# Equalizer Adjustments



## bickmade (Aug 16, 2002)

Can anyone give a run down on how a equalizer should be adjusted. Or some settings on a eqaulizer!


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Really it depends on so many variables that it would be basically impossible to just 'give you some settings.' If it's of any help, my eq gives a 2dB boost at 60Hz, a 1dB boost at 120, and pretty flat across the rest.


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## bickmade (Aug 16, 2002)

I wanted to get something like this!


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Well, that's a pretty decent EQ, but still, I can't just give you settings. I'd sit in the car, play a variety of music and adjust it until you're happy. What kind of setup do you have?


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## kbrassfi (Aug 1, 2002)

like samo said there are lots of things involved, what type of music, what song you're playing, what sounds you want to hear, you really can play with it a little and adjust it to your preference, which is the best part about using one, take some time to play with it a little you'll get a feel for how you like things


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## bickmade (Aug 16, 2002)

Thanks, for the quick responses, also i was wondering about a tuning tool you can find at radio shack, does anyone know of such a thing, is it well worth it?


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Ehh... first of all, I'm pretty leery of Radio Shack. A 'tuning tool,' huh? Call me dumb, but I always used my ears, and maybe the _IASCA '95 Competition CD_ to tune my systems.

Frankly, unless you're competing, if it sounds good to you, it's tuned right.


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## bickmade (Aug 16, 2002)

Anyone have the IASCA '95 Competition CD in mp3 format, that would be bick! So i can tune the tunes!


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

I'm sure you'd be able to find any of the IASCA test CDs on Kazaa or something. You can also get the latest one at http://www.crutchfield.com .


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Another thing is I'm going to _strongly_ recommend against testing and tuning a stereo on MP3 music. There is an audio quality loss associated with the MP3 compression system. You want to set your system up based on the best quality audio you can possibly find.


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## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

yeah unless you are competing in SQ just play with each slider until you it sounds the way you like it. even if u were competing go to a few contests as a spectator first and see what a sq contest winning system sound like and tune your system that way


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

*FWIW*

It is better to cut other frequencies than to boost the problem one!


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

*Re: FWIW*



wes said:


> *It is better to cut other frequencies than to boost the problem one! *


What is the reasoning behind this? I'd follow your advice if my crappy onboard EQ would let me  ... it's better than nothing, though, I guess.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

*Well*

Any component that increases volume adds distortion, when dealing with competition setups (or tweaking the right way) better to reduce potential distortion than to increase it. Especially with a unit like that slider EQ pictured.


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## Psch91 (May 18, 2002)

samo, about adjusting my stereo. I was just messing around with the amp, trying to set it again. And I set my head unit at 24/30 volume (about 75%) and then set the freq, and the other setting, gains or whichever, not the bass boost though. When I was adjusting, do I have the freq up already? Cause theres no bass and its quiet when its down, and does it matter where I have the freq? And like, it never distorted, it just kinda got "boomier" so I dont know where I should set the gains. And the way I set it, I have no bass at the lower volumes, but I want bass at the lower volume levels, I barely ever turn it up. Usually I could have it at 10-12 to get good bass, now im at like volume 18. So what to do? Set the volume lower and adjust it again? I have the jbl 1200.1 and my head unit is the rockford fosgate rfx 9400 with a 5 volt output. The little knobs on the jbl amp suck too.

And also, some of my songs have noise in them. And its from regular cd's too. Its on 3 of my rammstein songs, some classical has noise, and some of my bass test cd's. I was using Andrea Bocelli, Phantom of the Opera, and Bass Mechanik bass cd's to try and figure out my gains. (And no, I dont listen to too much classical music, mostly rap and oldies, but it calms me down  )

And another thing, is the Phoenix Gold BASS CUBE worth its 120-150$ price tag?










http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3290&item=1949893357


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Makes sense. Sucks that I have all of four bands to play with... oh well. The system in my next car will be built right from the ground up. None of these flashy-graphics and pointless features...


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## cranium (Oct 8, 2002)

is that bass cube something like the AudioControl Epicenter? if it is then i will take the lowest frequency played in the music you are listening to and reproduce it one octive lower.


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## 91SR20DE (Nov 25, 2002)

From my experience with them, I only noticed a big difference on bigger systems with huge proted enclosures. Not that it wasn't noticable on the smaller ones. But if your gonna run something like that Kenwood eq, you'll be more than happy with the sub controls on that. What kind of set-up are gonna be running? (amps, h/u, mids/tweets) If your going to try and sound good, I'd recommend picking up a Audio Control FOURone, nice piece. Or an EQL, its a trunk mount, but if your running amps on everything, its well worth the money I think.


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

You know, Psch, I'm not entirely sure how to answer your question. I am far from a car-audio god, so I'm going to leave that to people who know more about the real technical issues  .


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## 91SR20DE (Nov 25, 2002)

Samo, I just checked out your pics, love the install.


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Thanks man. I'm pretty happy with it. It sounds fantastic, and it's simple enough to allow me to pack my trunk with stuff, but distinctive enough that you don't see installs like it very often. Sounds pretty good too  .


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## 91SR20DE (Nov 25, 2002)

I'm running one 8" Kicker Comp in a 1.35 slot ported enclosure on 50 watts that hammers. I know everybody is probably gonna fall out of their computer chairs laughing at the thought, and most likely think I'm full of so much shit they can smell it eminating from the screen, but its the truth. Most people can't believe its one 8" when they sit in the car and listen to it. It hits looooowww. And might I add, thats 50 REAL watts, not some overrated 35 watt amp that says 900 watts on it!! Send me a message if you want to see pics.


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Honestly, I could believe it. I use a single 8" in a ported box in 50w in my dorm room and it absolutely _slams_. I frequently have people a floor or two down complain that they can hear it. So it's very possible that your 8", in the right box, getting really clean power, absolutely sings.


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## bickmade (Aug 16, 2002)

Once you go 15" you'll never turn back. I had a 15" Audiobahn UltraExcursion and it was running at 1 ohm pusing a whooping 1200 watts RMS, mmmmmmm!


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## 91SR20DE (Nov 25, 2002)

I did the big sytem thing with my first couple of cars, I learned REAL FAST that a huge pounding system turns decent cars into loose rattling pieces of shit within the first 6 months. One of my associates has a 2000 DTS Caddilac with 6 W6's an two of the big PPI's, he bought the car new, within 4 months, the car was worth shit. Roof liners falling off, interior trim falling off, it was just bad. These days, I've become acustomed to having a system that plays more than one frequency, and is clean all the way up.


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