DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets, Version 4.0 (complete user guide)
Jan 19, 2016 at 1:48 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 28

DiscoProJoe

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You can download an updated version of these at the following link:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/828885/discoprojoe-s-rockbox-eq-presets-version-4-1-complete-user-guide
 
Happy EQ'ing! 
atsmile.gif
 
 
Jun 2, 2016 at 6:05 PM Post #2 of 28
Hey, awesome presets. I am running your previous version and I am ready to upgrade to v4.0. Your instructions call for
 
Settings > Sound Settings > Bass Cutoff
 
I don't have an option for 'Bass Cutoff'. Do I need to run a particular version or Rockbox to have that option available?
 
Cheers
 
Jun 3, 2016 at 1:42 AM Post #4 of 28
It seems, some options are not available for all players, i.e. I have the latest version for iRiver H320 and I don't have this option either. Maybe it's only for iPods?
 
Jun 3, 2016 at 4:23 AM Post #5 of 28
  Hey, awesome presets.

 
Thanks for the kudos! 
normal_smile .gif

 
 
I am running your previous version and I am ready to upgrade to v4.0. Your instructions call for  
Settings > Sound Settings > Bass Cutoff
 
I don't have an option for 'Bass Cutoff'. Do I need to run a particular version or Rockbox to have that option available?

 
  It seems, some options are not available for all players, i.e. I have the latest version for iRiver H320 and I don't have this option either. Maybe it's only for iPods?

 
I've never had a chance to play with Rockbox on any other music player besides 80GB and 160GB iPod Classics, so maybe the "Bass Cutoff" option is only available on iPods. But I'm not really sure.
 
On Rockboxable music players where this choice isn't available, I'm hoping that the default "curve" for the bass-boost feature...is the same as the "Bass Cutoff" of "1" on the iPod Classic. But this I'm not completely sure about, either.
 
Anyway, in other news,...
 
It's an absolute, eerie coincidence that I received my first replies on this topic thread...on the exact same day that I released a 43-minute video, detailing my EQ presets and portable headphone system!
dt880smile.png

 
You can view it on YouTube at...
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw91tMkpzV8
 
(On the YouTube page, click the tab under the video that says, "Show more," to view all the web links, etc. These links should be clickable.)
 
You also can watch this same 43-minute video on the Chinese video site YouKu at...
 
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTU5NDc2MTM0NA==.html
 
(On the YouKu page, at the end of the English text underneath the video, you'll see some blue Chinese characters that specifically look like " 详情 ". Click on those particular characters to view all the English web links, etc., under the video. You may need to copy & paste these links into your browser's address line to get them to work.)
 
Anyway, I rarely post on Head-Fi anymore, and this is the only topic thread I'm still subscribed to. But I will still answer people's questions on this thread, though.
 
Enjoy the EQ presets, and enjoy the video!
 
Jun 5, 2016 at 1:07 AM Post #6 of 28
I am running the latest developer version from 2016.06.01 on a Sansa Clip Zip, an iPod Nano (1st Gen) and an iPod Video (5th Gen). The Bass Cutoff feature is only available on the iPod Video. Nevertheless I am going to adjust the Bass to 12db (I think the Nano only allows for 9db and I don't recall what the Clip Zip allows) and try your new 4.0v presets out on all three players.
 
Cheers
 
Jun 6, 2016 at 3:20 AM Post #7 of 28
  I am running the latest developer version from 2016.06.01 on a Sansa Clip Zip, an iPod Nano (1st Gen) and an iPod Video (5th Gen). The Bass Cutoff feature is only available on the iPod Video. Nevertheless I am going to adjust the Bass to 12db (I think the Nano only allows for 9db and I don't recall what the Clip Zip allows) and try your new 4.0v presets out on all three players.

 
Awesome. I'll be really curious to know how it works on the three different players. Once I understand the differences better, I may update my article with this information.
 
