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Need help with Equalizer APO

Raticosa

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Mar 20, 2023
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Hi everyone,
second post here, and beg your pardon in advance if this argument has already been discussed (but I found nothing about the solution I need)...

I'm playing with Equalizer APO to implement a free DSP under Windows for room correction (just for test purposes) and I have the problem I will try to explain below.

EQ APO works fine and is correctly installed on my PC (I already read all the troubleshooting posts), in fact if I loopback the output to input (tried with both analog out --> in and with TOSLINK out --> in) of my external soundcard and I measure the frequency response sweeping with REW I can clearly see its intervention when switched ON (and it works as supposed to do).

Same thing if I reproduce music from the PC (when EQ APO is switched ON it applies correctly its filters and I can clearly listen to its intervention, e.g. if I change the attenuation of a preamplifier block).

The problem arises when I try to use it capturing music from the soundcard input (e.g. from CD player or other sources) and I need to playback it (after filters correction) to the soundcard output, no way to listen anything... I'm sure the PC input is capturing the music stream (if I open REW and check the input levels the VU-meter moves and follow the music volume) but I don't know which is the way (that is: the instructions sequence) to tell EQ APO: "Capture the music stream from analog / digital input --> apply filters --> playback the stream to analog / digital output".

The only way I found is working so far is to open a player like VLC Media Player --> open the capture device "soundcard input" --> play it... in this way Eq APO receives the input stream and output the EQ'ed stream to output.

In conclusion: I need the sequence of instructions (e.g. blocks) in EQ APO to force it to capture and play the music stream from the default input (in my case is the external soundcard's input) before to apply its filters in order to make it works as stand alone application without opening every time VLC Media Player and play the incoming music stream.

Hope I have been clear enough.

Thanks to anyone will help, cheers.

Gianluca
 

IAtaman

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If you open the Configuration Tool of EQ APO, you should be able to choose which input devices for which the APO to be installed under Capture Devices tab. That should solve your problem I think.
 
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Raticosa

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Mar 20, 2023
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Location
Bologna, ITALY
Hello,
Thanks for your reply but is not.

I tried installing EAPO also on soundcard input (other than soundcard output) but the only effect is that it doubles the applied correction (that is correction is applied on both input and output path so if I need a peak filter cut 3 dB I see on REW it cuts exactly 6dB).

I need to add a block (an instruction) to force EAPO to play (capture) the soundstream from input before apply the equalization but so far every teemptative failed.

Anyway if I play the sound with an external player it works correctly in real-time and works very well too, and the QRange plugin does not introduce any phase rotation.
Cheers.
Gianluca
 

IAtaman

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Hello,
Thanks for your reply but is not.

I tried installing EAPO also on soundcard input (other than soundcard output) but the only effect is that it doubles the applied correction (that is correction is applied on both input and output path so if I need a peak filter cut 3 dB I see on REW it cuts exactly 6dB).

I need to add a block (an instruction) to force EAPO to play (capture) the soundstream from input before apply the equalization but so far every teemptative failed.

Anyway if I play the sound with an external player it works correctly in real-time and works very well too, and the QRange plugin does not introduce any phase rotation.
Cheers.
Gianluca
I was referring to this section of the help. I had a similar issue, I followed the instructions here and on the Automation page, it worked for me. I understand your case might be different maybe, just want to make sure we are talking about the same thing,

This is taken from Peace help section Selecting a device.

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By default every sound manipulation like an equalization is done on every available audio device, input and output. Once you have created an equalization with the sliders, it usually doesn't matter which audio device is currently selected. That equalization is there to correct the sound for the device you selected. But there are circumstances in which this is wrong. What if you need to do:

  1. a (slightly) different equalization for each audio device.
  2. no or another equalization for the microphone as your equalization is also applied on every input device like a microphone.
In these cases you can set the specific audio device from the Peace devices list before saving it to the Configuration list as shown in the next chapter.

Wanting circumstance 1. is a matter of creating different equalization configurations and save them to the Configurations list.

Wanting 2. is a special circumstance which needs Automation as explained in this chapter. Basically you need 1 eq configuration for your mic and 1 for your speakers/headphones, each with their proper audio device set. Then by putting the microphone eq configuration on the "Always active" list on the automation window this configuration is, well, always active on the mic. The main Peace screen can now be used for the speakers/headphones eq.

Also notice that the microphone eq configuration can be an "empty" one if you're okay how your mic sounds. Still it needs to have it's own eq to prevent some eq done twice, once on the mic and once on the speakers/headphones.
 
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