Equalizer setting for High-End audio

[Malek@MRF]

I will have my settings posted in a fresh new thread the same way I did it for the Logic7 systems.

Stay tuned guys.

[Malek@MRF]

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=428114

[Neon01]

I appreciate the efforts by Malak and PG in tuning the PES system. I just bought an E90 Sedan less than a week ago and noticed that this system is VERY different to the Logic 7 system in my previous 335i. Personally, and this is probably why I believe i will not care for settings developed by some others, I think the M3 engine and road noise is either canceling or flat out overwhelming some of the lower octaves the system is capable of producing. I would tweak the system to give me a satisfactory freq response while the car was idling only to have it sound completely washed out and overpowered when in motion. This only reinforces the idea that the car is just about the worst audio environment out there (except maybe a boat).

I have a test CD that I used to use to set up systems I built with AudioControl 1/3 Oct EQs (if only our system came with a decent digital 1/3 oct EQ...) that plays pink noise in 1/3 Oct "chunks". Sometime in the next few days I hope to have my wife drive me around for a bit while I use my SPL meter to tune to a flat curve while moving.


A tip - a number of the settings I've seen here are all listed in positive values. A method many of the pros use is to essentially subtract off a fixed amount from every band that you're EQing equal to the highest adjusted value. So if you had settings of (completely arbitrary)

100, 0
200, +2
500, +1
1k, +4
2k, +2
5k, +6
10k, +3

you would subtract 6 from each of these settings, to give you:

100, -6
200, -4
500, -5
1k, -2
2k, -4
5k, 0
10k, -3

or at the very least, subtract half of the max value - 3 in this case - so that the curve is centered about zero. The reason for this is to avoid distortion caused by amplification of the EQ. Since each one of those bands have a gain applied to obtain the louder setting, distortion can enter the picture. For fully digital EQs (I suspect the PES system is digital in the EQ stage), this is minimal, but every bit helps. Sound attenuation is typically easier to accomplish without distortion, so by reducing all of the settings instead of increasing them, you theoretically improve your overall SQ by lowering total distortion.

I'm no expert, so please take my advice with a grain of salt. I've spent better than 14 years designing and building speakers as a hobby, and these are just some of the practices I've picked up.

[quality_sound]

The only issue with what you're doing with the EQ is that it doesn't have enough bands to level he entire spectrum. So now instead of peaks you're have a lot of valleys.

ALL cars kill low end when in motion but especially cars with wide tires and large engines. Add in an exhaust designed for performance rather than absolute quiet and you're going to lose bottom end, no way around it.

[Neon01]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

The only issue with what you're doing with the EQ is that it doesn't have enough bands to level he entire spectrum. So now instead of peaks you're have a lot of valleys.

This assertion can't be verified without instrument measurement. I would venture to say that this system's -3db point is probably in the 60-70hz range on the low end and maybe 14k on the upper end. Each of the adjustment points of the EQ get within 2/3 of an octave of those points, and depending on the Q and slope of the EQ (which could easily be -12 dB/oct), it very well could cover virtually the entire spectrum that this system is capable of producing.

But even if it doesn't, the point I'm trying to make is that you're always better off with a valley than a peak when they are of the same amplitude. The distortion caused by creating a peak is generally higher than that caused by creating a valley. In theory, adding "information" is always more difficult to do than taking it away.

Originally Posted by quality_sound

ALL cars kill low end when in motion but especially cars with wide tires and large engines. Add in an exhaust designed for performance rather than absolute quiet and you're going to lose bottom end, no way around it.

I'm in complete agreement here. My point was that the M3 is slightly worse as an audio environment is concerned than, say, a 335i. Don't get me wrong, I'd take the sound of that engine with the windows down any day of the week over the best sound system.

[romanvn106]

whats the best setting for house music ????