That Realistic EQ brings back great memories and agree someone needs to bring back an equalizer with fancy lights and meters. I had an equalizer on everything from my car stereo to my house stereo, cheap way to add your own flavor into the music.
Before doing any EQ if you don't know what pink noise is supposed to sound like, Learn. If not, use a spectrum analyzer. Use your smart phone if you don't have hardware. After that you can experiment. Yes! 2 KHz is the main irritant of speakers, and no sane company will produce a speaker with a 2 kHz peak, unless its a Yamaha NS10. EQ device should be zero net gain, and sliders should equal up and down. Cut first. More slider gain decreases bandwidth, and yes one slider affects sliders next to them.. Generally, the more controls you have, the higher chance to F*&K it all up.
I eq the crap out of everything I can, whether it needs it or not, it's just fun, especially with a real time spectrum analyzer (bouncy lights). I do return everything to flat eventually for all of my audiophile critical listening with the usual assortment of sith audio equipment to make it sound as the artist intended, ha!
This video has literally taken me back to 1990 when I bought my first serious HiFi stereo rack system which was a Kenwood (Spectrum 890?) it was their flagship rack system at that time. It cost roughly $1,650 which was a lot of money in 1990 and especially if you're 21 years old. I had a friend of mine who was very stereo savvy help me set it up and he dialed in my 10 or 12-band EQ (with the always awesome visual spectrum display) with that same "W" curve only I didn't know it was called that then or now (I just called it 'the curve') but it's the same curve I use today for everything.
One of the main reasons I boughtt the Soundcore Liberty 3 wireless in ear headphones was it gives you a hearing test during setup and then sets up a EQ setting based on your hearing level. Great starting point and then you can adjust from there based on personal taste.
Yes! I didn't know about that. I can't believe the things I can hear now. I have upper frequency deficiency in one ear and the test made up for it. That and this video are making me think about adding EQ to my system.
Thanks for your service. I too have some high frequency lost in my right ear. Sounds even to me when I have headphones on. Says a lot about how our brains adjust how we perceive sound
I've been hooked on graphic EQ's since the original Soundcraftsman EQ came out in the mid-70's. Graphic EQ's should be used in conjunction with a test-record (or CD) to adjust the frequency response of the entire system to the rooms acoustic imperfections. They should also have gain balancing circuitry. The old Soundcraftsman EQ's were the only home audio EQ's that included both the circuitry and the test records to do this. There is NO such thing as a generic "EQ Curve". CheapAudioMan is right about mid-band brightness, but that's mainly due to human sensitivity to mid-frequencies and how our hearing changes with age. The Fletcher-Munson curve (human hearing response) compensation was incorporated into the Soundcraftsman test record. I believe they were the only company to do this. The one thing to avoid when using "analog" EQ's is to avoid a large spread between two adjacent bands (like +6 followed by -6). This can generate excessive phase shift. The best EQ today (IMHO) for a good system is the (discontinued) Ashley 15-band (model 1502). I was able to pick one up (scratch&dent) for under $300.00 back in 2012. They have "auto" balanced connections so you can use it on a balanced or unbalanced system. Ashley makes equipment for the live "pro-audio" market. I also have an old 10-band Soundcrafstman 2215 that I re-built with a new PS and newer op-amps for my small living room system. You should obtain a schematic diagram for any EQ you purchase "used". In most cases the op-amp chips should be upgraded. If that is done even a 20+ year old EQ unit can sound great. My biggest gripe with the flashy home audio EQ''s from the 70's & 80's is that they mostly use cheap mediocre IC's.
Thank you very much for this video Randy. Very informative. I too miss the old lights. I've been thinking about an EQ for a very long time, but didn't trust myself to make the settings valuable. With the knowledge you've given me, I'm most likely going to pull the trigger on a Lokius. You've cost me a lot of money, but given me so much musical enjoyment with your videos!! 🤣
This is an interesting topic - and something that folks may not realize is that musical octaves are such that down low, a few hertz (Hz) are a large range of notes. But up high, an octave covers a few thousand Hz (kHz). Each octave (of the musical scales that we are used to) *doubles* the frequency. In theory, we can hear *pitches* from 20Hz to 20kHz. We can *feel* frequencies below 20Hz, And we can sense the presence of harmonics and overtones (which are part of the "attack" of percussion instruments, for example) above 20kHz. The octaves that we humans can hear are: 20Hz to 40Hz 40Hz to 80Hz 80Hz to 160Hz 160Hz to 320Hz 320Hz to 640Hz 640Hz to 1280Hz 1280Hz to 2560Hz 2560Hz to 5120Hz 5.1kHz to 10.25kHz 10.25kHz to 20.5kHz We can hear a bit less than 10 octaves - and many of us lose some or all of the top octave. due to "just" aging and/or excessive noise exposure over our lives. Another very important use of EQ - is to correct for the quality of the recording we are listening to. However - EQ is not a magic be-all and end-all - there are many other aspects of music reproduction that are distinct from frequency EQ - so your advice to be restrained with it, is very wise.
I have a vintage 27 band parametric eq that brings out the clarity and brilliance toned down in the final mix to sound good on the average stereo equipment
Perfect. I've always enjoyed the sound using the "w" curve settings on my EQ. Everything just seemed to sound clearer and more open to me. Now I feel justified in using that setting but will try the other ones just to hear the difference. Thanks for the video.
The 10-band EQ is a game changer for the inexpensive WiiM Mini. I really enjoy this streamer for the ability to adjust eq to speaker/taste as you describe. As you said, this streamer is essentially a no-brainer for the cheap audioman approach to music streaming. The beauty of this EQ is that a slider exists at each octave, making it a bit easier to deal with. 👨🏻
Long May you rock, Randy. You know what first got me hooked on audio equipment? A little boom-box cassette player with 5-band EQ that I got when I was a like 12 or 13 years old. It was personal. Those were my settings that I put time into figuring out. Measurements can get us in the ballpark of what we like, but short of having the time and budget to constantly chase after “matching equipment,” we can just use EQ to lock it into place.. Why deny myself the pleasure? Chasing matching equipment is great, but it’s too rich for my blood. Long live EQ. Also: I use Dirac to EQ.
Part Two: All radio stations sound different one to another. Adjustable Eq is part of the many different kinds of audio processors, along with other controls on these processors, that add or detract bass, mirange and treble, as well dynamics across the audio spectrum, on almost every station on the air which in the USA is over 15,000. Some engineers settle for a factory preset that rarely sounds as good as what a smart, experienced, music and audio lover, radio broadcast audio and RF engineer, can obtain with carefull shorterm and sometimes long-term adjustments. When I worked at the legendary Live 105 and KSFO and KYA in San Francisco in the eighties , I had the oportunity of working with the best broadcast audio equipment money can buy as well as with great equipment during my time with the Old Clear Channel, now I-Heart groups in the eighties through 2010, as well as other lessor quality pieces at various other AM and FM stations from 1975 to 2016, when I retired from full-time engineering. I also had the opportunity to work with the two biggest designers of Broadcast Audio Processosr Equipment Companies in the USA. One of them have more stations worldwide that use their products on air every day than any other manufacurer anywhere. I also beta tested several of their new products. They would put their units on the air, adjust them over a few weeks, then take them back and tweak the design of the units, come back and try again, and I also created presets that I thought sounded full, clean, and loud on the air. With the great experience I gained from these designers and great sounding San Francisco Bay Area Stations to compete with, with some of the smartest engineers in the industry, it was a tremendous experience for me. Also I spent alot of time at many very high end Audio Stores strewn all over the San Francisco Bay area which helped me learn how good reproduced sound can be. My teen years experience playing the Clainet in small groups to a couple of full sized orchestras helped me learn the sound of accoustic orchestral instruments. I have also done alot of multi-track recording at radio stations that would have artists, ( some very famous ones, popular today and years gone by ) come in to play live on air, or in a studio filled with listeners. So with all that said, what did I do with that knowledge regarding creating great sounding radio stations. Well I learned that i could change and improve the sound of hundreds of thousands of radios over my career. My most used trick is creating an eq curve that is a bit dished out in the midrange, like a subtle loudness curve, boosting bass and treble. This made so many of these cheap portable boom boxes, clock, and table radios that deliver mostly midrange ,sound fuller, sometimes dramatically so. And on modest to above average sounding car and home audio systems, when i would switch those curves in, it would sound like the listener just got a new pair of better speakers. I still use that trick today. These adjustments make my stations sound fuller than the competition. When you listen to many of them, I daresay most of them, they sound usually way to midrangy and dense or too midbass heavy, blocking out midrange and treble, and/or with ruthlessly squashed, smashed dynamics, especially in the midrange as well as the bass and treble, then you tune over to mine and they are punchy, with fuller deeper bass, smoother midrange , and sparkly treble, and as loud on loud parts and almost as loud on softer parts as the smashers. The dished out eq also helps the sound of many of these hit, pop, country or hip hop recordings these stations play, that lack full bass ,treble and suffer from restricted dynamics in the recording process which is done at the recording session supposedly to help the songs "jump out of the radio which is not true". In fact many over process so extremely that the soft and loud parts are almost identical in loudness, with only one or two db of dynamics left. Many carry it so far in order to squeek out every last bit of apparent loudness that they push the processors to hard , out of their sweet spots which causes the loud parts to sound softer than the soft parts of the recording when broadcast. I hate that!! Another benefit of a somewhat dished eq radio sound is that many stations in the same listening market play the same or mostly the same songs as their competitors and sometimes they come up at the same time another station or stations are playing the same song. So wouldn't you rather listen to that song on the sation that sounds fuller, more dynamic and clearer. I would. And then after that song you may stay and listen to the next song or the one after that, because you like the songs and they sound better than the competition, which may be your favorite station. Station owners, general managers, program directors, and ad executives love that. It's called increased time spent listening. So check it out for yourself and even call the station engineer if you don't like their sound. Some may appreciate it, some may not, but if they do sound bad, after your call they may try to inprove it. FM radio can sound very good, even excellent, even better than streaming and many do, when up well, and most use CD's or .wav files on their music playback systems which sounds better than streaming of the same songs out of the gate. Believe me they can, and many do sound cleaner smoother and more extended especially in the highs than any music streaming service. However more and more stations are using MPs's that they purchase or acquire from Record Companies and that really hurts their sound . So those stations sometimes are not as not as dynamic or clean as hi res streaming. But many do sound better. By the way my favorite and best sounding streaming is noticably Qobuz. Happy tuning.
