I have been wondering this since I got my new Logitech (X-240 model) sound system for my PC. I wonder what would be the best EQ (or any other) setting to get the best mix between treble and bass. (currently I have every setting at the same level, at the maximum)
I have a SoundMAX card and drivers in case anyone asks.
Your soundmax has a ten band EQ right? I know mine used to.
If so you want a gradual curve down and then up so that sliders at the ends of the EQ are higher than the center ones. This is true with all EQs too.
It's got to be done by ear too, how far you bend the curve is based on the speakers and the sound characteristics of the room. And it doesn't have to be a perfect bend either, it can be biased to one side or the other, or a little wiggly, it all depends on what you need to do to make the speakers you have balanced.
I usualy listen to a song while I tune mine, I listen to a song with as many different frequencies as possible, so I can balance the sound entirely. I close my eyes and move one slider at a time, first all the way up and down to determine exactly what changes, and then I put it back to center and slowly move it untill I can hear the frequency at the level I want. Then I move on to the next and repeat.
Putting all the sliders up is just boosting the volume of the entire range the EQ covers, you arn't getting anything out of it.
Here's a screenshot of what mine looks like right now, it's tuned to work with my speakers so its not a good idea to match it exactly, but it is a good starting point if you don't want to start with a flat EQ. (I always name my custom settings Boom Box)
Dont know, just tune the 400-1000Hz a bit down and 31Hz a bit up. For me, it gives nice effect when watching movies. With winamp, i use this setting ...
It is an option that can be set via the volume app. To go to it (at least on my PC), click the options and then click properties. From there, there should be a selection showing "other". There also should be a drop down menu, that might have more than one selection.
Once "EQ" is selected, check all of the items in the list below it.
To change back, do the same process, but select playback instead.
Wow, you listen to dnb and u dont know that bass is the most important thing in it. So are high tones. Eq is not for muffling any tone, its used to MAKE u hear the sound u need to hear. Changing eq doesnt change the sound, it changes the dB of the sound - different tone levels.
I listen to bassdrive too, its playng even right now
LOL, and what speakers do you expect that to work on?
@Not sure
Have you ever worked with realy high end speakers?
I have, my dad is a sound technician and has been for a very long time. Every High end sound system I have worked with, every one I have ever seen while working with him, has had at least a ten band EQ. The most important part of a sound system is a good amplifier and EQ unit. You can't get good sound without a good EQ, its simple as that. You can have $1000 speakers and they will sound like $20 ones on a system without a properly set up EQ.
Equalizers are called that for a reason, they level out the sound so you can hear the entire range correctly, you should hear all the frequencies evenly. The thing that blows my mind is that people rarely use them for that, instead they over do certain frequencies and muck up the sound.
Unfortunately because of the vast range of speaker makes and acoustic characteristics they won't always be level in every application. Generaly the mid will be too loud and the high and low frequencies will need to come up. That is why you run a curve, but if the sound system already does a good job you may not need to run a steep curve, but instead just bring up whatever you need to for it to sound balanced.
@Zippy.
For a logitech that EQ looks sketchy, I doubt it is set up right for a PC sound system. That looks like an EQ setting you'd run on a single instrument amplifier.
I have a Monsoon Multimedia MM-1000, its very similar to the X-240 in terms of sound quality, if not a tad higher. I run the equalizer settings I posted on that. I swaped the two satalite speakers for a pair of Sharp surround sound ones.
I ran both of the EQs you posted, and at least on my system, it realy makes it sound flat. Some frequencies are almost inaudible and others are crazy high. You should try loosely copying my EQ and see if you like that better, I garantee it will sound better than your current settings, even if it might be a little off for your system.
Yeah, EQ can be useful for removing overly loud peaks that result from room resonance etc. I agree with you that most people just randomly boost bass and treble without listening..
Generally though, adding more equipment to the signal chaing is not good. Especially with EQ unit I would be worrying about it messing the phase of the signal.
What the hell do sound cards have to do with this?
Besides, I think I know a bit about them. M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and Mackie Onyx Satellite sound pretty good to my ears. But I guess Sound Blasters will kick their asses y0 :P
High end = overpriced marginally better sounding hi-fi, from which you will get no benefit at all if you listen to mp3s.
