Blown away by Equalizer APO last night - what's next!

[Andro]

This just all sounds so exhausting. I wish you could just relax and enjoy music! You can endlessly chase that last .0000001% or just...be!

I've started building my first stereo in like 1985, and for the first 30 years I was enjoying just music, not its quality. But in the last 15 years or so I found that there is more music to hear when it's good. Few months ago just for fun I've tried my old Arcam amp that I bought for $800 in 1995, and it's kind of.... not enjoyable anymore.

 

[Verig]

And granted, I can accept that statistically the HD music is just mixed on more expensive equipment by more experienced engineers that don't bother of making CD tracks anymore, this could be true. But then it has to be over 90% statistical fidelity. Unfortunately I cannot give you a single CD track from this 836 collection where I can say I'm blown away by quality, none of them is perfect.

Sound engineering, mixing, mastering... are just jobs. Sometimes there's more artistic freedom, sometimes not. A better sounding master is not necessarily made by any more competent person and the equipment can be the same.

When it comes to HD it can't be "night and day" because of the format itself. You can try this. Record something let's say 24/96. Have a listen. Convert to 16/44.1. There you go.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

Please share how you are playing them. I'm still struggling with playback solutions. Ampcast and Spotify are working well and they sound great. WiiM is currently OOS on the eBay store but I'll order it when I see one. I have Foobar2000 but I can't configure it to my taste - it has infinite options and I'm sure it will do all that I want. But I don't have the time to set it up.

In any case, doing the remote desktop into the PC and finding and playing music with my laptop/tablet is NOT the best experience. To make matters worse, Windows kills the HDMI sound for some reason. Funny enough, it comes back after waiting for 5-15 minutes, or I have to walk over and disconnect the HDMI and reconnect it behind the PC. And that only works 3 times out of 5. Powering off the AVR and powering it on brings it back some times. Fiddly...

And then when I am watching TV (Vivo music channels) or a movie, the boom-iness comes back... Maybe I just need to turn the sub gain down for movies

I am using JRiver through Equalizer APO via USB out to a Topping D10 to the preamp. Or receiver depending on what I have set up any given month.

 

[BlindHedgehog]

You could add a graphical interface... Peace EQ

Peace Equalizer, interface Equalizer APO

Download Peace Equalizer, interface Equalizer APO for free. System-wide PC Audio Equalizer and Effects app for Windows 7 to 11. Before reading on, note there's scam website under the peace equalizer name. Only this site here on SourceForge is the actual website by me, Peter Verbeek.

sourceforge.net

View attachment 379014

I'm Jason Bratcher from Valrico, Florida, USA - and I'm totally blind since birth.
I'm using this on Windows11 with the NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) screen reader from

HTTPS://www.nvacccess.org/

I came across EqualizerAPO via a blind friend of mine showing it to me.
I have to be brutally honest; This program is absolutely sick (as in good).
I have an easier time using the APO by itself to create the presets I want, then use the Peace GUI for small touch-ups.
This is an absolute God-sent gift.BTW, maybe one (or two) small things to mention:
In the EqualizerAPO itself, the pairs of toolbars with the Power button, some other checkbox, then Add+_Remove buttons could be in the TabIndex order so they correspond to each of the filters/effects I've applied.
I.E., I'd like to be able to tap the Tab key and navigate to All Of the interface controls.
And an Undo+Redo feature would also be nice, if, say, I accidentally removed a filter/an effect I Did Not Want to remove+decide I like it better the way it is now.
BTW, I like being able to delay individual speakers via time or samples; That's pretty snappy!
And the convolution reverb? Don't dare get me started on that, although I'd like to see convolution controls adjusting the impulse level, impulse balance (dry vs. wet mix) and a level adjusted checkbox (like in FooBar2000's Foo_Convolver dialog allowing the signal to be matched with the audio at listening volume vs. quieter volume so as not to overpower the mix.
Also, not just .wav, but even .ogg/.opus vorbis files could be supported since they're much smaller yet still provide decent audio quality next to their .wave counterparts.

 

[Snarfie]

I'm Jason Bratcher from Valrico, Florida, USA - and I'm totally blind since birth.
I'm using this on Windows11 with the NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) screen reader from

HTTPS://www.nvacccess.org/

I came across EqualizerAPO via a blind friend of mine showing it to me.
I have to be brutally honest; This program is absolutely sick (as in good).
I have an easier time using the APO by itself to create the presets I want, then use the Peace GUI for small touch-ups.
This is an absolute God-sent gift.BTW, maybe one (or two) small things to mention:
In the EqualizerAPO itself, the pairs of toolbars with the Power button, some other checkbox, then Add+_Remove buttons could be in the TabIndex order so they correspond to each of the filters/effects I've applied.
I.E., I'd like to be able to tap the Tab key and navigate to All Of the interface controls.
And Undo+Redo feature would also be nice, if, say, I accidentally removed a filter/an effect I Did Not Want to remove+decide I like it better the way it is now.
BTW, I like being able to delay individual speakers via time or samples; That's pretty snappy!
And the convolution reverb? Don't dare get me started on that, although I'd like to see convolution controls adjusting the impulse level, impulse balance (dry vs. wet mix) and a level adjusted checkbox (like in FooBar2000's Foo_Convolver dialog allowing the signal to be matched with the audio at listening volume vs. quiete volume so as not to overpower the mix.
Also, not just .wav, but even .ogg/.opus vorbis giles could be supported since they're much smaller yet still provide decent audio quality next to their .wave counterparts.