Bravo, CAM! Standing ovation! Not only helping your listeners get more enjoyment from their existing audio gear cheaply or for FREE, but discussing hearing loss and age-related hearing impairment among audio enthusiasts (and using tone controls to improve an affected listener's experience) nobody (well, hardly) is addressing this. Thank you Randy!!
This is one of the best and most informative TH-cam hi-fi videos I have ever seen. I've been looking for EQ guidance like this for a long time. Thanks so much and please keep up the good work. Kudos!
I use mechanical EQ's on all of my audio setups. 😎For me, just Bass & Treble controls don't cut it. 😁 Bellari EQ570 for the Desktop \ Realistic 31-2000 EQ for the main system \ Technics SH-8017 for my vintage Realistic STA-95 setup with Cassette input. 💖 The Wiim Mini is used on my main system . . . which does go through the Realistic EQ too! ☺
I'm pushing 56 and seem to have lost the upper end of the frequency response curve...around 15KHz. Age and extended exposure to a machinery room (688 fast attack boat) has probably taken a bit of a toll. Just tried out the suggested settings on my latest vintage addition...a mint example of the Marantz EQ-20. Many thanks!
Hi, thank you so much for many all these videos you have made. You are one of the reason why I've bought one Wiim Pro Plus streamer after doing my research. The initial sound from the Wiim Pro Plus to my Muzishare X7 integrated amp via a pair of Van Den Hul (The First) interconnect to a pair of 94db Focal JMLab speakers was definitely better sounding than streaming through a Bluetooth amp. But even when I'm streaming hi-res audio via Tidal, it sounded flat and the sound stage felt compressed. However, i must say your video on Best EQ settings saved the day for me. I punch in the same setting you suggested and make some very minor tweaks, and immediately the sound stage opened up, and the bass felt fuller. Thank you once again for giving this guide free to your viewers, unlike one channel, (which I shall not name) where the viewers need become a patron before you can have assess to his "awesome" eq settings for the wiim.😅 Thanks again and God bless😊
Randy, AKA CAM, I might have a contender for your consideration...especially since you aren't afraid of eq. Have you had a look at the Behringer Ultracurve Pro DEQ 2496? I've got one and IT IS AMAZING. I would go into a litany of what it will do, but the list of what it won't do would be shorter. It's a DAC(AKM chip...I know you're not a fan). It's a very precise equalizer, both graphic and parametric. It's an expander/compressor image width manipulator. It's a digital delay perfect for adding phase control to a subwoofer. It's an RTA with room correction. ..and a lot more. I think you get the idea, and best of all new from Amazon it's around $350. I got mine used off ebay from a church that was revamping for around $150 in perfect condition. On the down side it only goes up to 96 kHz on the DAC, but that's not a problem for me. Check this thing out Dooooode!!!
Spot on about using EQ curves as cuts instead of boosts. Also, I think you could mention that some reputable speaker manufacturers post their response curves (anechoic I know but..) and that can be a good starting point for finding a good curve- say finding the dip most two ways have at their crossover point… That WiiM EQ is money
My Crown XLiI500 and JBL4425 were made for each other. Lokius EQ is helpful. On the Klipsch forum John Warren stressed removing the electrolytic coupling caps & use Nichicon Muse 10ufd 50v. I chose a polypropylene 12ufd 250v audio cap. This amp is now very musical with incredible dynamics, clean, clean, clean. Working on EQ tuning. Vid helped, thanx.
I installed a sound card in my PC and found the only speakers I had that that could even remotely handle the power was a Klipsch soundbar. But between the 2 pieces of hardware, there are almost no features, so I needed to buy a desktop equalizer app. But I had no idea how to use it. This video helped a lot. Thanks!
I run my Oppo BPD-105 XLR main outs through the SPL Vitalizer MK 2-T sound processor into a Rotel RB-1590, driving a pair of JBL 4312G's. The SPL is a game changer.
My favorite eq is the ‘ loss less’ EQ on the mojo 2 DAC from chord. I use this dac in desktop mode, excellent dac with programmed chip and natural vinyl like sound and a 5 band equalizer. It gave me brand new speakers for free to! Well worth the money. (I don’t like the interface but the dac is very small and made for mobile use and once you have the setting right, you’re done,
Great video on effectively using EQ! I definitely would echo the statement about it not always being about boosting. If you have enough control, it's always better to cut the frequencies you don't want and turn up the gain/volume instead of boosting frequencies. I think your examples illustrate that excellently. I'm intrigued about what you were saying about EQing digital audio signals. I'm a teacher now but I used to be a live sound engineer and when we mixed with digital mixing consoles, we didn't have to work the eq's any differently than on an analog console-- we just had more control! Maybe it has to do with compression? Would a .wav file be different than an .mp3 with equalization? What you are saying makes sense, but now I want to understand it a bit better.
Great video, Randy. I’ve always loved tone controls, eq and loudness compensation. So sad that it has all but disappeared from modern components. I have a Hafler dh-101 preamp that has switchable tone controls plus a processor loop. I use the tone controls to broadly fix poor recordings and have a Schiit Loki in the loop when i need more adjustment (might just go for a Lokius next time). I don’t have loudness compensation for listening at low levels but can simulate it pretty well with the Loki by boosting the 20 hz band about 4-6 db and the 8k band a few db. I like your idea of maxing out your curve at 0 db and plotting your curve from there. Will definitely give that a try.
HI AGAIN You are a honest straight forward honest talking kind of chap... I always have my Bass up 2 and my treble down 2 .... Im Old school I dont stream music I have Brennan JB7 with thousands of tracks on the hard drive and that is plugged straight into my Amp with phono leads ... SOUNDS SPOT ON TO ME !
Love the your basic EQ setting on the WiiM and I’ve just applied it to my new WiiM amp, having lived with my Cyrus 6 amp and CD player for twenty years and my cd went faulty beyond repair so I decided I needed a change and the WiiM amp is ticking all the boxes, but I was struggling with the EQ and PEQ but not now and it’s a great setting for my Wharfdale 12.1, great video, oh I’m currently using a Sony UBP X800 as a CD transport as well as playing films.
If anyone ever has the desire to use single full range drivers you will absolutely want an nice EQ to play with. It makes a huge difference with my Lii Audio F15's.
