I'm thinking that I could benefit from adding an EQ (equalizer) to my system. The only problem is that I'm not very sure about where to start. I believe all I really need is an EQ in its simplest form, so what kind of things are available for this? My receiver is a Denon AVR-1804. Please be thorough in your answer.
2006-05-23T21:57:12Z
I should add that the output from my receiver is fine. It's just that the acoustics of my listening room emphasise bass when I listen to certain music. I'd basically like to tweak this. I assume I'd use an EQ to do so. The first answer below is far from helpful.
mitchent862006-05-24T09:12:21Z
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You don't need an equalizer with that (or any) surround sound receiver, because it is built in. Seperate component systems needed bar equalizers for tuning, but modern systerms do not (in fact it would not even be able to accomidate it properly). That receiver is O.K and probabily has a pretty decent one, but if you upgrade you receiver you will be able to tune it even further.
The ultimate pursuit of high quality audio reproduction in your room is exactly that - a faithful reproduction of music as it was recorded.
There are many ways you can tweak your system to enhance that experience and bring it as close to the original recording as possible. Whatever the equipment you are working with (Denon makes some very good amps indeed), speaker setup is perhaps the most crucial. Ideally, you should setup your speakers in such a way that your listening position should form the top end of a triangle (the other two ends being the speakers!) and the distance between the midpoint between the speakers and your listening position should be 1.5 times the distance between the speakers. Tow in the speakers slightly so that they are facing you.
Then ensure that the spekaers are a sufficient distance from the side walls (greater the better). Avoid placing speakers close to corners as much as possible (that's where most of the reverberations occur and result in a boomy, "bassy" sound).
This setup should work fine for most audio equipment. If your issue is too little bass however, consider adding a subwoofer (only some very high end speakers are capable of producing really low frequency signals and a powered subwoofer is generally a very good solution).
Equalizers came in vogue before the advent of CDs and were used extensively to tweak around the noise levels added by the magnetic tape and even LPs. With digitally encoded music on CDs, this has practically become a non-issue. People still use equalizers to enhance recordings etc., but that's a different application altogether.
get a better receiver if you want to spend money that bad. Cant equalize garbage too well... What I am saying is that you have a car. Do you give a paint job to a car that is about to break down? No. You put the money where it needs to go and in this case to the receiver. That receiver, no matter how you try to make it sound better it is not going to give you a great sound. So, put the money that you were going to put into a equalizer and get a rec. that is worth equalizing. And if you think the output is fine you dont need a equalizer :)
If you have a Dolby Digital system it will not even allow tone controls to operate. The best way to reduce bass (which by the way is a rare request indeed) is to turn down your sub woofer. Moving speakers as far away from the wall will reduce some room coupling which may reduce bass too. If your speakers are ported try plugging the ports. I wouldn't recommend an EQ with today's receivers.