Tweeters and EQ's

candyliquor35m

Why isn't it popular anymore to use equalizers to tweak the music to our individual tastes? My new tube pre- can effectively contour off the highs and will probably prevent me from having to replace the 2.3 tweeters with the silks.

On the other hand my 80's Parasound EQf210 paired with a 80's Kyocera R851 receiver and 90's Ohm FRS (don't remember the model) speakers sound quite amazing compared to their mediocre sound when I bypass the EQ.

MrNightly

Good questions. I have always wondered why nobody speaks of equalizers anymore. In the early 90's they were the rage it seemed... now, almost taboo?

joeparaski

I can't say that it applies to me. I have a 40 band half-octave eq as well as a Para-Metric EQ. I love my eq's!..and that's for the front channel. The rear channel has a parametric eq. Heck, I'm thinking of eq'ing my center.

Joe (master of overdoing it) Albanese

madmax

candyliquor35m wrote:

Why isn't it popular anymore to use equalizers to tweak the music to our individual tastes?

Because once you get into the higher end you don't want to go from an expensive source through twice as many cables and have a 20 cent transistor (output stage of the EQ) effing up the signal going into your tube amp. Bunches of phase problems too. Some companies are really good at EQ's such as AudioControl and others, but even still, it's a bunch of additional parts the signal must go through.
madmax

mldennison

plus anytime you send your signal through a filter, you are going to be adding some amount of distortion to it.

RuSsMaN

madmax wrote:

... you don't want to go from an expensive source through twice as many cables and have a 20 cent transistor (output stage of the EQ)...

And Bingo was his name-o.

Tour2ma

Pretty much answered above, but that's never stopped me before...

candyliquor35m wrote:

On the other hand my 80's Parasound EQf210 paired with a 80's Kyocera R851 receiver and 90's Ohm FRS (don't remember the model) speakers sound quite amazing compared to their mediocre sound when I bypass the EQ.

First, you have to be sure that you are not just boosting the overall volume. All other things equal, louder sounds better/ "fuller".

Volume aside, judicious use of an EQ can make up for anomalies in:
- your speakers;
- your hearing;
- your room;
- all of the above.

scottnbnj

somehow, i think if you're trying to hide problems like poor placement or room acoustics with several db eq swings, signal degradation is the least of your worries.

correcting things like recordings or gear mismatches are a different issue and probably better suited to eq corrections. at that level, signal degradation is worth considering.

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