SUBSONIC (INFRASONIC) filtering is massively important - especially in the age of digital because you can't hear infrasonics & they rob power. On a standard 10+band EQ - it's the lowest control (leftmost) pulled all the way down. Most people suggest that you bump the next higher frequency up a few dB to offset the spillover of the downward curve from the lowest band. This is especially helpful if the lowest frequency band is higher than 29 Hz. Everything else is generally more subjective. One thing I suggest you look into is a factor referred to as "Q". "Q" generally refers to the shape of the EQ on a specific band & how that filter spills over to adjacent bands. The higher the "Q", the more specific the control on the band it is tied to & the less it affects adjacent bands. Also: Sibilance lives in the 5 to 10 kHz frequency range, and can cause problems if over-emphasized in a recording. While it is possible to use a graphic or parametric EQ to correct for sibilance, this is often an unsatisfactory approach. Often the overall track will begin to sound dull before the sibilance is corrected. A better solution is to use a dedicated de-esser, or use an EQ in the sidechain input on a compressor to perform de-essing.
Probably explained below, but the overal perceivedl level dip after digital eq'ing is not crushing, it's kind of the opposite. It's a (perceived) overall reduction to maintain the balance between settings i think.
Boy do this video has me yearning for the old late 80s Yamaha EQ-70 I had in college. I go back and for on EQing certain music and in particular, the format can influence sound quality as well. Late 80s to mid 90s synth bands lack in the lower midrange and can be too bright requiring some flattening. For newer records/CDs I tend to start w/ a flat EQ and adjust depending on my mood. I have a preset in my Marantz AVR app that I toggle between depending on what I'm listening to because sometimes I like a bit more midrange bias.
Hello Randy! Great video! The word EQ always left a bad taste in the mouth of HiFi enthusiasts through decades because they were told tone controls are "evil". I was struggling to get the sound i love with my stereo at home without using an EQ. Sometimes it was nearly perfect, but most of the time more or less "ok". It simply depends on the recording. My solution for this problem is the Behringer Ultracurve Pro DEQ2496. I put it between my streamer and my DAC via Toslink, so no A to D or D to A conversion is needed. This is very necessary because that's where you would get the noise from, a lot of "haters" of this device talk of. I use it If needed. I stored some presets depending on the kind of music I am listening: more/less lows, flat, extended highs... But the DEQ2496 offers much much more than an EQ, just read the specs online. Maybe you can have a look at this very versatile and in my opinion relativly cheap tool. Greetings from Germany
Thomas...Amen brother!! Bang for the buck, the 2496 can't be beat. I too use the Toslink, but I have ordered the AudioSmile mod and can't wait to get modding. I've heard great things about this kit. Behringer has a winner here if you will take the time to learn to use it!!! Greetings from Louisiana USA!!!
HiFi companies kept removing things to reduce costs and they sold it as an asset. "We removed everything in the quest of greater purity and to shorten the signal path. That's why the new, purer amp is 50% more expensive"
I still use my 25 year old dbx and I like the memories. depending on the speakers, music and even the differencd between cd's the way they were recorded I use one of my memories. EQ so convenient.
I bought the klipsch rp600m because of your recommendation but not using a center channel I wanted to bring forward vocals and this awesome video helped! Thanks
I think it would be cool to do that with an tablet then u could change the pic when u get bored or put a visualizer on it I used to love the xbox 360 music visualizer u could move it around using the controller
Randy.... it would be awesome if you can compare inexpensive DSP units like parts express DSP and Minidsp This 1 buy would likely be the biggest upgrade you can make to your system and its not expensive
Music listening is about enjoying the sound, and having more control over how it sounds to better the enojyment is a great thing. Vanilla sound not always is the best.
Not debating you, just In my experience, sibilance isn't in the EQ but the driver. I am a little older than you, Randy, and I have to give a little bump in the 2-4k range if the speaker is on the warmer side. If the speaker is good enough for me, then I just run flat (like my Dali Spektor 1s). I find if I am messing with EQ too much, I really need to change the speaker (i.e., RB42's to the Dali's).
Resonances from the drivers create most of the objectionable artifacts people don’t like. Either Toole or Olive discussed this with Erin’s Audio Corner in their interview for anyone interested. Those random small peaks kill the illusion of what we are listening to. I don’t know how well that can be fixed in EQ, proper driver design is the best solution.
@cheapaudioman Hey friend, viewing this ... again ... this may be one of my fav CAM videos on any of your channels. Great instruction, you can see your passion for music come through. I'd love to see more of this type. Even if you've covered them in the past, EQ, speaker placement, tone control, subwoofer calibration ... all good topics. 🙃
I have a loudness switch on 1978 pioneer integrated amplifier. It does the U. After I get to 60dB, I switch it off. There's an EQ, too. Had an A-ganger in lower level engine room 2 that could not hear ringer on phone.
The first thing I do when EQ'ing is to 1. remove the boxy sound from a bookshelf speaker by cutting at 125Hz and 2. cut at 2k which, I find, removes overall harshness, especially with guitar tones.
Interesting! Many speakers distort a lot below 120 Hz. And about the 2kHz "scoop" that you add: many speakers already have a recess in that area roughly matching Xover frequency, many of them also have resonances there. You seem to be working around the weak spots of your speaker, a perfect use case of EQ.
Good video. I don't EQ much anymore, but when I do, I always first cut what I don't like. THEN, I boost what I do like. Also agree with not boosting more than 3-4 db. If you go more than that, it's probably not the speaker for you.
I also run PA a lot and when you run PA, you have to always run in what's called "Unity". In a way, you also have to do that with a home system and not many know that. You can't just boost. Boosts and cuts need to even themselves out DB wise somewhat.
For most CDs I boost the treble and the bass. I only mess with the mids if there is something wrong with it. A good EQ and conservative adjustments make music sound how I imagine it should. When I play a lot of CDs from the late 80s there just too flat sounding. I made some adjustments and then the cymbals and reverb decay comes out.
Randy, as always your videos get better. I often add EQ to my systems. Each component has it's own "personality" and may benefit from an EQ cut or slight boost. With my current desk system I have not felt the need to EQ it due to the use of Dobly Atmos for headphones for Windows plug-in. BTW, have you or anyone here heard of the European band "Yello"? They have been around for years, but I've never heard them until this week. Their music is surely "alternative" and some would say strange, but they really give both channels a side-to-side workout! A lot like Pink Floyd. I ordered their Atmos edition Blu-Ray album Point. Can't wait for it to get here from the UK.
I have a music reference rm5 tube preamp I have owned for 40 or so years has no tone controls and sounds great have to detox the selector knob about once a year perfect no equalizer ever to many possibilities for distortion
Yea, I remember now how loud the engineering spaces could be, which amazes me how well we isolated that from the outside, in retrospect. Me being a forward puke, I lost most of my hearing from going down on one breath after a stupid towel that slipped off the side during port call. I didn't clear my ears down to about 80 feet I think which did a number on one of my ear drums. I think rock concerts took care of the rest.
In the 'old days' of live gigs, EQ was always for cutting, mostly to compensate for system inadequacies around crossover points and the crappy rooms that the systems were in... Hahahaaa... ahhh. The better the room - the less cuts.
The most valuable lesson I ever learned about EQ was from Bruce Robert Jackson in the 90's. He taught me the value of SUBTRACIVE EQ. Take out the frequencies you don't like or that sound nasty. If it's still lacking you can slightly boost the frequencies you want to hear. Then when you crank the volume you can go bigger with less risk of distortion
Allow me to introduce a new unit of measurement for sound volume, which I call vovol* (abbreviated: volume voltage). THIS IS HOW IT WORKS: You use two pre-stages, one with positive volume values, and the other negative. For example, so has the pre-step with positive values a measurement from +0 decibels up to +20, while the one with negative values, has from -0 decibels down to -20 decibels. The highest voltage occurs when the value is +20 and -20 decibels (or: 20 vovol), while there is low voltage, when the value is on +0 and -0 decibels (or: 0 vovol). You can possibly also combine two different values with each other, by adjusting the value to +10 -20 vovol, which gives a crisper effect. Have experimented with this myself at work and at home. The adjustment can of course be set to taste, but the purpose of vovol for me is to equalize the sound volume, so that you better hear weak sounds and at the same time avoid high deafening sound levels (loudness war's). Thank you for reading this! Take care of your hearing... :-)
I start rolling off from 3k to 10k because I can't stand those nasally frequencies. I think it was Floyd Toole that found most listeners prefer a smooth tilted EQ that rolls off towards the highs. I enjoy that until 12k where I prefer to boost that back up for some added sparkle. Out with the nasal, in with the sparkle.
Thanks, that was good. Dude, I've been itching for an analog EQ for my stereo setup. I admit it and I agree, I miss the lights. I want the control of course, but I also want the lights! Retro lights!
