2. misc-audio
  3. 1137452459

EQ's... why doesnt everybody have one?

Just browsing around the systems on this site, i knoticed that very few have equalizers. I realize some claim they introduce unacceptable noise but i would hardly call my Furman Q-2312, at %>.01 20Hz-40kHz, unacceptable. This $200 piece of equiptment ($100 on sale at musiciansfriend.com) replaces several thousand dollars in assembling a perfectly linear system in perfectly linear room, and in my opinion, accomplishes the task better than any room design could no matter how well engineered. It brought my system (onkyo reciever, NHT SB-3 speakers and Sony CD changer) to a level i could not have dreamed. It extends the SB-3's frequency response by at least 10 Hz to a satisfying 30 Hz without any rolloff or sacrifice in clarity, but the greatest improvement was definately in the Mid-range, around the SB-3s crossover frequency of 2.6kHz. The clarity of vocals, strings, guitars, brass... anything in this range rivals that of uneq'd systems costing well into the thousands of dollars... my total cost; $800. One of the more supprising differences is a marked improvement in immaging, it think this might have to do with eliminating several resonances in the right channel caused by my back wall (the left back wall has a curtain over it). The second my dad heard the difference he got on my computer to buy one for himself, he couldnt even wait to get back to his own, he then kicked me outa the listening chair and wouldnt get up for the better part of an hour.
-Dan-
dk89
joeylawn36111
574 posts
 
Eldartford - thanks.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,283 posts
 
Eldartford, if I understand it correctly, the Behringer is a combo graphic/parametric equalizer with a few added features. It is not a room correction device. It cannot adjust for time delay/phase and the EQ controls are too board to address all but the largest room induced resonances. The Tact makes corrections in both the frequency (as small as 2Hz wide) and time domains which is essential for true room tuning. Room problems are not just a frequency related issue. You should read REG's series on room correction in TAS for a more thorough technical explanation. As a practical matter can either device be used for room tuning. Of course both can, but one is a dedicated room correction device and the other is not.
drubin
3,277 posts
 
It strikes me that TacT has fallen behind the technology curve. The 2.0S is priced the same as the 2.0 from several years ago but seems to have been improved only a little (perhaps I am mistaken about this). Yet, the kind of processing power that is readily and cheaply available has increased quit dramatically in that timeframe. If you look at what you get for $300 from Slim Devices or Behringer, to name but two, sophisticated digital processing is practically free these days. Granted, TacT has made a huge investment in software, which they can and should charge for, but the box should either be cheaper now or it should be much more robust in terms of capabilities and ease of use.

I owned a TacT for a while and, while I never had great results with it, I continue to believe in the technology and think Peter Lyngdorf is one of the few genuine geniuses in high-end audio. I may try one again in the future, but I just ordered a Behringer. For the RTA alone, it's a steal, assuming I can figure out how to work it.

Dan
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,704 posts
 
Dan wrote: "I owned a TacT for a while and, while I never had great results with it, I continue to believe in the technology and think Peter Lyngdorf is one of the few genuine geniuses in high-end audio."

TacT is now run by the original software developer (see BOZ) and Peter Lyngdorf showed a new device under his own name at CES. It is similar to the TacT but differs a bit in hardware and in its approach to multisite measurements.

Kal
drubin
3,277 posts
 
Oh, I did not know that. Will have to check it out.
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