[Kr1z]

Prelude + Swans M10

For a while now I been listening to everything with treble and bass to almost full via the software control, then today I decided to mess around and read up and turned on EQ settings to Flat and treble and bass to 0db (in the middle). And wow, definitely quite a difference. Just wanted to ask a few questions on further equalizing the speakers.

My bass knob is in the middle at half way, is this is where it should be? And for the volume control again my speaker knob is at 50% at all times and I control the volume through the system volume control, I mean everything sounds good right now just wanted to know if this is the correct way of setting it up?

 

[_Spanky_]

A lot of people would say don't mess with it at all. No equalizers, no resampling and things like that. But really, if it sounds good to you and it's not damaging your hardware then is there really a problem?

 

[ca95f]

There is not a single recording in the world that some engineer hasn't played with, "improving" it by his own standards. If you find that you like what you hear, leave it alone, if you prefer it altered, than alter it.

In case you really care about natural sound however, you should keep in mind this. If your music taste is towards natural sound, (acoustic guitars, violins, pianos etc) and not electro/nic sound, then you can get a good sense of how things sound in reality, just by attending a music school, or a small gig / concert (or visit a recording studio). You should then adjust your system accordingly to match the natural experience as close as you feel.
In my world, if your headphone lack bass and you boost it in your eq a little, than you have done right. Quality and neutrality depends heavily on the quality of your equipment however.
If you like electronic music (trance, techno) or heavy rock, then there is no right or wrong, since the sound is designed from scratch not to resemble anything natural. It is the main reason most audiophile content is acoustic/classical/jazz and no hip-hop.

Lastly, not all commercial recordings have decent sound. And that includes big names and labels. For example, in my book, R.E.M.s "New adventures in hi-fi" is one of the worst sounding records ever in terms of sonic quality. It should be called "New adventures in lo-fi". It so poorly done, no eq can save it. You have every right not to enjoy it's sound quality.

My point is, sound is a very subjective thing. In the end, only you can know what you like and you don't have to change what you enjoy just because it doesn't sound right in someone elses ears.