Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

An alternative to having an equaliser in the system is to take the recording into a DAW and remaster it oneself. The difficulty with any form or post production equalisation, whether permanent or on the fly, is that if a track sounds bad, the problems are usually from the recording and mixing phase. And if the mastering engineer couldn't solve those, one is probably stuck with them. In my experience, you can make a really bad recording sound less bad, but you'll never make it sound good.

Yes. Agree with that totally. My system always makes dull records sound better and more fun and engaging. But you’re right. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig😊. Happy Thanksgiving all!

“ Yes I am still loving the MQ112. It is the best accessory that I could have bought to do exactly as it is supposed to do. And I love the looks and quality of it also to blend into my existing ARC components. ”

AWESOME!

@tlcocks 

I have played with analog EQ and the units back then did not please anyone present. We did adjust things in sort of an analog way by adjusting the gains on the crossovers, all Mark Levinson designed by Mr Curl. We had no way of measuring back then. USB microphones were decades away. 

I know exactly what my system and room are doing because I measure it and have printed readouts of each individual speaker. Digital EQ is adjusted so that both channels are identical from 100 Hz to 12 kHz. In just about all residencial sized rooms at volumes in and around 90 dB flat is going to have thin bass and the highs will make you wince. There are a few records that were mixed at high volume and sound dull at low levels. The solution is to turn the volume up. If you think flat is not bright I would have your hearing checked or have your system measured, It is rolling off the high end. Many systems will do this depending on the impedance curve of the speaker and the output impedance of the amplifier. This is one big reason some people prefer tube amplifiers. For $300 you can get yourself a calibrated microphone, computer program and measure your system to see what it is doing. I promise you, you will be very surprised. Flat is a reference point. Units like the DEQX will go there automatically as a starting point. No system/room is flat to begin with and in some cases are so bad even digital EQ can not correct it all the way. 

The vast majority of albums are now recorded digitally and most music is now listened to via digital program sources. It makes no sense to keep going back and forth between digital and analog. In digital you can easily do all the processing without adding any artifact whereas every time you pass the signal through an analog device there is always added artifact. Just a fact of life. However, some people actually like listening to distortion and that is their prerogative. I am of the other school and seek to minimize any distortion anywhere in the system I can. I use Electrostatic speakers because their distortion levels are a level of magnitude lower than dynamic speakers if run correctly (no low bass). There are no analog crossovers in my system. RIAA correction is done digitally. I can record vinyl to the hard drive in 192/24 and nobody has been able to tell the difference between the recording and the actual record. Once you are in numbers you can go almost anywhere you want. I use 10th order slopes for the subwoofer crossover, virtually impossible to do in analog. 

In the end the system is adjusted to my preference, by ear. Subwoofer gain is adjusted by ear. Treble roll off is adjusted by ear. However, since I have measure the system I can go to the proper curve automatically without listening. 

Now back to making a turkey stuffing. 

I have indeed had my hearing checked. I hear properly up to 15-16 K. Thanks for the suggestion. No issues there. I correct for ROLLED OFF RECORDS. Your knowledge and insights have stimulated me to look in more depth at room corrective digital applications. Hope your stuffing turns out well!