Quote Originally Posted by skeptic
I would not think of NOT using an equalizer in a serious sound system. But there are other things I wouldn't do without that many audiophiles turn their noses up as well. For instance, after 15 years of experimentation with them, I would never consider listening in my own home to a music system that didn't have a multidirectional array of tweeters. An array of inexpensive 1/2 or 3/8 inch polypropylene (mylar) tweeters in a ratio of about 1:3 direct to indirect firing (depending on acoustics) is far more musical than any single direct firing tweeter I've ever heard but that's a different arguement. Once everything else is adjusted, positioned, etc, then the time consuming difficult task of adjusting the equalizer begins. To me it's like tuning a musical instrument (note I do not consider a sound reproduction system a musical instrument because I don't consider recordings music but that's also another arguement.)

To anyone who thinks that a casual tweaking is all that it takes to adjust an equalizer, I promise you that you will soon write it off as a useless toy. Same for anyone who thinks that they will simply connect a pink noise generator, an inexpensive condenser mic, and a fluorescent display spectrum analyzer. My own experience is that it doesn't work. This is something you really have to want to do badly because you know in the end it will be worth it.

The first prerequisite is to know what live unamplified music actually sounds like. Sorry but tuning a sound system with a graphic equalizer while not understanding what you are listening for is like trying to tune a piano or a violin by ear without knowing what a scale sounds like. IMO, it can't be done. This probably let's at least 95% of audiophiles out possibly explaining why so many equalizers are available inexpensively on the used market. In the wrong hands, meaning most hands, they are worse than useless. Secondly is an extensive collection of well made recordings of acoustical instruments. This is the real test material, not a test disc. Then there is the understanding that you will have to work within the limitations of the equipment you have. You aren't going to get that 8 inch two way ported speaker with an in box resonance frequency of 50 hz to reproduce a 30 hz organ pedal tone, especially at high volume. Acoustic suspension speakers may have their response extended about a half octave or so below system resonance. Maybe. If you are lucky and have sufficient amplifier power. Small incremental changes are all you can hope for at any given time. A few db at most in one or two adjacent octaves. Start with the controls set flat and start making cuts in those frequency bands which seem exaggerated. Often the mid bass is a good starting point because so may speaker/room combinations have annoying resonances there. Frequently deep bass is lacking and a slight boost there may help. Sometimes you feel like you are going backwards and things are getting worse, not better. Reducing a peak in one frequency range seems to make peaks in other ranges more audible. I just cut 2 db at 4khz in one system and suddenly it became obvious that the bass was exaggerated, something that was previously masked by the 4khz peak. Listen to a lot of your recordings. One thing you get accostomed to is that the huge variations in the way recordings are made will make a sound system seem exaggerated in one way with one recording and in the opposite way with another. The best you can hope for is to adjust for the average so that you get the best out of the majority of your recordings. You will also see that different equipment requires different settings. The frequency response you are adjusting for is the overall system response so that if you change cd players as I recently did, you become aware of differences from one to the next. Different components also have different frequency responses, for instance, every hi fi VCR I own seems to have an exaggerated bass. Fortunately with prices as cheap as they are, you can have a separate equalizer for different units or if you have a digital unit with memory presets, you can adjust the system for each one independently. One good thing to try occasionally is to not listen for a few days or a week or two. I think your ears become accostomed to the sound of your particular system at any time and giving them a break lets you hear everything with a fresh start. Don't be surprised if doing this doesn't make you think something is wrong when it doesn't sound as good as you remember it. I also try to keep left and right channels set identically except for deep bass where room acoustics, especially resonances and speaker positioning play such a large role in what you hear. As I said elsewhere, with patience, it often takes me about two years to get the results I want. Is it worth it. Are you kidding?
Only one small detail missing... what equalizer(s) do you consider to be the best you've used or what are you using in your current system? I've been toying with the idea of getting an equalizer for about a year now and your post has convinced me to get off ground zero. Need to know a brand/model that you think is the best. Equalization certainly sounds better than switching components and the rest of my system is in place for the long haul. Thanks!