Too much midrange? How to fix?

[Kutusov]

Hi, so my saga with my Edifiers s1000db continues. With your guys help I've been trying several things and currently I got them to play the best they ever did. So far the best improvements have been a Zen Dac v1 and proper stands.

They are awfully dependent on position and if I don't have them pointing exactly this or that way they sound sort of hollow. But I noticed that they sound pretty good in a lot of different positions if I aplly this Musicbee EQ:

Sound gets more cohesive and a whole layer suddenly comes forward. So what does this mean? Is that the midrange coming down? I can't get the same effect by raising bass and treble, although that makes things better in my room.

Would sticking an equalizer between dac and speakers do me any good? Because I don't listen to music exclusively through Musicbee and then I don't have those EQs...

 

[Eetu]

Hi, so my saga with my Edifiers s1000db continues. With your guys help I've been trying several things and currently I got them to play the best they ever did. So far the best improvements have been a Zen Dac v1 and proper stands.

They are awfully dependent on position and if I don't have them pointing exactly this or that way they sound sort of hollow. But I noticed that they sound pretty good in a lot of different positions if I aplly this Musicbee EQ:

View attachment 150690

Sound gets more cohesive and a whole layer suddenly comes forward. So what does this mean? Is that the midrange coming down? I can't get the same effect by raising bass and treble, although that makes things better in my room.

Would sticking an equalizer between dac and speakers do me any good? Because I don't listen to music exclusively through Musicbee and then I don't have those EQs...

If your source is a PC you can use Equalizer APO for system-wide EQ.

Yes, it seems you're applying a so-called smiley face or V-shaped curve. I have a hard time believing it would make the speakers more accurate but more punchy/'dynamic' for sure.

You should be able to get the same effect with a single Parametric EQ filter by applying a very low Q -6 dB filter at 1kHz.

If you want to know how exactly the speakers interact with your room a measurement mic like the UMIK-1 is essential.

 

[tomtoo]

If you use win, eq apo and the peace gui should fix your proplem.
Have fun!

 

[Kutusov]

Thanks guys!

Yes, room is a nightmare for sound to begin with, with very reflective ceramic floor and a couple of naked walls. It's a rented flat, so not much I can do. Also the reason I'm trying to squeeze all that I can from these speakers instead of buying new ones. They have amazing reviews but they sounded pretty terrible to me until a few days ago.

Cheers!

 

[AnalogSteph]

Yes, room is a nightmare for sound to begin with, with very reflective ceramic floor and a couple of naked walls. It's a rented flat, so not much I can do.

I bet there still is plenty you could do - exercise a bit of creativity. Find a carpet - preferably thick. And curtains. If you can hang pictures, you'll also find a way of hanging some acoustic elements (do some research what you can get locally). I have some just sitting on my corner desk, including a stack of foam "bass traps" in the corner. Not perfect but helped quite a bit.

 

[tomtoo]

Thanks guys!

Yes, room is a nightmare for sound to begin with, with very reflective ceramic floor and a couple of naked walls. It's a rented flat, so not much I can do. Also the reason I'm trying to squeeze all that I can from these speakers instead of buying new ones. They have amazing reviews but they sounded pretty terrible to me until a few days ago.

Cheers!

Books, Pictures, Carpet all this helps.

 

[tomtoo]

I bet there still is plenty you could do - exercise a bit of creativity. Find a carpet - preferably thick. If you can hang pictures, you'll also find a way of hanging some acoustic elements (do some research what you can get locally). I have some just sitting on my corner desk, including a stack of foam "bass traps" in the corner.

Haha you was a second faster.

 

[DVDdoug]

So what does this mean? Is that the midrange coming down?

Yes, you are reducing the midrange.

I can't get the same effect by raising bass and treble,

You should be able to get the same curve with boosting but it's better to cut than to boost, especially in the digital domain. Most music is normalized for "maximized" 0dB peaks or near 0dB peaks. If you boost anything digitally you risk clipping. That's where the "preamp" comes-in. You can bring the levels down and then it's OK to boost with the EQ. You may also have enough digital headroom if you are using a digital volume control.

Would sticking an equalizer between dac and speakers do me any good?

Sure. And if the frequency bands are the same you can get the same EQ. The analog side usually has more headroom so it's safer to boost, but if you boost the bass too much you can easily clip the amps in your speakers.

But usually digital is cheaper (sometimes free) and you can more easily switch to a different equalizer (parametric EQ, etc.).

 

[Kutusov]

The problem is the rented flat that came with very crappy furniture, I just can't get rid of it. The room they are in is also my office, so there's a desk and stuff... I have to live with it for a couple of years or so and then I'll either move out or end up buying it if the landlord is willing to sell. It depends on if I can stay on this city or not.

BUT!! Since then I moved the speakers a bit and played around with room correction. They are actually sounding amazingly good now, I never knew they could sound so nice. They are also way better now with EQs off than with them on

I still hate them these speakers though, I think I had them everywhere on this room and a millimetre off and they sound like a €20 pair of speakers