Equalizer, Which one or Not at All?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=60328
Printed Date: May 02, 2024 at 10:18 AM
Topic: Equalizer, Which one or Not at All?
Posted By: area51civic
Subject: Equalizer, Which one or Not at All?
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 12:07 PM
I want to add an Equalizer to my system to fine tune the sound a little more than what the HU allows. My question is: Is a $30.00 unit off of Ebay as good as a $100.00 unit? Also are these things even worth cash?
Replies:
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 12:18 PM
Equalizers are very useful if you need one. Out of personal experience I feel eq's end up as band aids in a system that lacks a good begining. Your system should sound close to great then adding an eq to make fine adjustments is more realistic.
About the price and differences, whenever you add a component in line of non amplified signal it is important to have a very clean output. So tht $30 eq may add more headaches through unwanted noise than do good. I like Audiocontrol products and have heard that alto mobile products are excellent.
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Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 3:59 PM
dwarren wrote:
About the price and differences, whenever you add a component in line of non amplified signal it is important to have a very clean output. So tht $30 eq may add more headaches through unwanted noise than do good. I like Audiocontrol products and have heard that alto mobile products are excellent.
Excellent points, and points very rarely thought about in serious systems. Avoid the 30 dollar, or indeed, even most 100 dollar units... Not good enough - they will usually have very noisy outputs, and will often do more harm than good.
The AudioControl is absolutely good stuff, but my choice was the AltoMobile UCSPro Digital EQ. One on the front doors, and one on the subwoofer. The AC stuff is far less costly than the Alto, but not quite as flexible. You will probably spend a couple hundred on an AC piece, and the AM item is about 800 each... ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 4:44 PM
I agree completely. A cheap EQ is one of the worst things you can do to any system. But in my mind the real question is what dwarren asked: why do you think you need one? Most systems don't really need an EQ unless there is a specific problem that needs corrected to achieve the elusive flat response curve, or to correct sub-standard recordings. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: Jay T
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 7:32 PM
I hate to disagree with you all. But IMO an EQ is crucial only depending on what kind of music you're listening to. Its very easy to tune in Hip Hop or Pop music because of the clean sound and production value those tunes usually have. On the other hand I listen to Metal and Hardcore all day with shredding guitars and double bass etc. The production quality is night and day when comparing some cd's. I use a 12 Band Alpine unit with Sub level & Crossover control built in. Its done great for me I love the idea of actually physically moving a slider instead of trying to press 30 buttons to get to some obscure sub-menu for the 100K adjustment etc. That being said, most new head units have a lot of EQ control built right in. I really like the Pioneers for sound control and I believe that most have Sub Level and frequency controls as well. but heavens yes, If you do buy one.... stay away from the cheap stuff.... You get what you pay for!
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 7:45 PM
I thought you were gonna have a good argument but instead that statement mentioning tuning to different music seems rahter far fetched.
As a matter of fact tuning for a specific type of music seems a bit hypocritical as the idea of an eq is to flatten the response curve, thus tuning your system to all types of music. Grant it most human ears don't "like" the flat response situation so some adjusting is to be expected.
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Posted By: Jay T
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 8:06 PM
"As a matter of fact tuning for a specific type of music seems a bit hypocritical " What? You don't think that different cd's of different quality and production value need to tune out excessive noise or bring up needed frequencies in order to try to obtain the "flat" sound?
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 8:17 PM
An EQ is intended to be set up once and left alone. It is to correct shortcomings or tame resonances and responce curves in your system. Tone controls in the HU are designed for the minor adjustments sometimes necessary when listening to CDs. Some CDs are poorly recorded and sound worse than others, yes. But the degree of low production value you seem to imply leads me to think of bootleg or garage band recordings, not commerical recordings. I listen to all sorts of music from death metal to rap to jazz to classical, and have never needed a full-blown EQ. I tried one for a while and removed it as I left it set to flat. If you need more than the tone controls on your HU to tame the rare harsh high end or weak low end as you change from CD to CD, then either your system has issues or the CDs you listen to are poor quality indeed! But hey, to each his own and if it's working for you go for it. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: Jay T
Date Posted: July 29, 2005 at 8:24 PM
Granted that my EQ is close to flat for the majority of the time, don't get me wrong I'm not really high or low to any extreme at any frequency, but haven't you ever listened to the difference in sub frequencies or pitch between one cd to another? (obviously) The crossover control for my woofer is used almost everytime I put in a cd in conjunction with my level to set the optimum bass response without distortion. I think you guys are cutting it short. I don't listen to "garage band" recordings but I'm not listening to muliti million dollar studio production. I know you guys are mods and have tons of experience but you can't tell me I'm entierly wrong on this one.
Posted By: mini14
Date Posted: July 31, 2005 at 3:13 AM
About that flat response curve; where can I learn more on this online? I don't consider myself a "newbie," but maybe I just don't use this terminology.
Posted By: mini14
Date Posted: July 31, 2005 at 3:13 AM
About that flat response curve; where can I learn more on this online? I don't consider myself a "newbie," but maybe I just don't use this terminology.
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