| AudioREVIEW's Forum Archives - Home Theater |
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|   newbie****** wonder what is better,amp or eq? | lifeisgood811
Apr 27, 2003 6:08 PM | | I have a Kenwood VR6050. I am very happy with it, but would like to see a lil more punch. I am not very educated in the surround areas, so I leave it to all of you. What is beter an equalizer or an amp. I hear the amp would give more of a kick, but would sound a lil off in movie playback, but the eq won't have the kick when playing music. Or maybe I am way off on all accounts, he he. give me some input |
| re: newbie****** wonder what is better,amp or eq? | This Guy
Apr 28, 2003 3:43 AM | | Amp is much more inportant then an equalizer. If you are looking for more punch you will either need a new amp or new speakers. The equalizer really doesn't affect movies because it only equalizes the two front channel speakers. The EQ is about the least of your worries. Definently look for new speakers or a new amp.
Joey |
| Agreed and would add... | Keith from Canada
Apr 28, 2003 9:37 AM | | that an EQ in the wrong hands can be a dangerous thing. I've heard far too many home and car systems that have been butchered because the people don't know how to properly set-up their EQ's. |
| If EQ is used the right way, it can be pretty effective. | Smokey
Apr 28, 2003 2:22 PM | | EQs are very effective in tieing up loose ends where speakers can't fix (such as acoustic problems). But agree that it should used as the last resort.
Kenwood are pretty decent receiver, and unless they are driving low sensitivity speaker, I would rule out Amp replacement. I would definitely look into speaker and its location if that "oomph" is missing from the system.
Mess around with speaker location and find the place that they sound best-and if still not satisfy with sound-then using an EQ might be necessary to liven up the sound a bit.....unless we take the radical approach of buying new speakers :) |
| New speakers do little to tame resonaces..... | Sir Terrence the Terrible 1
Apr 29, 2003 1:30 PM | | Joey,
Eq IS really important because it is instrumental in reducing the negative influences of a rooms resonances. These resonances are present in ALL rooms and are responsible for speakers sounding boomy or one notey in the bass region. IMO proper placement of speakers, your listening chair, acoustic foam for early reflections, and eq for the lows will all contribute to making your system sound the best that it can. There are eq's that control all channels such as the Diva, the bijou, and the rialto from audiocontrol all eq's I highly recommend.
Sir Terrence |
| New speakers do little to tame resonaces..... | This Guy
Apr 29, 2003 2:53 PM | | Hey my bad. I have had very little experience with equalizers and do not even own one yet. I had no idea it was this effective. I was thinking new speakers would be a better choice because they would also make a huge difference in sound as well. You convinced me to look at EQ's, I was thinking of maybe a cheap $100-120 10 band per channel equalizer. And maybe Ill look at one of those you listed.
Looks like i learn something new almost every day,
Joey |
| Yo Joey, stop where you stand my man!! | Sir Terrence the Terrible 1
Apr 29, 2003 5:20 PM | | "I was thinking of maybe a cheap $100-120 10 band per channel equalizer. And maybe Ill look at one of those you listed."
Whatever you do, don't do that!! Cheap eq's are worst than no eq at all. They are noisy because they use cheap parts. Many of them introduce very audible phase shifts, and ringing because of the filter used in them.
I use this eq http://www.alesis.com/products/meq230/
It can be found for about $100-125 online since Alesis released a new digital eq to take its place. This is normally a $300 eq and it is very quiet, accurate, constant Q(no phase shift) and it is a 30 band eq which is much more useful in more rooms than a ten band could ever be. Ten band eq do not have enough bands below 100hz to truely be effective in most small rooms. The alesis has 7 bands below 100hz. You need a minimum of 1/3 octave eq to control room resonances. Ideally 1/6 or 1/10 is better but it cost a fortune.
Sir Terrence |
| One more thing.... | Sir Terrence the Terrible 1
Apr 29, 2003 5:23 PM | | Eq's should not be used without measuring devices such as a RTA(real time analyzer) Without this tool you have no idea what is going on in the room, or how to fix it. Eq in the hands of the uniformed is a very dangerous audio weapon.
Sir Terrence |
| Thanks! | This Guy
Apr 29, 2003 5:34 PM | | Wow i didn't know the cheap one's could be that bad. I figured they would all do the same thing. I shouldn't have thoguht that cause all speakers and amps do basically the same thing, but sound very different. After I'm done with my current speaker project I'll look into the model you told me.
Thanks a bunch,
Joey |
| Dedicated subwoofer EQ only $120 | Richard Greene
Apr 30, 2003 8:53 AM | | http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=020306142224136001001033704146/search/g=home?q=feedback+destroyer
I'm not going to recommend the above Behringer 1124 digital equalizer for full range use -- just as a dedicated subwoofer equalizer.
The least expensive 1/3 octave equalizer that I would recommend is the Alesis MEQ230. 1/3 octave controls are usually too wide to effectively control room standing-wave-related bass frequency peaks which are usually need 1/6 octave (or narrower) controls at frequencies which may not match the 1/3 octave ISO standard frequencies used for 1/3 octave equalizers.
I own both equalizers mentioned above (Behringer 1124 and Alesis MEQ230). |
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