Do i understand you are using DSP for room correction . I am curious how you perceive sound in general an high end audio specific using DSP with and without. I have the impression because your blind your audio focus is much better developt than regular people an less destraction better focus. What brand type of speakers you using ?

 

[BlindHedgehog]

I'm Jason Bratcher from Valrico, Florida, USA - and I'm totally blind since birth.
I'm using this on Windows11 with the NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) screen reader from

HTTPS://www.nvacccess.org/

I came across EqualizerAPO via a blind friend of mine showing it to me.
I have to be brutally honest; This program is absolutely sick (as in good).
I have an easier time using the APO by itself to create the presets I want, then use the Peace GUI for small touch-ups.
This is an absolute God-sent gift.BTW, maybe one (or two) small things to mention:
In the EqualizerAPO itself, the pairs of toolbars with the Power button, some other checkbox, then Add+_Remove buttons could be in the TabIndex order so they correspond to each of the filters/effects I've applied.
I.E., I'd like to be able to tap the Tab key and navigate to All Of the interface controls.
And an Undo+Redo feature would also be nice, if, say, I accidentally removed a filter/an effect I Did Not Want to remove+decide I like it better the way it is now.
BTW, I like being able to delay individual speakers via time or samples; That's pretty snappy!
And the convolution reverb? Don't dare get me started on that, although I'd like to see convolution controls adjusting the impulse level, impulse balance (dry vs. wet mix) and a level adjusted checkbox (like in FooBar2000's Foo_Convolver dialog allowing the signal to be matched with the audio at listening volume vs. quieter volume so as not to overpower the mix.
Also, not just .wav, but even .ogg/.opus vorbis files could be supported since they're much smaller yet still provide decent audio quality next to their .wave counterparts.
I also dig the spin controls for entering numeric values diguised as edit boxes so you can type in a value directly (EqualizerAPO-specific).I'd like to see Peace eventually be able to keep the same layout as EqualizerAPO.

 

[BlindHedgehog]

Do i understand you are using DSP for room correction . I am curious how you perceive sound in general an high end audio specific using DSP with and without. I have the impression because your blind your audio focus is much better developt than regular people an less destraction better focus. What brand type of speakers you using ?

Logitech Z207;
Just some cheap store-bought cones here.
Don't necessarily approve of Logitech's choice of leaving the cones in the open as opposed to covered.
I usually prefer a full-range sound with minimal filters, perhaps AllPass doing the trick for me.
I've also got the AudioTechnica ATH-M50X (non-BT) model for private listening;
I've been meaning to mess with EAPO's AutoEQ function to pair headphones to an audio profile (should do that sometime)?
I, Definitely, Would, Love, To see, VST3 support, become available!

On an aside, my family has decided that I Only Use Every Computer I Get For their Best Potential, Not Mine.
So to seal the deal they've told me I Must Not Read Braille, Talk To Other Blind People or Play the Piano/USB MIDI Controller into QuickWindowsSequencer/Reaper to Produce Music Of Any Kind.
I'm Limited To Listen To Today's Music And Be Brainwashed into the New World Order with full acceptance Of The Mark Of The Beast, Full Stop.

 

[BlindHedgehog]

Do i understand you are using DSP for room correction . I am curious how you perceive sound in general an high end audio specific using DSP with and without. I have the impression because your blind your audio focus is much better developt than regular people an less destraction better focus. What brand type of speakers you using ?

I hope the others out here Are Aware that my senses Did Not Just Magically Improve like a certain DareDevil
(I had to aggressively train them, almost like a military soldier prepares for war!
I work as bare-bones as possible to keep Satan away from me at All Costs.
I Will Never serve a red dragon; Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ AllMighty!

 

[Snarfie]

Logitech Z207;
Just some cheap store-bought cones here.
Don't necessarily approve of Logitech's choice of leaving the cones in the open as opposed to covered.
I usually prefer a full-range sound with minimal filters, perhaps AllPass doing the trick for me.
I've also got the AudioTechnica ATH-M50X (non-BT) model for private listening;
I've been meaning to mess with EAPO's AutoEQ function to pair headphones to an audio profile (should do that sometime)?
I, Definitely, Would, Love, To see, VST3 support, become available!

On an aside, my family has decided that I Only Use Every Computer I Get For their Best Potential, Not Mine.
So to seal the deal they've told me I Must Not Read Braille, Talk To Other Blind People or Play the Piano/USB MIDI Controller into QuickWindowsSequencer/Reaper to Produce Music Of Any Kind.
I'm Limited To Listen To Today's Music And Be Brainwashed into the New World Order with full acceptance Of The Mark Of The Beast, Full Stop.

Thanks for your response. Sounds like you’re dealing with quite a restrictive environment. Just in case it’s useful:

• National Federation of the Blind – community, rights, and advocacy
  https://www.nfb.org
• American Foundation for the Blind – support with independence and access
  https://www.afb.org

By the way, I saw you’re using Equalizer APO me too, with MathAudio Room EQ. Curious how you go about tuning it without measurement data. Are you doing it purely by ear, or do you adapt existing curves to your system? Either way, that takes some serious listening precision.

Take care.