EQs were not around in the 90s. They all but disappeared by the late 80s. I loved the EQs of back in the day and owned a few. I loved the lights and graphical representations they had as well. Sadly though, many introduced noise and such, so while they functioned well, there was a high trade off. We have the Schiit Loki and the Bellari EQ today, but I would love to see the ones with say 10 bands and spectrum analyzer display come back, but improved. Personally, I only need an EQ for headphones now and I don't use them to listen to music presently, I'm a speakers guy. I have two tone controls on my preamp, but never really need to touch them, they stay in defeated mode 99% of the time. The only time I touch them is for certain vinyl records and that is not much either. My system is revealing and I enjoy hearing recordings as they were done. Most sound great, but there is always that one crazed one. Yeah, we both think alike here on EQ settings. I learned how to use EQs back in the day and find that most times instead of boosting something, I cut something a little bit at one end or the other leaving the mid range alone. Also, you are correct, it takes only very slight adjustments 99% of the time.
Probably the biggest, but not the only reason, is U R My Man as a Fellow EQ LOVERS and it is the EXACTLY the same reason you speak of. Even before I had a lifetime of age related, work abuse, and poor habits...like standing in front of multiple Massive Speakers at concerts like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, etc at the Filmore Ballroom. But I was born with a bone obstruction in my left ear...so from the get go one ear was Bass sensitive while the other is or was Treble sensitive. And lastly I've virtually done everything you've done plus have pretty much like the same settings. Plus something you seem...to miss is room correction, but you need to be careful. My only issues at this point is finding Amos, Clas D, or Tube Hybrids which have the connections I need for TV to replace Sound bar allow the addition of a Loki and Blue Ray, Steamer Stack small space saving. And the love of Powered speakers like Vanatoo, Klipsch 5's now $450 at Costco and my desire for as holographic a sound stage in my semi near field environment. This is where I plead....Obi Wan you are my only hope. 😂
Part one: Well this is a great video. The Cheapaudioman eq curves are right on the money. I was done with equipment that does not have tone controls many years ago, after spending many thousand of dollars on preamps without tone controls to get that "pure" sound. I was tired of listening to a cd or record, and maybe that particular recording sounded pretty good, and the next one sounded too thin on the bass, or too bright or midrangy, and I couldn't change it to get a richer of more extended or smoother sound. So do you reposition your speakers for every piece of music you listen too, i hope not. The purists say eq spoils imaging, adds some roughness, and adds phase distortion. Well there is truth to that, but better designed eq's minimize that, and to me it's a worthwhile tradeoff to get the full, smooth deep, crisp , transparent sound of a live recording or a great studio one that carefully adjusted eq can give you. I like a gently dished midrange mostly eq setting, but use all kinds of curves. A word of caution, don't raise one band way up or down and the one on either side the oposite. Kind of move groups of faders generally in the same direction up or down to get the sound you want. This also minimizes Phase Distortion. I like and own three graphic eq's, two of them are my favorite 231s ,DBX 31 band stereo eq's I bought for under 300.00, (right now 275.00 on amazon) a tremendous value. I have also owned several other 10 and 12 band eq's over 45+ years of listeng at home and adjusting the sound of radio stations. (part two on that). Graphic eq's work well on systems with subwoofers also. They can take an 8 inch thinner sub and make it sound like a deep punchy 12 incher. I would rather suffer a tiny bit of distortion that I may or may not hear, rather than spending thousands of bucks over and over on speakers that only sound good on some recordings i own. i don't believe a speaker exists that makes every recording sound spectacular in any room. It's impossible, too many variables. Many bass and treble controls that are found on less expensive receivers ( especially newer ones ) and even expensive ones, are not precise enough. Most of them I have heard over the years, crosses the bass at too high a frequency , or the treble, at too low a frequency, which make them sound more like midrange or boxy bass adjustment controls. Newer loudness controls suffer in the same way. Older vintage receivers have better more extended sounding tone controls. ( My old vintage late 70's and very early 80's Luxman receivers and Nad units have very good bass and treble controls and a killer loudness control. The Nads have an additional control, a very deep bass boost button. And don't get me started on the benefits of a well designed loudness control. Good luck finding any loudness controls good or bad on any home audio units made from the present to the last 10 to 20 years or so.. Another falacy that's promoted by purists is, that you are hearing the recording as the artist intended, when you the home listener is not using tone controls. Total Nonsense. Home speakers sound different than studio monitors. All rooms sound different. So a perfectly calibrated flat monitor speaker system in a professionally treated recording studio that gives you a flat listening response at the center of the mixing console, well you will not get that at home, maybe not even close. So get a nice graphic eq and use the Cheapaudiomans curve shapes to get the sound you want. i believe you will discover for the first time and/or redescover the joy of great sound on most all of the recordings in your collection.
my Realistic fried after 15 years of continuous use. Thank god I found a brand new one online out of the box. Was so happy to find a supplier that still had them. My favorite!
@@fishbone08070 I have nothing bad to say about the old Realistic products. With minimal effort I was able to swap the heads from my broken 1991 Harman/Kardon TD4200 into an early to mid eighties Realistic SCT-41 cassette deck. It sounds the same to me as the Harman/Kardon used to.
I've never understood people who never uses EQ Everyones hearing is different and also headphones. Who says that a DAP has the right setting for you right out of the box? I EQ the hell out of all my headphones to get the right setting for my hearing and my liking. I spend hours fine-tuning.That satisfying feeling of getting it just right is amazing and the music becomes alive.
Great video Randy and love the channel. I tuned in to live event the other day and that was an enjoyable departure from the standard format but, I digress. Regarding EQ’s my feelings and experiences mirror yours very closely. Back in the day, I loved my EQ for the sound enhancement - and the lights! Gotta love an old school spectrum analyzer. In my younger years, I generally preferred the V-curve setting as it added a lot of sizzle and boom. Of course, like you noted, some of that may have also compensated for so-so speakers. Now I prefer a flatter response and rely on better speakers to do the heavy lifting - occasionally adjusting for poor recordings. I do generally keep a slight treble bump to correct for my aging ears. Biggest bummer is that tape monitor loops are largely gone and both of my current amps (AVR and 2-ch stereo) do not have pre-out / main in connections. As a result, my 80’s EQ is gathering dust. Still run a stalk-mounted Blaupunkt EQ in one of my cars.
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/48PxwspDvrE/mqdefault.jpg)
Finally someone speaks about EQ with examples of what you're actually doing to the sound
That Realistic EQ brings back great memories and agree someone needs to bring back an equalizer with fancy lights and meters. I had an equalizer on everything from my car stereo to my house stereo, cheap way to add your own flavor into the music.
HUGE differences, my car speakers are broken right now so I turned the bass all the way down and its subtly distorts everything else
Before doing any EQ if you don't know what pink noise is supposed to sound like, Learn. If not, use a spectrum analyzer. Use your smart phone if you don't have hardware. After that you can experiment. Yes! 2 KHz is the main irritant of speakers, and no sane company will produce a speaker with a 2 kHz peak, unless its a Yamaha NS10. EQ device should be zero net gain, and sliders should equal up and down. Cut first. More slider gain decreases bandwidth, and yes one slider affects sliders next to them.. Generally, the more controls you have, the higher chance to F*&K it all up.
I eq the crap out of everything I can, whether it needs it or not, it's just fun, especially with a real time spectrum analyzer (bouncy lights). I do return everything to flat eventually for all of my audiophile critical listening with the usual assortment of sith audio equipment to make it sound as the artist intended, ha!
This video has literally taken me back to 1990 when I bought my first serious HiFi stereo rack system which was a Kenwood (Spectrum 890?) it was their flagship rack system at that time. It cost roughly $1,650 which was a lot of money in 1990 and especially if you're 21 years old.
I had a friend of mine who was very stereo savvy help me set it up and he dialed in my 10 or 12-band EQ (with the always awesome visual spectrum display) with that same "W" curve only I didn't know it was called that then or now (I just called it 'the curve') but it's the same curve I use today for everything.
Awesome, I always set my eq like this as well. I've heard it described a an upside down seagull. Like the way kids draw birds, but upside down.
Very cool
One of the main reasons I boughtt the Soundcore Liberty 3 wireless in ear headphones was it gives you a hearing test during setup and then sets up a EQ setting based on your hearing level. Great starting point and then you can adjust from there based on personal taste.
Yes! I didn't know about that. I can't believe the things I can hear now. I have upper frequency deficiency in one ear and the test made up for it. That and this video are making me think about adding EQ to my system.
