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EQ's... why doesnt everybody have one?

Just browsing around the systems on this site, i knoticed that very few have equalizers. I realize some claim they introduce unacceptable noise but i would hardly call my Furman Q-2312, at %>.01 20Hz-40kHz, unacceptable. This $200 piece of equiptment ($100 on sale at musiciansfriend.com) replaces several thousand dollars in assembling a perfectly linear system in perfectly linear room, and in my opinion, accomplishes the task better than any room design could no matter how well engineered. It brought my system (onkyo reciever, NHT SB-3 speakers and Sony CD changer) to a level i could not have dreamed. It extends the SB-3's frequency response by at least 10 Hz to a satisfying 30 Hz without any rolloff or sacrifice in clarity, but the greatest improvement was definately in the Mid-range, around the SB-3s crossover frequency of 2.6kHz. The clarity of vocals, strings, guitars, brass... anything in this range rivals that of uneq'd systems costing well into the thousands of dollars... my total cost; $800. One of the more supprising differences is a marked improvement in immaging, it think this might have to do with eliminating several resonances in the right channel caused by my back wall (the left back wall has a curtain over it). The second my dad heard the difference he got on my computer to buy one for himself, he couldnt even wait to get back to his own, he then kicked me outa the listening chair and wouldnt get up for the better part of an hour.
-Dan-
dk89

Showing 6 responses by onhwy61

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,144 posts
 
One use of EQ is room correction. A parametric EQ can do wonders in smoothing out bass response. It's not a panacea, but a useful tool that puts the icing on the cake after you've experimented with speaker/listener placement, room treatments, etc. Not every system and/or room needs this type of equalization. EQ can also be used as tone controls and I honestly don't know why there is such a bias against their use in this regard. Unless you listen to nothing but pristine, audiophile recordings you would benefit from having tone controls.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,144 posts
 
Used Tact 2.0s are selling at a little under $1k. Factory refurbs go for $1.5k. They are far superior at room correction and measurement than the Behringer and they include measurement mics and software. In addition to the room correction frequency and delay correction the Tact also includes a 10 band parametric EQ. To put it in readily understood audiophile hyperbole, it's in a whole 'nother league than the Behringer. If you're going to try digital room correction/EQ you're better off spending the incremental dollars for the Tact. The downside to the Tact is that it requires a Windows PC and setup is definitely not intuitive.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,144 posts
 
GML, Millennia, Manley, Drawmer and Z-Sys are just some of the EQs that would easily qualify as audiophile grade.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,144 posts
 
Eldartford, if I understand it correctly, the Behringer is a combo graphic/parametric equalizer with a few added features. It is not a room correction device. It cannot adjust for time delay/phase and the EQ controls are too board to address all but the largest room induced resonances. The Tact makes corrections in both the frequency (as small as 2Hz wide) and time domains which is essential for true room tuning. Room problems are not just a frequency related issue. You should read REG's series on room correction in TAS for a more thorough technical explanation. As a practical matter can either device be used for room tuning. Of course both can, but one is a dedicated room correction device and the other is not.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,144 posts
 
Eldartford, can the Behringer delay one channel versus the other to compensate for small differences in speaker distances? If so, is the adjustment done automatically as part of the room correction process? What microphone do you recommend for use with the Behringer? Does the Behringer calibrate to the mic or are mic frequency response deviations left uncompensated. Also, what is the bandwidth of the narrowest response peak/dip that can be corrected by the Behringer?

It may sound like I'm anti-Behringer, but that's not really the case. The Behringer represents an outstanding value in terms of features and performance. My point is that there are better units out there for room correction especially if you go beyond bass EQing). In absolute terms the sonic differences between these units is not that great, but in audiophile terminology, the differences are not subtle, huge, shockingly dramatic, unbelievable, jaw dropping and possibly the single greatest advance in audio in the last 30 years.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,144 posts
 
Jafox, you should carefully re-read your next to last paragraph. There's talk of dimensionality, resolution and soundstaging, but absolutely nothing said about musicianship, arrangements or songwriting. It's not your music system, but the value system you bring to listening that is making certain recordings unlistenable. You're doing it to yourself.
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