

I really wouldn't consider spending too much less (for new analog gear). The very real risk in doing so, IMO, is compromising and dragging-down the entire playback system.

TravelLite
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post #6 of 15
11/29/03 at 11:11pm
Thread Starter 
TravelLight, that unit would be perfect if it were stereo and had rca inputs. Anyone know of any stereo units like this Speck Electronics unit?
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post #7 of 15
11/30/03 at 3:54am
Quote:
Originally posted by Sovkiller
A conventional wisdom not completelly accepted for all of us.....EQ are used all along the music recording process and production, one more, will not harm IMO, some recordings need an EQ to sound right, as they were recorded wrong....yes you are adding more elements to the signal path, no more of those hi-end amps, have you ever open one of those high-end amps................OTOH in speakers at least, is very hard to get the right system, unless you custom make them to your room size and conditions, how many of us could afford to do that????
I think you make a good point, but to my ears, the damage done by an EQ outweighs the gains to be had, particularly at the $400 range. Through dmpening and room tuning as well as choosing the proper components, one can get around an EQ. I might, however, trust this one http://www.manleylabs.com/containerp...ssiveGold.html

-d
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post #8 of 15
11/30/03 at 4:11am
Quote:
Originally posted by dsavitsk
I think you make a good point, but to my ears, the damage done by an EQ outweighs the gains to be had, particularly at the $400 range. Through dmpening and room tuning as well as choosing the proper components, one can get around an EQ. I might, however, trust this one http://www.manleylabs.com/containerp...ssiveGold.html

-d
On speakers talking, as I never use it for headphone listening, and I use studio monitors, that need to be EQ to sound a little bit euphonic (at least) otherwise will be too flat and bored, I have never heard this damage you are stating, at least no more than the one due to a bad mix, or production, or the limitations of the source itself....
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post #9 of 15
11/30/03 at 6:59am
FIRST off... there are two main types of EQ's: Parametric and Graphic. if you just want to EQ one or two specific frequencies, you're better of with a parametric (the kind they use for recording.) if you want to EQ something complex like room response, then you'll use a graphic EQ. but i assume from your description you want a parametric.

that said, here's an okay place to buy mid to high-end parametrics:

http://www.mercenary.com/eqs.html

the spec and toft are both there... both are highly recommended, but still out of your price range... (yup, i saw it... $9000 for one stereo EQ. audiophiles aren't the only crazy people out there)

the problem is, stuff that costs less usually isn't that much better than the EQ's you get on your console, i guess. i mean, i can't find anything in the $500 range worth buying, cause the EQ's on my Mackie work fine.

so, for you who want something good in an audiophile system, you're really gonna have have to spend more to get something worth buying. i mean, there are plenty of EQ's around $300 or less, but not really recording quality.

here's a short thread on another board discussing mid-end EQ's:

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthr...hreadid=104441
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post #10 of 15
11/30/03 at 10:38am
Fellow member gerG's review of the Behringer DEQ2496 digital EQ here has always been very interesting to me. I wanted to try it for some time, but ended up getting headphones that I don't think need any EQ .
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post #11 of 15
11/30/03 at 11:21am
Somehow I suspect that a better investment would be on a good soundcard, maybe external (like the new BitHead!) on your computer. Then you can take advantage of any number of digital EQs and tweaks on your computer, which at $0 are probably still superior in quality to all analog EQs...

That or the Behringer digital EQ, and have your SACD player output in digital to it. Eliminating the extra AD/DA cycle.
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post #12 of 15
11/30/03 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
Thanks jpelg, I saw this review too and its what got me thinking about an equalizer. The way greG equalized the dt831 is what I would like to do with my dt880. It seems all these units have balanced outputs and need adapters for rca's; and thats something I didnt anticipate. I will try to see what one of these units cost, hopefully its not a fortune. I also appreciate the honesty about pricing dsavitsk and orpheus. I suspected $400 would be nowhere near enough but some gains in technology make products better and cheaper. This doesnt seem to be the case with eq though. At this point, unless something more affordable and better quality shows up; my eq shopping is already over. I dont want to spend $400 on something that will only add problems that negate the advantages of the eq it provides.
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post #13 of 15
11/30/03 at 1:54pm
a WARNING: behringers suck in general. you get what you pay for. even Greg doesn't use it anymore... he has a better one now. i sure as hell won't use it in a reference system. they have lots of features for a CHEAP price... and that always means trouble. i've tried other Behringer gear.... always inferior to its competition (which of course is always more expensive.)--but still inferior.

AND--that behringer digital EQ is a GRAPHIC.... you wan't a "parametric" EQ, as i said before.
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post #14 of 15
11/30/03 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally posted by sacd lover
I also appreciate the honesty about pricing dsavitsk and orpheus. I suspected $400 would be nowhere near enough but some gains in technology make products better and cheaper. This doesnt seem to be the case with eq though.
I think this is because good resistors are not getting a lot cheaper. As far as I understand, an EQ is going to involve, among other things, filters and volume pots. Considering that a good volume pot can cost upwards of $100, by the time you have a bunch of them in an EQ as well as the other parts, you can be into some real money.

-d
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post #15 of 15
12/2/03 at 8:02am
It's a good thing that this EQ is digital then.
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