[jschwetz]

I recently put rockbox on my 5g Ipod, and I have started trying out the hardware eq feature with my e2cs. I have problems with distortion on certain albums, especially those that are particularly bass-heavy, but it also happens in certain classical albums as well.

I read the thread a while back where everyone was raving about how great the HW-EQ made the ipod sound, even out of the headphone-out, and they suggested to set the pre-cut to -12dB or higher in order to compensate for the distortion. I have tried this, but the distortion is still present, and irritating. Would this problem be solved if I bought an amp and used a line out from the dock? What if I used an amp with the headphone out?

Lastly, I have been doing positive EQ'ing up until this point; ie. I have been increasing the low shelf filter and high shelf filter, anywhere from 0dB up to about 6-7dB, (any higher, and everything distorts like crazy).

Thanks!

 

[jschwetz]

I would have thought that I would get at least one reply with 47 views.

 

[pegasus21]

If the hardware eq supports negative dB values, try it instead... that means instead of increasing the eq, decrease the ones you don't want so much of.

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschwetz I recently put rockbox on my 5g Ipod, and I have started trying out the hardware eq feature with my e2cs. I have problems with distortion on certain albums, especially those that are particularly bass-heavy, but it also happens in certain classical albums as well. I read the thread a while back where everyone was raving about how great the HW-EQ made the ipod sound, even out of the headphone-out, and they suggested to set the pre-cut to -12dB or higher in order to compensate for the distortion. I have tried this, but the distortion is still present, and irritating. Would this problem be solved if I bought an amp and used a line out from the dock? What if I used an amp with the headphone out? Lastly, I have been doing positive EQ'ing up until this point; ie. I have been increasing the low shelf filter and high shelf filter, anywhere from 0dB up to about 6-7dB, (any higher, and everything distorts like crazy). Thanks!

Try using a program like Foobar to set the gain level of your files to 89dB. This should give the EQ some headroom to apply gain without pushing the level into clipping. This will also let you use the Replaygain preamp setting to cut gain if necessary without the necessity of having to enable the graphical EQ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pegasus21 If the hardware eq supports negative dB values, try it instead... that means instead of increasing the eq, decrease the ones you don't want so much of.

This won't work with the hardware EQ, because it has a limited number of center frequencies available. The lowest frequency that the high shelf can be set to is 5.3 kHz. Lowering that will act like a treble cut, and not a bass boost.

You could do it with the software EQ, by setting the cutoff frequency of the high shelf filter to 200 Hz or so, and setting a negative gain.

 

[jschwetz]

Ok, thanks for the info. For the other part of my question, would a portable amp help at all if it was used with a line out dock, or even just out of the headphone out?

 

[jschwetz]

Last bump before the thread drops out of existence...

 

[Febs]

It depends on what you mean by "help." All other things being equal, a portable amp will simply amplify whatever clipping you are hearing in the headphones. It's possible that an amp will give you better bass response so that you don't need as much EQ. That would help you achieve your desired level of bass without clipping.

Have you tried using ReplayGain as I suggested? It's a much more affordable solution than an amp. I really don't think that an amp is necessary with the E2s and the 5G.