Last night after reading your message, I went to http://www.rockbox.org and browsed the user manuals of some of the other players. Yes, it looks like a lot of them don't have the "Bass Cutoff" selection available, and others have more -- or less -- than 12dB of bass boost available as well.
 
I temporarily subscribed to the Rockbox mailing list on their site, and posted a question about how the "Bass Cutoff" feature on the iPod Classic compares to whatever the default value is on the other players. You can follow it at this link.
 
In the text of that posting, the quotation marks caused some kind of bug, and got displayed as gibberish characters, if you were wondering.
 
Oh well,...keep us posted on your results! I'm especially curious to hear how the curves of the bass-boost feature on your other players compare to the curve on the iPod Video with the "Bass Cutoff" set to "1."
 
Jun 6, 2016 at 2:52 PM Post #8 of 28
I had a chance to test out your presets with my iPod Nano. Keep in mind I don't have a pair of V-Moda M-100; nor do I use an external amp with a bass boost feature. As a matter of fact most of the time I just use a pair of plain iPhone earbuds, which you say is a no-no. 
wink_face.gif

That being said with the Bass option set to max (9db) and the iPhone earbuds the soundstage is definitely improved. I have to change your preset settings from album to album to avoid artifacts and / or clipoffs, but overall I am very please so far. I haven't done a comparison with the iPod Video yet. I am curious to hear what the Rockbox community has to offer for an answer when it comes to the Bass Cutoff exclusive feature on the iPod Video / Classic.
 
Cheers
 
Jun 13, 2016 at 1:41 PM Post #9 of 28
After spending some time with the iPod Nano I can say that your presets work reasonably well with the Nano's max Bass setting at 9dB. I've done all my listening without an amp and just with a standard pair of iPhone earbuds. I only use the Cool, Lite and Ultralite presets. I usually start with Classic around 5 and adjust as needed (always a value between 0 - 5 never larger). On occasion I use a setting that adds more treble or reduces treble. All in all I am very pleased. A word to all: use these presets even, if you don't own an amp or expensive headphones! In most instances you'll see an improvement.
 
Thanks again DiscoProJoe!
 
Jun 14, 2016 at 12:29 AM Post #10 of 28
 
Thanks again DiscoProJoe!

 
Glad to hear they're working great for you, even with Apple earbuds!
 
Personally, the most-often used midbass category for me (with my equipment) is the "Lite" category, which I use about 50 percent of the time. "Cool" and "Ultra Lite" are the 2nd and 3rd most-often-used ones for me, while occasionally using "Hot," "Wicked," and the special ones. My most-often-used treble categories with my V-Moda M-100s are "Classic," "Less Treble," and "Reduced Treble," while occasionally using the others as well. It's common for me to use the 0th through the 8th bass increments regularly, while using the 9th on some occasions, and very rarely using the 10th.
 
Anyway, how does the sound signature (particularly in the midbass) compare between your iPod Video (with the "Bass Cutoff" setting at "1"), versus your other Rockboxed players? I'm curious to know, so I can update my article with this information.
 
In the meantime,...happy Rockboxing! 
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Nov 1, 2016 at 6:39 AM Post #11 of 28
Am pleased to announce that I plan on attending the New York spring meetup on Saturday, June 10, 2017. I'll have a table set up with my portable headphone system and EQ presets for everyone to hear. Click here for more details.
 
Nov 3, 2016 at 2:02 PM Post #12 of 28
Ahoy...

It has been way to long. I meant to report back sooner; but then I saw your announcement that you'll attending NYC spring meet-up, so here we are.

Over the past month I've been using your latest presets with my rockboxed iPod Nano (1st Gen) & Beyerdynamic T50p; iPod Video (5th Gen) & Objective2 & Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro; Sansa Clip Zip & Apple ear buds.

