EQ 4 Mains...

[drf]

terry j wrote:

...snip...

Any thoughts on what and how to test, if indeed anyone is interested???

You'd have to go to some lengths to get un-desputable results, I'd justy stick it in and trust your ears. Youv'e got no reason to be biased as you already have the unit and haven't made any claims to try and backup.

Josuah: just about what I'd expect of any cheap EQ, I have heard of a few Audio nuts breaking open the digital berry gear and moding the output stages and replacing the DACS, this apparently reduces the noise considerably, although TBH I don't entirely trust Audiophiles for an unbiased opinion.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Josuah wrote:

All the analog EQ units I've stuck in my mains path have introduced audible noise when there is nothing playing. The digital EQ unit I stuck in still did this, but it wasn't a whole lot of noise and I could live with it for a while.

Just curious, Joshua, do you remember the makes and models of those equalizers? And was the noise seen with all bands flat, or with boost applied? Just for my own edification – people seem to ask about equalizers fairly frequently, so I like to be able to tell them which ones to avoid.

terry j wrote:

My question, how could I do this 'scientifically' ? Is it as simple as hooking it up, have no music playing and see if I can hear extra hiss?? Or are we simply back to subjective, critical listening.

I gave some rough guidelines to evaluate this and other aspects of an equalizer’s performance in my first post in this thread, so you might want to go back and review it.

However, I was talking about analog equalizers, not digital. In order to use those tests with a digital equalizer, you’d have to know for sure that the “Bypass” switch was also bypassing the AD/DA converters, because they enter into the equation. If the converters aren’t bypassed, it’s a lot harder to evaluate a digital EQ’s affect on noise and fidelity.

Regards,
Wayne

[Josuah]

dbx 231, noise when all flat, horrible noise when cutting high frequencies.

I can't remember the other analog ones I tried. I think the dbx 231 was the last analog one I tried.

Alesis DEQ831, IIRC, was the digital one I lived with for a short time. Noise when all flat.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Thanks Joshua. I think you’ve confirmed once again that people should be cautious using cheap equalizers for their mains. The dbx specs at 90 dB S/N and the Alesis at >100 dB A-weighted. Both those figures are comparable to what most receivers do these days, so they should have been fairly unobtrusive, especially with all bands set to flat.

By comparison, my AudioControl EQs are pretty much dead silent. Even with the system turned up all the way with no signal, you have to put your ear right up to the speaker to hear any noise, with the EQ in or out.

Regards,
Wayne

[mdrums]

To get some noise free eq's that do not hurt the overall sound you all are going to have to spend some major bucks. Klark Teckic is one brand to look at. Massenberg, Avalon all make great parametric stuido eq's. If you really want to go at this the correct way you need parametric eq's as a graphic eq will effect the surrounding frequency's you are trying to adjust and will skew your goal.

Inserting a dbx, Alesis, Berhinger, Samson eq into your home system might be fun to play with but it will take away from the soundstage, quality of the reporduce sound and add lots of noise.

[Danny]

I agree with Mike, If you have a few thousand $'s spare go for a Klark Teknik or other high end EQ (i've also had good results with a Sabine). Has anyone used a Yamaha EQ? I have found one going at a good price but I have never heard them, can anyone comment on the quality of the sound and build etc.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Danny,

If you’re talking about Yamaha’s pro models, they’re pretty much universally reviled over at the Live Audio Board. I’ve used them myself so I can attest to the fact that they’re junk. Even worse, expensive junk. They’re comparably priced to the Ashly short-throw EQs, and the Ashlys blow them away. I’ve heard rumors that they’re sourced from Phonic.

If you want to try one out, no need to pay list. You can get them for practically nothing on eBay, since they have no re-sale value. The only reason I still have mine is that it’s in a non-critical application (my bass guitar rig) and that I’d only be able to sell it for a mere fraction of what I paid for it new.

I did a write-up of a head-to-head comparison I did between the Ashly and Yamaha in my bass rig some years ago – if you’re interested PM me and I’ll see if I can dig it up.

Regards,
Wayne