Good Analog EQ

Piedpiper,

Ceiling is 7.5' high. I think your math is wrong: if my listening position is at 12' and I move the speakers 8'4" out from wall, how does that leave 6' between speaker and me?

I did try this - almost. I probably have the speakers about 7' out and I must admit, the depth of the soundstage is intoxicating. Many instruments still sound like they're coming from the wall, but anything panned 100% to one side jumps forward. I only tried one album so far (Aja), but got the impression that midrange sounds a little thin. But I'm certainly motivated to experiment more than I had been previously - thank you.

Thanks for the response, Marty.

3'8" from you to the axis of the speakers but 6' to each speaker. How did the bass improve? If this is too disconcerting try 5 feet from the back wall. This'll probably work very well for you if the other was too much.

the question is:
do you have too much even bass (meaning too much bass on all bass frequencies), and I would say we talk about sub-bass now (below 100Hz to my ears) - or do you have a few resonating standing bass-waves? if certain frequencies boom, then it´s the room/speaker-placement most likely.
if I remember right 60Hz resonate somewhere around 7-8 meters room(wave)-length.

just some thoughts...

To your original question :) . . . good analog EQs. For a great, flexible hi-fi oriented unit, the McIntosh MQ104 and MQ107 are both very good, and they're pretty cheap and plentiful used from i.e. old Mac dealers, and Audio Classics. They're a bit futzy - you do have to plug/unplug different capacitors to adjust frequency (make sure you get the capacitor kit!), but they are almost as flexible as a pro-style parametric, and sound better than many of the pro units as well.

Parametrics and DSP solutions are also frequently used with some sort of room measurement as well, and it's pretty easy to tie your brain and ears in knots by going down this road . . . sometimes a good-quality, conservatively-used graphic EQ can do wonders, for a lot less headache. For home use, the 2/3-octave style (i.e. Ashly 1502) is a good compromise between precision and fussiness.

11-09-08: Piedpiper: "It is never advisable to position speakers the same distance from both walls as it creates strong standing waves."

They do not create standing waves. It is that equal distances create interference between the direct and reflected radiation at the same frequency for both surfaces.

Kal