Thanks for your service. I too have some high frequency lost in my right ear. Sounds even to me when I have headphones on. Says a lot about how our brains adjust how we perceive sound
I've been hooked on graphic EQ's since the original Soundcraftsman EQ came out in the mid-70's. Graphic EQ's should be used in conjunction with a test-record (or CD) to adjust the frequency response of the entire system to the rooms acoustic imperfections. They should also have gain balancing circuitry. The old Soundcraftsman EQ's were the only home audio EQ's that included both the circuitry and the test records to do this. There is NO such thing as a generic "EQ Curve". CheapAudioMan is right about mid-band brightness, but that's mainly due to human sensitivity to mid-frequencies and how our hearing changes with age. The Fletcher-Munson curve (human hearing response) compensation was incorporated into the Soundcraftsman test record. I believe they were the only company to do this. The one thing to avoid when using "analog" EQ's is to avoid a large spread between two adjacent bands (like +6 followed by -6). This can generate excessive phase shift. The best EQ today (IMHO) for a good system is the (discontinued) Ashley 15-band (model 1502). I was able to pick one up (scratch&dent) for under $300.00 back in 2012. They have "auto" balanced connections so you can use it on a balanced or unbalanced system. Ashley makes equipment for the live "pro-audio" market. I also have an old 10-band Soundcrafstman 2215 that I re-built with a new PS and newer op-amps for my small living room system. You should obtain a schematic diagram for any EQ you purchase "used". In most cases the op-amp chips should be upgraded. If that is done even a 20+ year old EQ unit can sound great. My biggest gripe with the flashy home audio EQ''s from the 70's & 80's is that they mostly use cheap mediocre IC's.
Thank you very much for this video Randy. Very informative. I too miss the old lights. I've been thinking about an EQ for a very long time, but didn't trust myself to make the settings valuable. With the knowledge you've given me, I'm most likely going to pull the trigger on a Lokius. You've cost me a lot of money, but given me so much musical enjoyment with your videos!! 🤣
This is an interesting topic - and something that folks may not realize is that musical octaves are such that down low, a few hertz (Hz) are a large range of notes. But up high, an octave covers a few thousand Hz (kHz). Each octave (of the musical scales that we are used to) *doubles* the frequency. In theory, we can hear *pitches* from 20Hz to 20kHz. We can *feel* frequencies below 20Hz, And we can sense the presence of harmonics and overtones (which are part of the "attack" of percussion instruments, for example) above 20kHz.
The octaves that we humans can hear are:
20Hz to 40Hz
40Hz to 80Hz
80Hz to 160Hz
160Hz to 320Hz
320Hz to 640Hz
640Hz to 1280Hz
1280Hz to 2560Hz
2560Hz to 5120Hz
5.1kHz to 10.25kHz
10.25kHz to 20.5kHz
We can hear a bit less than 10 octaves - and many of us lose some or all of the top octave. due to "just" aging and/or excessive noise exposure over our lives.
Another very important use of EQ - is to correct for the quality of the recording we are listening to.
However - EQ is not a magic be-all and end-all - there are many other aspects of music reproduction that are distinct from frequency EQ - so your advice to be restrained with it, is very wise.
Thanks, excellent succinct explanation.
Flashback to my love of Winamp, with it's built in EQ, and Visualization plug-ins. Fun stuff for playing the old MP3's.
I have a vintage 27 band parametric eq that brings out the clarity and brilliance toned down in the final mix to sound good on the average stereo equipment
@@brucesamuelson7541 are you sure that your eq is a 27 bands parametric eq not 27 graphic ?🙂
The Wiim is a beast. Love mine as I stream Amazon music to my stereo via app or by giving my Amazon Echo commands to control music.
Wonderful. You know what you’re talking about just by using your ears. That is also all we need.
Perfect. I've always enjoyed the sound using the "w" curve settings on my EQ. Everything just seemed to sound clearer and more open to me. Now I feel justified in using that setting but will try the other ones just to hear the difference. Thanks for the video.
The 10-band EQ is a game changer for the inexpensive WiiM Mini. I really enjoy this streamer for the ability to adjust eq to speaker/taste as you describe. As you said, this streamer is essentially a no-brainer for the cheap audioman approach to music streaming.
The beauty of this EQ is that a slider exists at each octave, making it a bit easier to deal with. 👨🏻
Long May you rock, Randy. You know what first got me hooked on audio equipment? A little boom-box cassette player with 5-band EQ that I got when I was a like 12 or 13 years old. It was personal. Those were my settings that I put time into figuring out. Measurements can get us in the ballpark of what we like, but short of having the time and budget to constantly chase after “matching equipment,” we can just use EQ to lock it into place.. Why deny myself the pleasure? Chasing matching equipment is great, but it’s too rich for my blood. Long live EQ. Also: I use Dirac to EQ.
Part Two:
All radio stations sound different one to another. Adjustable Eq is part of the many different kinds of audio processors, along with other controls on these processors, that add or detract bass, mirange and treble, as well dynamics across the audio spectrum, on almost every station on the air which in the USA is over 15,000. Some engineers settle for a factory preset that rarely sounds as good as what a smart, experienced, music and audio lover, radio broadcast audio and RF engineer, can obtain with carefull shorterm and sometimes long-term adjustments.
When I worked at the legendary Live 105 and KSFO and KYA in San Francisco in the eighties , I had the oportunity of working with the best broadcast audio equipment money can buy as well as with great equipment during my time with the Old Clear Channel, now I-Heart groups in the eighties through 2010, as well as other lessor quality pieces at various other AM and FM stations from 1975 to 2016, when I retired from full-time engineering. I also had the opportunity to work with the two biggest designers of Broadcast Audio Processosr Equipment Companies in the USA. One of them have more stations worldwide that use their products on air every day than any other manufacurer anywhere. I also beta tested several of their new products. They would put their units on the air, adjust them over a few weeks, then take them back and tweak the design of the units, come back and try again, and I also created presets that I thought sounded full, clean, and loud on the air.
With the great experience I gained from these designers and great sounding San Francisco Bay Area Stations to compete with, with some of the smartest engineers in the industry, it was a tremendous experience for me. Also I spent alot of time at many very high end Audio Stores strewn all over the San Francisco Bay area which helped me learn how good reproduced sound can be. My teen years experience playing the Clainet in small groups to a couple of full sized orchestras helped me learn the sound of accoustic orchestral instruments. I have also done alot of multi-track recording at radio stations that would have artists, ( some very famous ones, popular today and years gone by ) come in to play live on air, or in a studio filled with listeners.
So with all that said, what did I do with that knowledge regarding creating great sounding radio stations.
Well I learned that i could change and improve the sound of hundreds of thousands of radios over my career.
My most used trick is creating an eq curve that is a bit dished out in the midrange, like a subtle loudness curve, boosting bass and treble. This made so many of these cheap portable boom boxes, clock, and table radios that deliver mostly midrange ,sound fuller, sometimes dramatically so. And on modest to above average sounding car and home audio systems, when i would switch those curves in, it would sound like the listener just got a new pair of better speakers. I still use that trick today.
These adjustments make my stations sound fuller than the competition. When you listen to many of them, I daresay most of them, they sound usually way to midrangy and dense or too midbass heavy, blocking out midrange and treble, and/or with ruthlessly squashed, smashed dynamics, especially in the midrange as well as the bass and treble, then you tune over to mine and they are punchy, with fuller deeper bass, smoother midrange , and sparkly treble, and as loud on loud parts and almost as loud on softer parts as the smashers. The dished out eq also helps the sound of many of these hit, pop, country or hip hop recordings these stations play, that lack full bass ,treble and suffer from restricted dynamics in the recording process which is done at the recording session supposedly to help the songs "jump out of the radio which is not true". In fact many over process so extremely that the soft and loud parts are almost identical in loudness, with only one or two db of dynamics left. Many carry it so far in order to squeek out every last bit of apparent loudness that they push the processors to hard , out of their sweet spots which causes the loud parts to sound softer than the soft parts of the recording when broadcast. I hate that!! Another benefit of a somewhat dished eq radio sound is that many stations in the same listening market play the same or mostly the same songs as their competitors and sometimes they come up at the same time another station or stations are playing the same song.
So wouldn't you rather listen to that song on the sation that sounds fuller, more dynamic and clearer. I would. And then after that song you may stay and listen to the next song or the one after that, because you like the songs and they sound better than the competition, which may be your favorite station. Station owners, general managers, program directors, and ad executives love that. It's called increased time spent listening.
So check it out for yourself and even call the station engineer if you don't like their sound. Some may appreciate it, some may not, but if they do sound bad, after your call they may try to inprove it.
