User Name Posted March 6, 2002 Share Posted March 6, 2002 I have a two part question. I noticed that all these home theater systems have no graphic equalizers. Are they outdated? Do they serve a purpose in today's home theater world? If so what are some good brands and models? My dad has an old Teac sitting in his basement collecting dust. Is Teac any good? Part 2: Does anyone in the world know how to hook up Picture in Picture using the stereo receiver and the cable box or DSS? I have the internal PIP tuner on my flat screen so I don't think I need the VCR as the external source tuner, but I cannot figure out how to use PIP with all this other equipment. All the major big screens and new tv's offer this PIP feature but if you are buying such expensive home theater equipment anyway, you figure subscribing to DSS or cable is going to be obvious. But then the PIP feature isn't so attractive because it's not easily used anymore. I'd like to hear your thoughts and possible solutions. I've even seen big screens that offer like a 9 way PIP with half the TV full screen and then the other half with 8 mini screens so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted March 6, 2002 Share Posted March 6, 2002 un, i just plain don't use any eq cept for a narrow notch filter in the pre/pro to make the low bass response more smooth. not saying it can't be beneficial to your ears though. as for pip, i do need to use my vcr for the 2nd tuner. even w/ 2 tuners in your tv, the key is to run 2 signals from 2 dif sources into the tv. i believe u can do the same by using a 1:2 splitter on the cable line that goes to both the box (then use the line outputs from that to the tv) & directly to the tv f-pin cable connection. my cableco - time warner - supplied the splitter. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted March 6, 2002 Share Posted March 6, 2002 Graphic EQ's are only good for the user who wants a nice big SMILE to boost lows and highs. Well EQ are a must,today all pre/pro and recievers have a form of EQ built in.Take for example the setup menu,this is where you adjust the output,distance, cutoff,bass treble and so on.The classic SMILE EQ is not needed. The only worthy EQ's are like the Z-Systems,Accuphase and a few others.These can up to a point "eleiminate" room acoustics.They also cost $4000 and more! The old school EQ is dead in my view. In HT and music systems I only see a Z-Systems in my future.Auto calibration should be the wave of the future,the Pioneer VSX-49 auto calibration is a snap,a great all in one unit. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted March 6, 2002 Share Posted March 6, 2002 Using EQ's can be beneficial but it is extremely easy to let it get out of hand. Not all of us that use them are so infantile as to use it as a 60's anti-war political slogan as some people suggest. Are my speakers flat in response? Yes. Is the room flat that the system is in? Nope. About 1 to 2db bass boost in a few well analyzed frequency ranges is all it needs. Your speakers should need nothing in the HF ranges. With the speakers being as sensitive as they are it would not need much of anything. To go too far would clip the amp and start blowing drivers, tweeters first probably. I'm using a dbx 1231 and it's doing the job well. It was intended for live-band and studio use but that just meant the 1/4" mono jacks were changed to RCA or until I get a preamp that has a processor loop in balanced genre. ------------------ Tom's Money Pit This message has been edited by tblasing on 03-06-2002 at 10:34 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumMan Posted March 8, 2002 Share Posted March 8, 2002 IMHO,if you have great sounding speakers and equipment,you don't need an EQ. My first home theater system was JBL. Local dealer let me borrow an Audio Control HT EQ. It helped a great deal. But with Klipsch,I've never found myself wanting to use an EQ. Just my 2 cents ------------------ Jerry CP RULZ ------------ Mains: KG 5.5 Rears: KG 3.5 Center: KLF-C7 Subs: (2) Antique wooden coffins with (3) 12" Advents in each Receiver: HK AVR-80 DD Processor: HK ADP-303 DTS Processor: Rotel RDA 985 AudioControl Phase Coupled Activator Series Three DVD: Toshiba 4109X Laserdisc: Yamaha CDV-W901 5 CH Amp(for subs): Rotel RB-985 Single Cass Deck: HK TD-420 Dual Cass Deck: HK DC-520 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwklipsch Posted March 26, 2002 Share Posted March 26, 2002 tom is closer to correct. like anything in sound, the answer is somewhat subjective and depends upon your given circumstances, room, & gear. unfortunately most consumer eq is too limited (10 band)to adequately adjust for room acoustics. but if you can track down professional 1/3 octave (30 band)EQ (about $1200 per audio channel), a spectrum analyzer, and a pink noise generator (or use a THX disc), you can do amazing things to return your room and the system in it to an accurate reproduction of a "flat" studio reference system. (no, it should NOT look like a "smiley face") then, you can adjust the "tone controls" on your preamp or receiver to your taste for the material you listen to. it is a slow and painstaking process to adjust each band for each channel to "flat" at your primary listening point, and then set the level of each channel to the same exact volume level (in db), then make minor adjustments to the channels/bands to achieve the desired effect for that (and only that) position. (mine took 6 hours) JBL, and Meyer professional speaker systems have some very cool pc based analyzer systems, but you need a $3000 reference mic to "listen" to the room. (if you have a PROFESSIONAL Audio Company (concert systems), take one of their A1 guys to lunch when he is in town. could the Teac help? yeah maybe - depending on what else you have to deal with and how you use it. could it make it worse? SAME ANSWER do you NEED EQ? we don't *NEED* ANY of this stuff... about the PIP. mine has 3 svhs inputs (dish, svhs, & dvd) and the unit will display any of the direct inputs or the PIP tuner in PIP. diff makers give different options - ask, read, & play with it. got kind of a patchwork system myself... sony 1272 (pro) projector sony XBR2 tv jvc br-822u svhs mitsubishi hs-u70 svhs panasonic lx900 laser sony s7700 dvd sony 9000es pre amp (v2.5) 2 klark-teknik dn360 1/3 oct stereoeq (mains/rears) 1 klark-teknik dn300 1/3 oct monoeq (center) 2 crown (pro) d150 mkII stereo amps (mains/rears) 1 crown (pro) d75 stereo amp(strapped mono) center 2 heresy II mains academy center rs-3II rears it works for me.... DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted March 26, 2002 Share Posted March 26, 2002 quote: IMHO,if you have great sounding speakers and equipment,you don't need an EQ. an equalizer can do wonders to adjust the tonal quality of a center speaker to that of the mains (unless they are all the same speaker models that is, where I agree equalization is 'generally' not called for). If more people have access to parametric equalization, I think that they would have a more favorable opinion too. It is much easier (and natural) to deal with center frequency and slope, than 20 or 30 individual slides. jMho This message has been edited by jerohm on 03-26-2002 at 08:22 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted March 26, 2002 Share Posted March 26, 2002 I'll be using an EQ for my new bass rig (parametric), but I don't find it as necessary for the rest of the system. For me this has more to do with room response - a good system should be fairly flat, but the room can and does affect the response curve. In addition to acoustically treating the listening room, EQ's can be helpful if used properly. If you are thinking EQ, think parametric. ------------------ First we Rock, then we Roll! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QUiKSR20 Posted March 26, 2002 Share Posted March 26, 2002 With my old speaker setup i use to always play with bass and treble functions to get it to sound right i had some pos yamaha speakers nothing special. With my Klipsch's I just leave the reciever FLAT and it sounds perfect same as in my car which has all mb quart components + good amps etc and it sounds nice and perfect. ------------------ Thanks, Daryl Gregg MY Home Theatre Page Sony STR-DE975 HT Reciever Sony DVP-NS400D DVD SB-3 Mains SC-1 Center Quintet Rears KSW-12 Sub AR Proseries Interconects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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