2. analog
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Good Analog EQ

Looking to integrate some form of analog EQ as a temporary solution until I change my speakers (which is going to take a while).

I can appreciate that adding anything into the signal path is not ideal but I'm wondering if it might be a worthy tradeoff since I have a fairly high resolution system but am not hearing it all because of too much bass (and yes, I have some room treatment already).

If I unplug the low frequency speaker cable from one speaker I get a huge improvement in detail (but of course suffer in other ways), so I'm thinking if I get my hands on some decent equalizer I might be able to improve things.

I use digital room correction for digital sources, but obviously don't want to do this for LPs.

Thanks in advance.
madfloyd

Showing 3 responses by dan_ed

dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Are you handy at all? With what you describe maybe you could get by with a simple L-pad on the woofers to attenuate the LF until you have a more permanent solution.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Ok, so we're talking Aerial 9's. Close, but not quite up to my 10t's. ;-) Ixnay the L-paday. You don't want to mess up what Kelly has done at all. I can guarantee you that those dips you mentioned are room interactions, not the speakers.

It is all about placement and amp control with these upper end Aerials. The 9's aren't quite as tough as the 10t's to site in a room because of the difference in port location but the same rules of thumb apply. Some of this has been covered by other posters.

They need to be at least 5' from the back wall and at least 3' from a side wall. Personally, I would spend the money on the better Aerial speaker stands before I would put any more components in the chain. But that's just me.

The most important issue with getting the most from Aerials is amplifier control. The amp has to have a vice-like grip on the woofers or you get boomy, muddy bass. I would not use less than 250 watts/ch and probably SS.

Another issue is speaker cables. I would not use any of those fat, high capacitance cables. You can hear that in the bass as well. A nice tight thump becomes more like ttthhhhuuuuummmmppppp.

Your room dimensions are similar to mine, except that I also have a L-shape so there is some more volume in my room. Anyway, I found that the 10ts worked best for me on the short wall, firing down the length of the room. This allowed me to get the speakers about 7' from the back wall, and 3 to 4' in from the side walls. From there you can play with moving your seating position but about about 8 to 10' back from a line drawn between the speakers should be close.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Well, I never got the 10t's to sound as good in my listening room as they do upstairs in the theater system either. So I moved on for my 2 channel system. As for the woofers. I don't care what anyone tells you, IMO, 4 seven inch woofers do not do bass as well as one large woofer. ;-)

Good luck!
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