Equalizers anyone?

My experience with equalizers (none as sophisticated as those mentioned above) is that they can alter (improve) the sound of recordings, and change a speaker's frequency response, but room resonances stubornly persist, regardless of how you push the controls up and down.

My fix for room resonances is the use of planar speakers. In my room, (quite large and very irregular in shape) with three MG1.6 and three subwoofers, room problems (that I had before) have pretty much gone away. Maybe it's just luck.

I use a z-Systems RDP-1, with three of the 4 paramatric controls providing cuts in the low to mid bass (thus similar in a sense to the Rives), the low shelving control for a slight boost below 35hz, and the high shelving control as essentially a program-specific treble control. I wouldn't be without it or something similar (though of course as it is all digital I am restricted to Red Book sources or analog sources digitized with my z-Systems ADC). No downside that I can hear.

My room is quite small, 11 x 13.5 with 8 ft ceiling. All plaster with heavy carpet and pad over hardwood floor on 1x6 subfloor. I'm getting somewhat boomy bass with some sort of echo slap and I can actually hear the room affecting upper mids and lower highs. I can literally hear the room doing these things as the volume gets louder.

I know the PARC is only an analog bass correction system and the Accuphase is a digital all frequency 'tuner'. I've done two types of room treatments and tried every speaker placement possible. However, kind of restricted as to room treatments because of WAF factor. I'm thinking one of the better equalizers could help with my speaker/room interface.

ToM:

For 25 years, I've been a purist. Before that, I used Empire and Audio Control stuff. Big rooms, small rooms, Quads, Genesis, ESL's, B&W 801s,02s,05s..., CATS, Carys, Symphonic Lines...

a few months ago, I got a TACT. When I switch it out, EVERYONE, wants to know what "went wrong". VDH Black Beauty, SME V, Big VPI, Emotive Audio Sira...real good stuff, but no room treatment I've ever tried touched this thing. It even makes up for timing errors which EQing can cause adn exaggerate. This is a discontinued model, so I can only imagine how good their new one is.

I'll never be without a TACT or similar product. I wish it were like the RIVES and I didn't have to go into A-D conversions, but purist equipment set ups DO NOT make purist sound reproduction. You've got to get the room out of the way. Tube traps and other room treatments MAY be the ticket, but they're expensive and more or less hit-or-miss.

This stuff works.

Thanks, Jeff. I am an SET devotee, have used this type of amp for almost 7 years, and use a passive 'pre-amp'. Can't get much more purist than this and I know exactly what you mean - I can more easily hear the problems the room creates with such a high resolution system. I'll also put the TACT on my short list.