PA-system and sound quality in the same thread? Oh my...
as he said it was PA speakers, then no it aint Hi-Fi.
still, i have an old microsystem, it says on the front "hifi sound" tho its only 2x10w.. and believe me, there is nothing Hi-Fi about the sound
as for EQ's; if u have a really good soundcard (pci, pci-e, usb or Firewire), try the DECiSOFT Equalizer for Winamp. can be adjusted to 32 bands and it gives u a nice sound if u bother to set it up right.
The man's a bloody SOUND TECHNICIAN, I think he knows what he's doing, considering he's been doing it for more than thirty years.
A high end EQ shouldent put the signal out of phase, if you use a realy cheap one maybe, but a high end one won't.
If you look for EQs online all the expensive ones have a very familiar setup on them . I'm talking $500 or more, with seperate left and right ten band channels (or more).
EDIT: fast moving conversation completely overtook me lol.
Well, on logitech - yes, theyr very big secret ... But for example, lets talk about recievers and amplifiers. Me, im using Pioneer stereo amplifier. 4x130w and very low noise/distortion. Anyways, as DragonCommando told before. Eq is to make the frequencie line as stable line what u could hear. Not every speaker is made for everything. Rock music wants its own eq, dnb wants its own. And yea, i have 4x15" PA woofers and in the back - 2x10" Hi-Fi woofers (in set, a pair of RRR S90F speakers).
Thats why I ditched my satalites within a week, I put High end Sharp speakers on my system.
The amp in my system isn't half bad, not nearly as good as the systems I've worked with before, but not bad for a home computer amp. Before I moved I had a high end amp hooked up through a dual channel ten band EQ all plugged into my computer, and I had instrument inputs on the front of my computer.
When I moved I left that system with my dad since he still uses it for recording, it's not a bad system, probably 3k in parts minus speakers.
As for different music needing different EQ settings, it realy doesn't. Bass music should still be equalized the same as any other, the idea is the bass is the center piece of the composition, but the other instruments should still be level with it. I hear it all to often in car audio, the bass is so high it rattles the car apart, I've actualy seen the bumper fall off a civic because of it.
People will tell you different, but I have yet to find any professional EQ set up differently based on genre.
I thought you only needed an EQ to either a) make up for cheap components (their most common usage in home applications) or b) reduce any peaks in the frequency response (as you notice peaks way more than troughs). I keep meaning to by a spl meter and run some test tones through my system, to see if I need any form of equalisation, and create some graphs to bore people with. Thankfully my sub does have a notch filter, so I can reduce the massive hump around 30Hz I get due to the resonant frequency of the cabinet.
As for different genres, I thought the whole point of audio production was to balance out the instrument levels and their tones, so you can just press play and, given the perfect sound system in an anechoic chamber, you'll hear the music exactly as the sound engineer intended?
With High-End speakers, yes. With low and mid end speakers, no - because they dont have enough good parts on them. Cheap magnet cant make the voice coil move enough fast, so it could do the move and then do the other move (sound). High ends components have good parts - good high end speakers, u cant see the coil vibrating on 50% volume or more. For more information, google/wikipedia.
Edit: Oops, my point is that low end speakers cant move that fast so it could do different sounds - the result is distortion or just a mixture of tones what u can understand. I mean, when drums and hats are mixed up, u cant hear hats correctly - only the "ts, ts". With high end speakers, u can hear all the sound like "tshhhh, tshhhh". I hope u get me, my english is not enough good to explain correctly tho
Ehh, yeah? I listen to DnB as well as a lot of other genres. But how can you say the Bass and the "High tones" are the most important in DnB? ALL of the sound in ANY music is the most important, if it's there in the source, then thats what you were supposed to hear and how you were supposed to hear it.
Of course changing the EQ changes the sound, it's boosting/reducing the db in different areas of the sound, hence, it's changing the sound. Adding EQ to music imo just makes it sound poor/terrible...
Well, i have a pair of B&W 602s3's, which i would regard as nothing more than entry level (but a very fine loudspeaker all the same...), and running an EQ through these makes a horrible mess of the sound, same as any other speaker...