FM radio can sound very good, even excellent, even better than streaming and many do, when up well, and most use CD's or .wav files on their music playback systems which sounds better than streaming of the same songs out of the gate. Believe me they can, and many do sound cleaner smoother and more extended especially in the highs than any music streaming service. However more and more stations are using MPs's that they purchase or acquire from Record Companies and that really hurts their sound . So those stations sometimes are not as not as dynamic or clean as hi res streaming. But many do sound better.
By the way my favorite and best sounding streaming is noticably Qobuz.
Happy tuning.
Bravo, CAM! Standing ovation! Not only helping your listeners get more enjoyment from their existing audio gear cheaply or for FREE, but discussing hearing loss and age-related hearing impairment among audio enthusiasts (and using tone controls to improve an affected listener's experience)
nobody (well, hardly) is addressing this.
Thank you Randy!!
This is one of the best and most informative TH-cam hi-fi videos I have ever seen. I've been looking for EQ guidance like this for a long time. Thanks so much and please keep up the good work. Kudos!
I use mechanical EQ's on all of my audio setups. 😎For me, just Bass & Treble controls don't cut it. 😁 Bellari EQ570 for the Desktop \ Realistic 31-2000 EQ for the main system \ Technics SH-8017 for my vintage Realistic STA-95 setup with Cassette input. 💖 The Wiim Mini is used on my main system . . . which does go through the Realistic EQ too! ☺
I’m using this EQ on my WiiM Mini, Q Acoustics Concept 20, T9 amp and SVS SB1000 Pro and it now sounds much better. Thanks again Randy 👍🏻
I'm pushing 56 and seem to have lost the upper end of the frequency response curve...around 15KHz. Age and extended exposure to a machinery room (688 fast attack boat) has probably taken a bit of a toll. Just tried out the suggested settings on my latest vintage addition...a mint example of the Marantz EQ-20. Many thanks!
Hi, thank you so much for many all these videos you have made. You are one of the reason why I've bought one Wiim Pro Plus streamer after doing my research.
The initial sound from the Wiim Pro Plus to my Muzishare X7 integrated amp via a pair of Van Den Hul (The First) interconnect to a pair of 94db Focal JMLab speakers was definitely better sounding than streaming through a Bluetooth amp. But even when I'm streaming hi-res audio via Tidal, it sounded flat and the sound stage felt compressed.
However, i must say your video on Best EQ settings saved the day for me.
I punch in the same setting you suggested and make some very minor tweaks, and immediately the sound stage opened up, and the bass felt fuller.
Thank you once again for giving this guide free to your viewers, unlike one channel, (which I shall not name) where the viewers need become a patron before you can have assess to his "awesome" eq settings for the wiim.😅
Thanks again and God bless😊
Randy, AKA CAM, I might have a contender for your consideration...especially since you aren't afraid of eq. Have you had a look at the Behringer Ultracurve Pro DEQ 2496? I've got one and IT IS AMAZING. I would go into a litany of what it will do, but the list of what it won't do would be shorter. It's a DAC(AKM chip...I know you're not a fan). It's a very precise equalizer, both graphic and parametric. It's an expander/compressor image width manipulator. It's a digital delay perfect for adding phase control to a subwoofer. It's an RTA with room correction. ..and a lot more. I think you get the idea, and best of all new from Amazon it's around $350. I got mine used off ebay from a church that was revamping for around $150 in perfect condition. On the down side it only goes up to 96 kHz on the DAC, but that's not a problem for me. Check this thing out Dooooode!!!
Spot on about using EQ curves as cuts instead of boosts. Also, I think you could mention that some reputable speaker manufacturers post their response curves (anechoic I know but..) and that can be a good starting point for finding a good curve- say finding the dip most two ways have at their crossover point…
That WiiM EQ is money
My Crown XLiI500 and JBL4425 were made for each other. Lokius EQ is helpful. On the Klipsch forum John Warren stressed removing the electrolytic coupling caps & use Nichicon Muse 10ufd 50v. I chose a polypropylene 12ufd 250v audio cap. This amp is now very musical with incredible dynamics, clean, clean, clean. Working on EQ tuning. Vid helped, thanx.
I'm a fan of the Lokius and physical EQ just tweaking knobs until a song is pleasing to my ears.
I installed a sound card in my PC and found the only speakers I had that that could even remotely handle the power was a Klipsch soundbar. But between the 2 pieces of hardware, there are almost no features, so I needed to buy a desktop equalizer app. But I had no idea how to use it. This video helped a lot. Thanks!
Loved this. Randy, you’re a brother from another mother.
The old guys that took over the hobby , got rid of subs and Eq. Also loudness buttons.
I run my Oppo BPD-105 XLR main outs through the SPL Vitalizer MK 2-T sound processor into a Rotel RB-1590, driving a pair of JBL 4312G's. The SPL is a game changer.
My favorite eq is the ‘ loss less’ EQ on the mojo 2 DAC from chord. I use this dac in desktop mode, excellent dac with programmed chip and natural vinyl like sound and a 5 band equalizer. It gave me brand new speakers for free to! Well worth the money. (I don’t like the interface but the dac is very small and made for mobile use and once you have the setting right, you’re done,
My god, this saved my sr25 dap. I hated the sound, but using the EQ i could bring back some warmth. Thank you so much.
Great video on effectively using EQ! I definitely would echo the statement about it not always being about boosting. If you have enough control, it's always better to cut the frequencies you don't want and turn up the gain/volume instead of boosting frequencies. I think your examples illustrate that excellently.
I'm intrigued about what you were saying about EQing digital audio signals. I'm a teacher now but I used to be a live sound engineer and when we mixed with digital mixing consoles, we didn't have to work the eq's any differently than on an analog console-- we just had more control! Maybe it has to do with compression? Would a .wav file be different than an .mp3 with equalization? What you are saying makes sense, but now I want to understand it a bit better.
Great video, Randy. I’ve always loved tone controls, eq and loudness compensation. So sad that it has all but disappeared from modern components. I have a Hafler dh-101 preamp that has switchable tone controls plus a processor loop. I use the tone controls to broadly fix poor recordings and have a Schiit Loki in the loop when i need more adjustment (might just go for a Lokius next time). I don’t have loudness compensation for listening at low levels but can simulate it pretty well with the Loki by boosting the 20 hz band about 4-6 db and the 8k band a few db. I like your idea of maxing out your curve at 0 db and plotting your curve from there. Will definitely give that a try.
HI AGAIN You are a honest straight forward honest talking kind of chap... I always have my Bass up 2 and my treble down 2 .... Im Old school I dont stream music I have Brennan JB7 with thousands of tracks on the hard drive and that is plugged straight into my Amp with phono leads ... SOUNDS SPOT ON TO ME !
Love the your basic EQ setting on the WiiM and I’ve just applied it to my new WiiM amp, having lived with my Cyrus 6 amp and CD player for twenty years and my cd went faulty beyond repair so I decided I needed a change and the WiiM amp is ticking all the boxes, but I was struggling with the EQ and PEQ but not now and it’s a great setting for my Wharfdale 12.1, great video, oh I’m currently using a Sony UBP X800 as a CD transport as well as playing films.
If anyone ever has the desire to use single full range drivers you will absolutely want an nice EQ to play with. It makes a huge difference with my Lii Audio F15's.
Nice, will do. I'm looking at picking up a set of Lii Audio Silver-10 soon. (Or maybe the Fast-10, depends how cheap I want to be.)
One of the best EQs out there is in the app of EarStudio ES100 MK2. The best deal in portable audio (software and hardware), hands down. Under $100
Watching this because i just got a brand new 80s EQ for my tape deck
Yes, it has LIGHTS!
EQ is king of saving monies :)
Late to this party but want to thank you for the eq lesson that has certainly improved my home stereo.
SUBSONIC (INFRASONIC) filtering is massively important - especially in the age of digital because you can't hear infrasonics & they rob power. On a standard 10+band EQ - it's the lowest control (leftmost) pulled all the way down. Most people suggest that you bump the next higher frequency up a few dB to offset the spillover of the downward curve from the lowest band. This is especially helpful if the lowest frequency band is higher than 29 Hz. Everything else is generally more subjective. One thing I suggest you look into is a factor referred to as "Q". "Q" generally refers to the shape of the EQ on a specific band & how that filter spills over to adjacent bands. The higher the "Q", the more specific the control on the band it is tied to & the less it affects adjacent bands. Also: Sibilance lives in the 5 to 10 kHz frequency range, and can cause problems if over-emphasized in a recording. While it is possible to use a graphic or parametric EQ to correct for sibilance, this is often an unsatisfactory approach. Often the overall track will begin to sound dull before the sibilance is corrected. A better solution is to use a dedicated de-esser, or use an EQ in the sidechain input on a compressor to perform de-essing.
nice. i've never heard of that before. does seem like it cleans up the low end a bit on rock music
Probably explained below, but the overal perceivedl level dip after digital eq'ing is not crushing, it's kind of the opposite. It's a (perceived) overall reduction to maintain the balance between settings i think.
