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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 15:26 - 31 Dec 2020 Post subject: Whatever happened to graphic equalisers? |
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I've built up a modest HiFi system over the last year or two which I've also tied in to the TV. I'm pleased with it but it could be 'brighter'. I felt the same about a highly rated Cambridge Audio amp (I thought it was a bit 'muddy') so maybe it's a personal preference out of step with the fashion. Nevertheless, while tweaking stuff it occurred to me that a graphic equaliser would be a good addition, but nobody stocks them these days. Shame! Hours of fun.
Whatever happened to graphic equalisers? |
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xX-Alex-Xx |
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xX-Alex-Xx World Chat Champion
Joined: 12 Sep 2019 Karma :
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Howling Terror |
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Howling Terror Super Spammer
Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Karma :
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Posted: 17:21 - 31 Dec 2020 Post subject: |
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The majority of people stream their music...and the majority of music sounds good enough for them.
That's the main answer.
Also, pretty much all music should've been released where it will sound great on anything. Headphones...massive PA Systems..tinny kitchen radio..Car.
There should be no reason to eq something already good.
Maybe your hearing is slightly impaired..maybe your room is too dead....or it's so boomy that the high freqs can't compete...the speakers are naff or too big/small for the space or maybe you're listening too far away?
HiFi amps are rarely 'tuned' the same way that speakers are, they're flat. They aim to be transparent. Speaker engineers (for consumers) have been optimising that smile EQ for decades to give the listener an 'enhanced' experience.
Graphic eqs outside of stage or studio use are seen as a bit of a gimmick...eye candy.
Say your room is the main issue (and it usually is)...then a parametric or graphic eq could serve a purpose if only to make the best from a bad job.
Best of luck in the search for the perfect sound. ____________________ Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project |
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RhynoCZ |
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RhynoCZ Super Spammer
Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Karma :
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Posted: 22:28 - 31 Dec 2020 Post subject: |
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If it's your PC, then try Equalizer APO (works with PC audio of any kind = analogue (jack), digital through S/PDIF, digital through USB, digital via bluetooth). If it's your Tv, check if it has some Audio adjustment capabilities.
...and then fix your room. ____________________ '87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor |
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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 12:52 - 01 Jan 2021 Post subject: |
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Howling Terror wrote: | Also, pretty much all music should've been released where it will sound great on anything. Headphones...massive PA Systems..tinny kitchen radio..Car.
There should be no reason to eq something already good. |
On the other hand I quite like it when you play something on a different device and you hear a guitar part (for example) coming more to the fore than you've heard before. It doesn't happen often (maybe never on digital devices) but still... Also I'd reference XTC's Skylarking* as an example where even the artist wasn't happy with it as first released, although that's an extreme example, I don't think I could tell the difference anyway, and I wouldn't be able to dial it out at home.
Howling Terror wrote: | Maybe your hearing is slightly impaired. |
Crikey, I hadn't thought of that. I reckon my hearing is pretty good but I can't exclude the possibility that I've lost some frequencies.
Howling Terror wrote: | maybe your room is too dead....or it's so boomy that the high freqs can't compete...the speakers are naff or too big/small for the space or maybe you're listening too far away? |
RhynoCZ wrote: | ... fix your room. |
Speakers are Wharfedale Diamond 220s, wired correctly and on floor stands. I reckon the room is an unsolvable problem. It's a small space, a wooden floor with two sofas and a coffee table. The HiFi/TV are necessarily in a corner by the window.
I am being rather picky though, it's a good sound. I think I've compared it unfairly with what might have been an overly bright '80s Aiwa. I've also had a lot of time on my hands over this locked-down Christmas period to overthink stuff!
Thanks all!
* When it came time to master the album on vinyl in 2010, Andy Partridge - still never entirely happy with the overall sound of the finished album - took it to award-winning mastering engineer John Dent, who noticed something that had never previously been spotted. Somewhere, possibly in the transfer from the multi-channel tape to the stereo master, a polarity had been reversed. This is not the same thing as a reversed left/right channel which puts a stereo picture out of phase & makes the sound unlistenable, but a much more difficult to pin down event that can be triggered by something as simple as a badly wired plug in the overall system which, nonetheless, removes some of the punch & presence from a finished recording.
https://burningshed.com/XTC-Skylarking_corrected_polarity_edition-CD |
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The Artist |
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The Artist Super Spammer
Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Karma :
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Analogkid |
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Analogkid Scooby Slapper
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 Karma :
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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
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The Artist |
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The Artist Super Spammer
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Poseidon |
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Poseidon World Chat Champion
Joined: 15 Aug 2008 Karma :
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Andy_Pagin |
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Andy_Pagin World Chat Champion
Joined: 08 Nov 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 14:32 - 03 Jan 2021 Post subject: |
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This sprung to mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rStkrVhMHs ____________________ They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer |
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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 16:59 - 03 Jan 2021 Post subject: |
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A blanket hung behind the system seemed to take out some of the bass, if anything. Small difference though.
I fear Howling Terror and Poseidon are right; * it's my old age! Or I've just got too much time on my hands. Back to work tomorrow though.
* -and Andy Pagin.
I'd try relocating out of the corner but it'll mess up the rest of the room, and I can't face all those cables again. That would all just be experimental, it's good enough as it is. A quick burst while the neighbours were out suggests the sound fills out quite nicely at greater volume.
Interesting. Thanks all. |
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Analogkid |
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Analogkid Scooby Slapper
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 23:50 - 04 Jan 2021 Post subject: |
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The Artist wrote: |
I am by no means an expert but a friend had muddy bass issues and he put some baffle material behind his speakers and it helped quite a bit. I will be following this thread with interest. |
Putting some bass absorbing material, or an random texture behind between speakers can cure bass problems, can also look at heimholtz resonators, but adding a carpet in place of wooden floor won't help with lack of sparkle. Placing too much absorption can have the opposite effect. Placing a proper bass trap may help, but you would need more than is practice given that placing a driver in a corner can amplify the bass around 8x and especially the problem frequencies.
You can try and correct the room, but the corner placement is likely to be the biggest culprit, passive room correction can be costly and not very domestically acceptable, active room treatment using electronics could end up costing more than Jimbo’s system.
To Jimbo, are you sure both tweeters are working?
The positioning won’t help, can you move one of the speakers further away? I guessing it’s not practical though. You mentioned trying different amps, have you considered different speakers? |
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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
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Analogkid |
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Analogkid Scooby Slapper
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 18:00 - 05 Jan 2021 Post subject: |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 3 years, 114 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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