Quote Originally Posted by westcott

I point these things out so that others can view things from both sides of the fence. Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Toole, it still points out that many experts in the field suggest EQ be used with prudence and that its affects are far more wide ranging than most people are aware of.
I don't disagree with him at all, and I agree with your recommending using EQ's with caution - good advice. Though nobody here is suggesting anyone go trigger happy with an EQ.

I could be off, but your earlier you seem to take what he wrote about the total spectrum, in specific reference to loudspeakers and conventional FR testing methods in and applying it to subwoofer equalization in a very specific, low frequency range. It's a bit trickier than that.

I can quote him too (p.17):

"High-, medium- and low-Q resonances shown at the detection thresholds, below which the resonances cease to be audible. It depends on what you are listening to. The locations of the illustrative peaks on the frequency scale are arbitrary. The audibility is similar at all frequencies except, perhaps, at very low frequencies."

We are less sensitive to low frequencies. Much less.

What you've said about EQ'ing is good advice - use it after you get all your other affairs in order. All I'm trying to point out is that while we can't achieve perfection, using an EQ to eliminate the remaining, really bad problems, can still get us closer to the goal.

RE: the time domain - this is where my comfort level drops significantly, except that I do know if you're experiencing problems with FR because of room acoustics, you're undoubtedly experiencing problems with the time domain as well. The risk, I suppose is that you'll make it even worse. In practice, we find that you're improving the FR at a greater "rate" than you're further worsening the phase/time interference, which should result in a net benefit. Of course this probably isn't always the case, and that's where listening comes in. If you apply a filter and it sounds bad, don't use it.