Boy do this video has me yearning for the old late 80s Yamaha EQ-70 I had in college.
I go back and for on EQing certain music and in particular, the format can influence sound quality as well. Late 80s to mid 90s synth bands lack in the lower midrange and can be too bright requiring some flattening. For newer records/CDs I tend to start w/ a flat EQ and adjust depending on my mood. I have a preset in my Marantz AVR app that I toggle between depending on what I'm listening to because sometimes I like a bit more midrange bias.
I use the WiiM mini and just started using the EQ. Some of the preset EQ settings are great too. It can make quite a lot of difference to the sound.
Hello Randy! Great video! The word EQ always left a bad taste in the mouth of HiFi enthusiasts through decades because they were told tone controls are "evil". I was struggling to get the sound i love with my stereo at home without using an EQ. Sometimes it was nearly perfect, but most of the time more or less "ok". It simply depends on the recording.
My solution for this problem is the Behringer Ultracurve Pro DEQ2496. I put it between my streamer and my DAC via Toslink, so no A to D or D to A conversion is needed. This is very necessary because that's where you would get the noise from, a lot of "haters" of this device talk of. I use it If needed. I stored some presets depending on the kind of music I am listening: more/less lows, flat, extended highs...
But the DEQ2496 offers much much more than an EQ, just read the specs online.
Maybe you can have a look at this very versatile and in my opinion relativly cheap tool. Greetings from Germany
Thomas...Amen brother!! Bang for the buck, the 2496 can't be beat. I too use the Toslink, but I have ordered the AudioSmile mod and can't wait to get modding. I've heard great things about this kit. Behringer has a winner here if you will take the time to learn to use it!!! Greetings from Louisiana USA!!!
HiFi companies kept removing things to reduce costs and they sold it as an asset. "We removed everything in the quest of greater purity and to shorten the signal path. That's why the new, purer amp is 50% more expensive"
This is perhaps the most informative YT post I've seen. Great help.
I still use my 25 year old dbx and I like the memories. depending on the speakers, music and even the differencd between cd's the way they were recorded I use one of my memories. EQ so convenient.
Best idea for a hifi video since someone first reviewed a speaker.
But if ever a video needed chapters this is the one.
ha. yeah. I need to add them.
I bought the klipsch rp600m because of your recommendation but not using a center channel I wanted to bring forward vocals and this awesome video helped! Thanks
I'm considering buying an old school EQ splitting the signal just to run to the EQ and not even use it just for the looks🤣
I think it would be cool to do that with an tablet then u could change the pic when u get bored or put a visualizer on it I used to love the xbox 360 music visualizer u could move it around using the controller
Randy.... it would be awesome if you can compare inexpensive DSP units like parts express DSP and Minidsp
This 1 buy would likely be the biggest upgrade you can make to your system and its not expensive
Music listening is about enjoying the sound, and having more control over how it sounds to better the enojyment is a great thing. Vanilla sound not always is the best.
Just got a schiit lokius. Great for listening at lower volume, or fine-tuning. Not really necessary, but it comes in handy.
Not debating you, just In my experience, sibilance isn't in the EQ but the driver. I am a little older than you, Randy, and I have to give a little bump in the 2-4k range if the speaker is on the warmer side. If the speaker is good enough for me, then I just run flat (like my Dali Spektor 1s). I find if I am messing with EQ too much, I really need to change the speaker (i.e., RB42's to the Dali's).
Resonances from the drivers create most of the objectionable artifacts people don’t like. Either Toole or Olive discussed this with Erin’s Audio Corner in their interview for anyone interested. Those random small peaks kill the illusion of what we are listening to. I don’t know how well that can be fixed in EQ, proper driver design is the best solution.
@cheapaudioman Hey friend, viewing this ... again ... this may be one of my fav CAM videos on any of your channels. Great instruction, you can see your passion for music come through. I'd love to see more of this type. Even if you've covered them in the past, EQ, speaker placement, tone control, subwoofer calibration ... all good topics. 🙃
Can't wait to try these, as a man of similar vintage..
I have a loudness switch on 1978 pioneer integrated amplifier. It does the U. After I get to 60dB, I switch it off. There's an EQ, too. Had an A-ganger in lower level engine room 2 that could not hear ringer on phone.
The first thing I do when EQ'ing is to 1. remove the boxy sound from a bookshelf speaker by cutting at 125Hz and 2. cut at 2k which, I find, removes overall harshness, especially with guitar tones.
Interesting! Many speakers distort a lot below 120 Hz. And about the 2kHz "scoop" that you add: many speakers already have a recess in that area roughly matching Xover frequency, many of them also have resonances there. You seem to be working around the weak spots of your speaker, a perfect use case of EQ.
It really deals with the kind of music u listen too
Good video. I don't EQ much anymore, but when I do, I always first cut what I don't like. THEN, I boost what I do like. Also agree with not boosting more than 3-4 db. If you go more than that, it's probably not the speaker for you.
I also run PA a lot and when you run PA, you have to always run in what's called "Unity". In a way, you also have to do that with a home system and not many know that. You can't just boost. Boosts and cuts need to even themselves out DB wise somewhat.
Great video I've been experimenting with this and found your advice to be the best! I actually use it for home theater and it sounds great.
In my experience lowering 1K a little bit makes speakers sound smoother, especially the bright ones.
Wow, thanks man idk if this was meant for headphone users but it helped me find a decent mix i enjoy for mine! :)
Glad to hear that!
For most CDs I boost the treble and the bass. I only mess with the mids if there is something wrong with it. A good EQ and conservative adjustments make music sound how I imagine it should. When I play a lot of CDs from the late 80s there just too flat sounding. I made some adjustments and then the cymbals and reverb decay comes out.
I still have and use my BSR 10 band graphic equalizer with spectrum analyzer and pink noise generator I bought back in the late 70s.
Awesome Randy. Thank you for sharing this EQ info Love the Wiim. I bought two! Keep them coming.
Randy, as always your videos get better. I often add EQ to my systems. Each component has it's own "personality" and may benefit from an EQ cut or slight boost. With my current desk system I have not felt the need to EQ it due to the use of Dobly Atmos for headphones for Windows plug-in.
BTW, have you or anyone here heard of the European band "Yello"? They have been around for years, but I've never heard them until this week. Their music is surely "alternative" and some would say strange, but they really give both channels a side-to-side workout! A lot like Pink Floyd. I ordered their Atmos edition Blu-Ray album Point. Can't wait for it to get here from the UK.
I have a music reference rm5 tube preamp I have owned for 40 or so years has no tone controls and sounds great have to detox the selector knob about once a year perfect no equalizer ever to many possibilities for distortion
Yea, I remember now how loud the engineering spaces could be, which amazes me how well we isolated that from the outside, in retrospect. Me being a forward puke, I lost most of my hearing from going down on one breath after a stupid towel that slipped off the side during port call. I didn't clear my ears down to about 80 feet I think which did a number on one of my ear drums. I think rock concerts took care of the rest.
Thanks Randy for the help, had no idea how to eq.
Oh the Audio Control C-101 III .. the dancing lights !
In the 'old days' of live gigs, EQ was always for cutting, mostly to compensate for system inadequacies around crossover points and the crappy rooms that the systems were in... Hahahaaa... ahhh.
The better the room - the less cuts.
Makes me want to get my old Technics SH-GE90 down from the attic, and hook it up.
Excellent explanation 👌. I have a 15 band digital eq I'm trying to figure out
A audiophiles horror story begins with the words "equalizer" and "tone controls"🤣🤣🤣🤣....im no audiophile so i love 'em both👍👌
I always thought of it that EQ can bring the best of an average speakers/headphones/IEMs to my liking.
The most valuable lesson I ever learned about EQ was from Bruce Robert Jackson in the 90's. He taught me the value of SUBTRACIVE EQ.
Take out the frequencies you don't like or that sound nasty. If it's still lacking you can slightly boost the frequencies you want to hear. Then when you crank the volume you can go bigger with less risk of distortion
Allow me to introduce a new unit of measurement for sound volume,
which I call vovol* (abbreviated: volume voltage).
THIS IS HOW IT WORKS: You use two pre-stages, one with positive volume values, and the other negative.