These are my overall non-scientific impressions: the rockboxed iPod Video (5th Gen) with your recommended bass settings is the best sounding in overall bass performance (this applies to using the iPod with or without amp); second is the iPod Nano (1st Gen) and here it is really great to have your plethora of presets available, because to my ears paired with the T50p the sound is a bit on the bright side (but very detailed!), so I can usually find a setting that improves the sound more to my liking; the Sansa Clip Zip with the ear buds is at the bottom, but I still find that depending on the genre or mastering your presets improve the sound almost always, particularly with slower music and vocals.

Caveat: Everyone should keep in mind that the core sound signature that each player and headphone brings to the table can not be completely changed, but within limits you can make slight, but in my opinion significant adjustments to the sound, that almost always make it more enjoyable. For example I find that the Sansa Clip Zip sounds brighter more analytical to me than the iPod Nano or Video. You can't make the Zip sound like the iPod and vise versa. Equally you cant make the Beyerdynamic T50p sound like the DT 770 Pro. Obvious, but I thought I would mention it.

Also the difference in hardware features between the devices (Bass Cutoff setting and / or higher Bass boost) differentiates the devices further. So the highest Bass boost on the iPod Nano is not the equivalent to the highest setting on the iPod Video or Sansa Zip.

Bottom line: I think I've said this before, but these presets are really impressive. Not a magic bullet, you may experience some distortion on occasion with some songs, but overall I can't think of a scenario when they wouldn't improve the sound. And really this is not just for bass-heads. I am certainly not a bass-head, but I find the way these presets can round out the bottom range tasty; and I think it makes the music more engaging.

Right now my favorite setting for Jazz, Rock and Progressive Rock / Metal is Xtra Smooth. I only make adjustments to the Bass boost on a per album basis.

So there you have it.

 
Nov 3, 2016 at 8:38 PM Post #13 of 28
 

So there you have it.

 
I appreciate the impressions. Yes, the presets make the music sound more detailed with a wider soundstage that even non-bassheads can appreciate!
 
As mentioned in my article, the "Xtra Smooth" midbass category (with the Rockbox bass-boost feature turned off, or at +0 dB) will sound like "Ultra Lite" (with the Rockbox bass feature set at +12 dB and the "bass cutoff" set to "1"), but the former will have the equivalent of about 4 bass increments' less of sub-bass than the latter.
 
This same logic also applies to "Cool" vs. "Lite," "Wild" vs. "Cool," and "Wicked" vs. "Hot."
 
But, yes, with the majority of jazz, lounge music, and classical music, I find myself using the Ultra Lite / Xtra Smooth midbass categories most often with those genres.
 
Nov 3, 2016 at 8:47 PM Post #14 of 28
Also, I forgot to mention that if a song recording has a really excessive amount of midbass or lower midrange, you can use "Ultra Lite" with the Rockbox bass-boost feature turned off, and this will give you the equivalent of "Ultra Ultra Lite." You'll probably need to use a higher bass increment when doing this, though, but there are a small handful of songs in my collection where this is necessary, such as with Enya's song "Only Time."
 
Dec 4, 2016 at 5:40 AM Post #15 of 28
Lo and behold...I just discovered a new way to further improve both the sub-bass and the soundstage / musical detail of my EQ presets!
 
Thanks to something I noticed in a YouTube video by Hawaiibadboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif , I've decided to change the frequency and the slope rate of the lowest EQ band in all my presets from Rockbox's default of 32 Hz / 0.7 Q.........to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q.
 
(Hawaiibadboy's YouTube video can be found by clicking here.) He and I obviously have very different approaches to EQ'ing, but I noticed his lowest EQ band was set at 40 Hz instead of the standard 32 Hz, so I thought I'd give it a try in Rockbox,...and I wasn't disappointed! After also adjusting its "Q-factor" slope rate a little, every song I played sounded a lot better -- with improved low-end sub-bass and an even-wider soundstage than before. Holy cow, does it sound awesome!
 
I'll be releasing Version 4.1 in the next day or two (by posting a link to the new .zip file), along with a re-posted article detailing the updates within the next week.
 
Stay tuned! 
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