Are equalizers still relevant ?

[Tony Whitlow]

Just curious as to what people think. My set is :
pioneer sx1050 with Frazier model 7 speakers. I use two Yamaha 31 band eq ( one for each channel ). I run pink noise Thur the system and balanced the system with the eq’s. At this point the system is flat. Then I tweak to preference using the bass and treble controls as needed. Maybe even tweak the eq a bit for taste. But I don’t see anybody else doing this. 
 
Btw - the rane eq’s are for sub and I use them basically as crossovers. 
 
Just wanting to explore this topic topic and see what people think. 

If you like changing the way the music sounds that’s OK with me. I view EQs as gadgets for people to tinker with.


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[jjptkd]

The only time I ever really used an EQ was in an old car stereo system it was just a simple 5 band EQ with separate sub controls. I thought it really improved the sound of my system and having quick easy access to the settings and sub output really helped.

 

The problem I had with it (and why I've never tried to integrate one into my home stereo system) was that while a minor "tweaking" of the EQ really did seem to make things sound better I found I was constantly making those minor adjustments sometimes for every song and I just don't want to have to deal with that in a relaxed home environment.  

[mr clean]

On 9/26/2019 at 6:02 AM, jjptkd said:

The only time I ever really used an EQ was in an old car stereo system it was just a simple 5 band EQ with separate sub controls. I thought it really improved the sound of my system and having quick easy access to the settings and sub output really helped.

 

The problem I had with it (and why I've never tried to integrate one into my home stereo system) was that while a minor "tweaking" of the EQ really did seem to make things sound better I found I was constantly making those minor adjustments sometimes for every song and I just don't want to have to deal with that in a relaxed home environment.  

I have a 4 band loki and almost never change anything. Haven't moved anything in months. I could get all OCD about it but never really do. It was more about taming some harshness and If im not getting that I am a pretty happy guy!

[Jeff Matthews]

No!

[mark fader]

I don’t tinker. Once I set the eq I pretty much leave it. For about a week or so I may fiddle with the eq to adjust it to my taste. when I first set the eq the tone controls on the receiver are set to zero. I use those to make on the fly adjustments. I want to enjoy listening to the music not be distracted by over tweaking or be to absorbed by constantly making silly little adjustments. No system is perfect because there are just to many variables. Even if you did get it close to perfect as possible , play the next song and start all over. No thanks. All that zaps the enjoyment right out of it. At least for me anyway. 

[mark fader]

On 9/26/2019 at 6:43 AM, Tony Whitlow said:

If you like changing the way the music sounds that’s OK with me. I view EQs as gadgets for people to tinker with.


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I don’t change the way the music sounds. I change the system to allow the music to be heard the way it is supposed to.  

 

If you set set up a stereo in a room and play music you are at the mercy of those. You need some sort of reference. Pink noise with an rta and a calibrated mic allow you to reference the system using the eq’s. That being said - reference is different than preference but , you are starting out with a baseline / a comparison / a reference. 

 

Now that the system is set to reference you can tweak it a bit to taste and find a nice balance for all the different music you want to listen to. If you need to make a on the fly adjustment just use the tone controls on the receiver. 

 

As stated above, there is no perfect setup given all the variables but to me you have to have control to deal with all those variables and work around them. In my opinion, that allows the music to be reproduced as close to the way the sound tech / artist wanted it to sound. 

 

That is my reasoning as to these guys who rip the way music sounds from one pressing to another or the difference between digital and analog. They base there  findings on their stereo. Well who says their stereo is set up correctly ? Are they even hearing it as it was intended ?

 

It’s impossible to reproduce the music on any system as it sounded in the recording studio or live. Having a referenced system has to be closer than not having a referenced system. You can only do that with eq’s. 

 

Of of course all of this is my opinion based on my experience. I don’t want this to come across as I’m right and any who disagree are wrong. That’s not what this is about. I’m just sharing my thoughts. 

[Islander]

Years ago, in the 1980s, I bought a Yamaha EQ-70 equalizer to use with my 1977/78 Yamaha CR-1020 stereo receiver.  It improved the sound, and I was able to add some bass that the speakers were lacking.  I found out later that those “pre-Klipsch” speakers started rolling off at 70Hz, in spite of having two 10-inch woofers.

 

In 2004, I bought a used 1998 Yamaha RX-V392 entry-level AV receiver.  To my pleasant surprise, it sounded better than the CR-1020.  However, when I added the equalizer, the sound gained a veil over it.  The clarity that I liked was subdued a bit, and the fine details weren’t there anymore.  I disconnected the EQ.  The next year, I bought a new 2005 RX-V750 AVR, which sounded even more clear than the 392, so no EQ-70 with that one, either.

 

My conclusion was that 1970s receivers are products of their time, and sounded great to us, until we heard more modern gear.  The late ‘90s AVRs are better, the mid-2000s ones are better still, and the 2016 RX-A2060 that I’m listening to right now is the best one yet.  Okay, the 402 JubScalas with K-691 drivers and the rest of the gear are also a lot better than the speakers I started out with, so there’s that.

 

The point is that the engineers at audio companies show up at work every day and try to find out how to get clearer, more realistic sound from the gear we buy.  After 10, 20, 30 years, the improvements are obvious.  Old gear works well with old gear, but not so much with new gear.  If you’re going to use an equalizer today, with today’s gear, it needs to be top-shelf quality if you don’t want to mess up the sound you already have.  The digital ones seem to offer more than the analog ones, without messing up the sound, like the Dx-38 that goes with these speakers, or the new Xilica models that everybody seems to love.  That’s my opinion, anyway.

 

As for my old EQ-70, I used it to EQ my sub for several years, reasoning that details at bass frequencies are hard to pick out.  It did serve well, in coordination with a sound level meter and a test CD, but when I got this current receiver, I didn’t bother hooking up the EQ, and now it’s collecting dust on a shelf.

[mark fader]

That is a good point. Today’s electronics, the good stuff anyway, does sound better than ever before.