Rock music EQ

[dayamax]

I have found that in most music players (Winamp, WMP etc.) they have an equalizer preset called "Rock", which looks somewhat like a U.
The bass and treble are emphasized, and midrange is suppressed. Why is that so ?
Is rock music supposed to sound better that way ?

 

[Rednamalas1]

I personally do not use any EQing...I guess it enhances kick drums, some guitar (up high) and cymbals.
When I EQ too much, it tends to degrade some sound quality - at least my perception, anyways.

 

[mstorie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I personally do not use any EQing...I guess it enhances kick drums, some guitar (up high) and cymbals. When I EQ too much, it tends to degrade some sound quality - at least my perception, anyways.

What he said! Rock music is driven predominantly by drum and guitars and the mid-EQ scoop enhances those frequencies. On crappy headphones (i.e. anything stock) you will likely notice an improvement with EQ, as their frequency response usually sucks, and everything can get washed out without it. With good cans you should need very little (if any) EQ. I'm not a purist, and I do use a tiny bit of custom EQ on certain albums, because I think some producing/mastering engineers keep some stuff "too neutral", and particularly in rock, it can lose a bit of fun. But you shouldn't need the drastic mid-scoop that most audio devices use (i.e. 6+/- dB).

 

[dayamax]

thanks.. that was very informative.

Would you advise using any EQ when using a Sennheiser HD485 with an ipod classic or from a laptop ?

 

[mstorie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dayamax /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks.. that was very informative. Would you advise using any EQ when using a Sennheiser HD485 with an ipod classic or from a laptop ?

Personal preference...

I personally hate the iPod EQ settings. Apple needs to use their brain and allow the user to configure a custom eq without having to use iTunes. This is one area where I cant believe that Apple has failed miserably. 22 presets... yeah sure. Minidisc players etc have had custom EQ for years. EQ eats up battery, and you shouldnt really need it as the DAC is supposed to be pretty faithful at reproducing sounds as they were recorded. I havent heard the 485, although I have a pair of 497 and I try the hip hop and jazz settings (2-3 db boost), as the rock one is too severe (4db bass/treble boost).

 

[Coop47]

Completely agree with mstorie. I was an EQ addict with my Rockboxed iRiver H340, and I boosted the highs and lows to get more bass, kick drum and hi-hats in particular - not because I was seeking sonic accuracy, but just because I wanted to hear those parts more. In addition to upgrading on headphone, moving to the iPod pretty much cured me from EQ use because the pre-sets are so bad - I found the rock pre-set to cause a lot of distortion out of the headphone jack in particular. If I feel the need to liven up a particularly "dead" album on the iPod, I use the Jazz setting. If I was using the laptop and iTunes, I might use the custom EQ to tweak a bit.

 

[Rednamalas1]

I personally prefer EQ options in my X5L... Extra bass option doesn't distort as much as other DAP's EQ.

 

[tstarn06]

Have to say, the Zune80 has no EQ, and it never seems to need it either. Sounds impossible, but MS did get that right. Of course, the software was a nightmare (much improved now). But I thought I could not get used to no EQ. The Zune80 cured me. I also use the custom EQ on the Sony a little (mainly a single click on the Clear bass), but that's it.