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I know this is heresy, but...

I am interested in adding some sort of equalization within my system....tone controls for lack of a better analogy. I know that years ago Audio Control used to make a band equalizer. Anyone out there making that sort of device today? Basically I am looking to add a little more bottom to my system without adding a subwoofer or adding a lot of noise to the sound. Thoughts?
stuartbmw3
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Benjamin7...Actually, while an equalizer is undoubtedly the best way to rebalance the sound of a particular disc, it is not very convenient. Tone controls (remember those) are best for this purpose. They are also rejected by many audiophiles who are still living in the 1950s when tone control circuits were primitive and caused distortion. The best application of an equalizer is to fix problems that don't change from disc to disc. An exception to this rule would be a digital unit like the DEQ2496, which allows you to store and recall many different EQ curves at the touch of a button.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
We all wish our multi thousand dollar equipment and speakers were tone coherant directly with all recordings, but in general this is nothing more than a fantasy, and honestly the only way I have found fairly consistent and liveable with almost no adjustment is a Very good analog source.

By no way does digital ever consistently come close I don't care how much the transport or player costs, maybe this is opinion, or my experiance souly. I don't think this is so much to do with the equipment however just the recording, and vinyl seems more even in general and fairly consistent. I am not selling the idea of vinyl here, But an Eq is not a bad thing especially with multiple sources that need to be tuned in, but can overdo some stuff definatley.
dpac996's avatar
dpac996
735 posts
 
FOr those that have used the Berhinger ULTRACURVE PRO DEQ2496, please let me know, have you used it between preamp and amp or source and pre? It is balanced only I/O and for me this means b/t preamp and amp.

I am curious how transparent this device is, but i am also interested in the undeniable flexibilty that a real EQ brings to the audio table. I have scores of CDs that sound better over my monsoon system in my car, than thru the hi-fi. Please don't tell me my system is whacked then...;)
I know that an EQ is not a panacea for all discs but certainly some would benefit with a little spectral tilt...too warm and wooly too bright poor bass eq, etc.

I think my room acoustics are very good now with the help of 8th nerve and big fuzzy furniture, but some cds can't be helped even with good room acoustics and fairly transparent audio gear (Marantz 8001, ARC LS-15, ARC 100.2, Dynaudio COntour 1.8's). I think the benefit of even simple tone controls would be totally sweet, in the ARC-LS 15 itself!!
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Dpac996...The DEQ2496 has balanced inputs and outputs, but can also be connected single ended either input or output, or both. It automatically detects what you are doing and sets its gain accordingly. I use it single ended in from preamp, and balanced out to power amps. I had unbalanced interconnects made with RCA on one end and XLR on the other so as to avoid using adapters.

Opinions about "transparency" range all over the place, and I suggest you ignore them all. (Except mine of course...very transparent). The darned thing is so inexpensive that you can get one and form your own opinion.
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