Would I get tired of adjusting EQ? How do others handle adjusting the EQ often?

[dman777]

I really like the Macintosh ma12000. When I was at the store listening to it, I missed a portion of the song that was playing while I adjusted the EQ. It was enough of the portion of the song to kind of bother me.

On my luxman and Yamaha amps, I keep the treble the same all the time. But I adjust the base quite often.

I wonder if that EQ on the 12000 would be a burden to use? Would I get tired of that in the long run and miss the simplicity of just turning a bass knob? How do other people handle EQs like tha

Note: I know it has a bypass for the EQ, but I do like a colored sound and I would never use the bypass

 

[TLEDDY]

I am rather jaded concerning prices for gear, specifically seeing amplifiers priced at stratospheric numbers.

That said, I ran across an ad for the above mentioned Macintosh MA12000 Integrated amplifier. The price was $14,000!

Considering their history, I think the price is (damn, this is difficult to state) almost cheap, taking in consideration all of the massive flexibility provided!
Dare I say that, if it objectively measure in an “Excellent” ASR Review, it is almost a bargain.

I am not in the market, nor will I be in the future, already using Benchmark electronics, but I would put the Mac on my list to audition. I hope that ASR will have the opportunity to review the MA12000 - i am very curious!!

 

[Keith_W]

There are two reasons to use an EQ:

1. To fix a problem in your system or room, or
2. To adjust the sound balance to your preference and taste.

If it's the former, you use a mic and measurements to set the EQ, and leave it at that.

If it's the latter, it's basically a crap shoot because everyone's preference and taste is different. I have a very fancy "EQ" (I use DSP), and the DSP equivalent of an "EQ" is a target curve. There are published target curves that get you 90% of the way there, but they are all different to each other - a few dB here, a few dB there, different ideas of how much bass or treble is needed, etc. I went through months of using different target curves to establish my preference, and now that I know what it is, I am sticking with it.

I should probably put your fears to rest by pointing out that just because you use EQ, that does not mean you prefer a coloured sound. There are all sorts of reasons why you might want to do that, e.g. if your speaker/room is colouring the sound already and you are pushing it back towards neutrality. Or you have a hearing deficiency across a frequency range and you are pushing it back towards neutrality. I use EQ on my headphones because everybody's HRTF (head related transfer function) is different, in other words the shape of my head and ears is already colouring the sound, and I am pushing it back towards neutral.

 

[Schollaudio]

You'd probably just tweak the 50 and 100 hz controls. Two knobs instead of one.

 

[JayGilb]

Depends on how fussy you are when listening to music. If you can find EQ settings that are tolerable for most genres, then use them.
My mood dictates whether or not I have to have it precisely dialed in. I'm guessing it won't take too long before you have the settings memorized
and it will become like muscle memory.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Would I get tired of that in the long run ...

If you ask the question, likely the answer is yes.

A quick glance at the manual shows on/off, but not multiple settings for EQ. Can you get by on flat + one eq combination for MOST things? With only the rare adjustment for specific music? If that's the case, and if you listen to more albums than playlists, you might not find it too annoying.

 

[KarVi71]

On my system i often adjusted it a lot in the start.

Grudually I settled into a freq curve that I like for most of the music I listen to.

And now I dont mess with it much, only if I change something in the room, or change a component.

Then I do a new meassurement of the frequencies, apply my desired curve, and let the EQ do its thing.

 

[Purité Audio]

I would only apply filters to ameliorate the effects of standing waves in the low bass region ( minimal phase ) of the FR.
I wouldn’t attempt to EQ above.
Keith

 

[DVDdoug]

I wonder if that EQ on the 12000 would be a burden to use?

It looks as easy as a graphic EQ but with fewer frequency bands than most (and without the "graphic" part).

I missed a portion of the song that was playing while I adjusted the EQ. It was enough of the portion of the song to kind of bother me.

If you are trying to adjust for just one song, that's almost always going to be the case, or at-least you'll be part-way through the song before you fix it. Of course, basic bass & treble controls are quicker. The EQ in one of my vehicles has to be accessed through a menu so it's not practical to use it that way.

Same with my home theater receiver... I can quickly adjust the subwoofer with a knob but I don't mess with anything else. (I have a graphic equalizer but I'm not using it because it's stereo and doesn't work with the surround setup.)

A better way to handle a few "problem songs" is to fix them "permanently" with an audio editor (Audacity, etc.). But that takes even more time and you have to own a copy of the song. (I've "remastered" a couple of albums to my taste but usually if I don't like the sound of a song I just don't listen to it.)

 

[Ricardus]

I almost never touch my EQ. It's pretty close to flat.

 

[Chazz6]

If your source is digital, something like the RME ADI FS DAC is helpful. You can work up several EQ curves; that is a one-time thing. Then you can jump between with the supplied remote control.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

I use Equalizer APO as my PC is my source. I have a separate EQ for each of three pair of main speakers. The EQ is for all things played through school speaker. You shouldn’t be adjusting EQ per song.