For example, so has the pre-step with positive values
a measurement from +0 decibels up to +20, while the one with negative values, has from -0 decibels down to -20 decibels.
The highest voltage occurs when the value is +20 and -20 decibels (or: 20 vovol),
while there is low voltage, when the value is on
+0 and -0 decibels (or: 0 vovol).
You can possibly also combine two different values with each other, by adjusting the value to +10 -20 vovol, which gives a crisper effect. Have experimented with this myself at work and at home.
The adjustment can of course be set to taste, but the purpose of vovol for me is to equalize the sound volume, so that you better hear weak sounds and at the same time avoid high deafening sound levels (loudness war's).
Thank you for reading this!
Take care of your hearing...
:-)
I start rolling off from 3k to 10k because I can't stand those nasally frequencies. I think it was Floyd Toole that found most listeners prefer a smooth tilted EQ that rolls off towards the highs. I enjoy that until 12k where I prefer to boost that back up for some added sparkle. Out with the nasal, in with the sparkle.
Thanks, that was good. Dude, I've been itching for an analog EQ for my stereo setup. I admit it and I agree, I miss the lights. I want the control of course, but I also want the lights! Retro lights!
Do you use that W pattern for jazz as well as, say, classical or hard rock? I can't see that you would, unless you do. :)
Greet primer on EQ! You did a good job explaining to have the peaks at 0dB and adjust down from there. Nice going professor!👏
Distortion seems to increase the more you crank the levels to the top tho. Wiim needs a gain slider.
EQs were not around in the 90s. They all but disappeared by the late 80s. I loved the EQs of back in the day and owned a few. I loved the lights and graphical representations they had as well. Sadly though, many introduced noise and such, so while they functioned well, there was a high trade off.
We have the Schiit Loki and the Bellari EQ today, but I would love to see the ones with say 10 bands and spectrum analyzer display come back, but improved.
Personally, I only need an EQ for headphones now and I don't use them to listen to music presently, I'm a speakers guy. I have two tone controls on my preamp, but never really need to touch them, they stay in defeated mode 99% of the time. The only time I touch them is for certain vinyl records and that is not much either. My system is revealing and I enjoy hearing recordings as they were done. Most sound great, but there is always that one crazed one.
Yeah, we both think alike here on EQ settings. I learned how to use EQs back in the day and find that most times instead of boosting something, I cut something a little bit at one end or the other leaving the mid range alone. Also, you are correct, it takes only very slight adjustments 99% of the time.
What was cooler than Soundcraftsman my Dad had late 70s era
Very good video. Educational. Havent heard anyone talking about EQ yet
I use the EQ on my Wiim mini, works great.
Probably the biggest, but not the only reason, is U R My Man as a Fellow EQ LOVERS and it is the EXACTLY the same reason you speak of. Even before I had a lifetime of age related, work abuse, and poor habits...like standing in front of multiple Massive Speakers at concerts like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, etc at the Filmore Ballroom. But I was born with a bone obstruction in my left ear...so from the get go one ear was Bass sensitive while the other is or was Treble sensitive. And lastly I've virtually done everything you've done plus have pretty much like the same settings. Plus something you seem...to miss is room correction, but you need to be careful. My only issues at this point is finding Amos, Clas D, or Tube Hybrids which have the connections I need for TV to replace Sound bar allow the addition of a Loki and Blue Ray, Steamer Stack small space saving. And the love of Powered speakers like Vanatoo, Klipsch 5's now $450 at Costco and my desire for as holographic a sound stage in my semi near field environment. This is where I plead....Obi Wan you are my only hope. 😂
Part one:
Well this is a great video. The Cheapaudioman eq curves are right on the money.
I was done with equipment that does not have tone controls many years ago, after spending many thousand of dollars on preamps without tone controls to get that "pure" sound. I was tired of listening to a cd or record, and maybe that particular recording sounded pretty good, and the next one sounded too thin on the bass, or too bright or midrangy, and I couldn't change it to get a richer of more extended or smoother sound. So do you reposition your speakers for every piece of music you listen too, i hope not.
The purists say eq spoils imaging, adds some roughness, and adds phase distortion. Well there is truth to that, but better designed eq's minimize that, and to me it's a worthwhile tradeoff to get the full, smooth deep, crisp , transparent sound of a live recording or a great studio one that carefully adjusted eq can give you.
I like a gently dished midrange mostly eq setting, but use all kinds of curves. A word of caution, don't raise one band way up or down and the one on either side the oposite. Kind of move groups of faders generally in the same direction up or down to get the sound you want. This also minimizes Phase Distortion.
I like and own three graphic eq's, two of them are my favorite 231s ,DBX 31 band stereo eq's I bought for under 300.00, (right now 275.00 on amazon) a tremendous value. I have also owned several other 10 and 12 band eq's over 45+ years of listeng at home and adjusting the sound of radio stations. (part two on that). Graphic eq's work well on systems with subwoofers also. They can take an 8 inch thinner sub and make it sound like a deep punchy 12 incher.
I would rather suffer a tiny bit of distortion that I may or may not hear, rather than spending thousands of bucks over and over on speakers that only sound good on some recordings i own. i don't believe a speaker exists that makes every recording sound spectacular in any room. It's impossible, too many variables.
Many bass and treble controls that are found on less expensive receivers ( especially newer ones ) and even expensive ones, are not precise enough. Most of them I have heard over the years, crosses the bass at too high a frequency , or the treble, at too low a frequency, which make them sound more like midrange or boxy bass adjustment controls. Newer loudness controls suffer in the same way. Older vintage receivers have better more extended sounding tone controls. ( My old vintage late 70's and very early 80's Luxman receivers and Nad units have very good bass and treble controls and a killer loudness control. The Nads have an additional control, a very deep bass boost button. And don't get me started on the benefits of a well designed loudness control. Good luck finding any loudness controls good or bad on any home audio units made from the present to the last 10 to 20 years or so..
Another falacy that's promoted by purists is, that you are hearing the recording as the artist intended, when you the home listener is not using tone controls. Total Nonsense. Home speakers sound different than studio monitors. All rooms sound different. So a perfectly calibrated flat monitor speaker system in a professionally treated recording studio that gives you a flat listening response at the center of the mixing console, well you will not get that at home, maybe not even close.
So get a nice graphic eq and use the Cheapaudiomans curve shapes to get the sound you want. i believe you will discover for the first time and/or redescover the joy of great sound on most all of the recordings in your collection.
Excellent vid. Thanks. Just waiting to see if Wiim can bring the equalizer to the Android app.
I found an old Realistic EQ at a garage sale the other week. I forgot how much an EQ can improve an old 80's cassette.
my Realistic fried after 15 years of continuous use. Thank god I found a brand new one online out of the box. Was so happy to find a supplier that still had them. My favorite!
@@fishbone08070 I have nothing bad to say about the old Realistic products. With minimal effort I was able to swap the heads from my broken 1991 Harman/Kardon TD4200 into an early to mid eighties Realistic SCT-41 cassette deck. It sounds the same to me as the Harman/Kardon used to.
Thanx Randy. I will test that on my Wiim
Great video. Best explanation of EQ that I’ve seen.
Try to put the eq between the amp and the speaker.
A firework of sound !
I've never understood people who never uses EQ Everyones hearing is different and also headphones. Who says that a DAP has the right setting for you right out of the box? I EQ the hell out of all my headphones to get the right setting for my hearing and my liking. I spend hours fine-tuning.That satisfying feeling of getting it just right is amazing and the music becomes alive.
Talking about favourite EQ-Settings where Audiophiles could hear/see it. Big Balls!
Just kidding, you're doing a great job, keep it up Randy.
Great video Randy and love the channel. I tuned in to live event the other day and that was an enjoyable departure from the standard format but, I digress.
Regarding EQ’s my feelings and experiences mirror yours very closely. Back in the day, I loved my EQ for the sound enhancement - and the lights! Gotta love an old school spectrum analyzer. In my younger years, I generally preferred the V-curve setting as it added a lot of sizzle and boom. Of course, like you noted, some of that may have also compensated for so-so speakers. Now I prefer a flatter response and rely on better speakers to do the heavy lifting - occasionally adjusting for poor recordings. I do generally keep a slight treble bump to correct for my aging ears.
Biggest bummer is that tape monitor loops are largely gone and both of my current amps (AVR and 2-ch stereo) do not have pre-out / main in connections. As a result, my 80’s EQ is gathering dust. Still run a stalk-mounted Blaupunkt EQ in one of my cars.
Assuming “I also served on submarines” means you served in the U.S. Navy, thank you for your service. Great channel too.