How Deep Does Your EQ Go?

[oldskool69]

Hey fellas! I was cleaning the sliders on my Maggie D8643 Super Power Compo Soundmachine (yes, that's the full name) and saw after finding the bass I though was missing, that the low frequency slider was 60Hz. It got me to thinking...My Sansui CP-99W also has a 60Hz cutoff. I then looked through my stuff and noticed the following...

My Sharp GX-300H, JVC PC-11/PC-V2/PC-X200/(the PC-55 I traded to Bobby), Vector VMC-100, Goldstar TSR-951 have 63Hz cutoffs.

My Sansui CP-77W has a 65Hz cutoff.

My Sansui CP-55W has a 75Hz cutoff.

My Sansui FX-500R, Hitachi TRK-550WH and Lasonic TRC-931 have 80Hz cutoffs.

All of my others have 100Hz cutoffs except my little Panasonic F10 which has a 125Hz cutoff.

What I have discovered is that though some may have a low cutoff, engineering, design and materials can lead to some seriously misleading expectations, and subsequent dissapointment. I mean, what's up with the JVC PC-11?!?!? That being said, I have quickly shot some De-Oxit into the twin Sansui's (CP-99W & 77W) and notice a subtle difference. Both are smooth as silk and chocolatey rich but the 99W has a difference you can hear and feel. I also noticed that the mid-bass bands can result in killer sound or kill the sound altogether depending on the boombox. The frequencies I've noticed on boomers that actually help are between 180Hz and no higher than 250Hz. A lot depends on how many bands you have as well. My Sharp WF-939z has ten bands but the lowest cutoff is 100Hz. The CP-99W (60Hz) and 77W (65Hz) have nine bands respectively with the next step at 125Hz, and the Vector VMC-100 (63Hz) seven bands plus a loudness switch withthe next step at 180Hz.

Are there any boomers out there with a lower low end cutoff? What have you noticed, putting listening preferences aside to hear what settings would seem to be the best balance of good deep punch, solid midrange, and clear highs without being too crisp for "set it and forget it"...

How do you set your EQ's and for what music?

What boomers with EQ's did you think or looked like it had great promise but turned out to be a turd no matter how you set the EQ?

What boomers do you think could be helped with an EQ added?

Do you think seperate channel EQ's are better for a boombox? Or is a single slider set better to not affect stereo seperation clarity?

 

[Radio raheem]

I think alot of this has to be taken with a pinch of salt, for example the sharp939 has a 100 hz cut off although i dont like the 939 it is plain to me that the 100 cut off is actually more like 60 to 70 hz any good dicirning ear will tell you this.

The lowest i have seen is 60hz thats one 1 of my jvc hyperbass models and yup if you heard it you would know it is 60 hz

 

[Fatdog]

Good topic, Freddie.

I think, like Rim's box, that 60Hz will be the lowest found.

 

[redbenjoe]

freddie --the pioneer CK5 with the flat woofs play way down low -
and the tele studio

 

[oldskool69]

freddie --the pioneer CK5 with the flat woofs play way down low -
and the tele studio

The Studio 1/1M have no EQ....

 

[oldskool69]

....I think alot of this has to be taken with a pinch of salt, for example the sharp939 has a 100 hz cut off although i dont like the 939 it is plain to me that the 100 cut off is actually more like 60 to 70 hz any good dicirning ear will tell you this....

Did you read this...

...What I have discovered is that though some may have a low cutoff, engineering, design and materials can lead to some seriously misleading expectations, and subsequent dissapointment....

If your expectation is not alot at 100Hz, and then you feel like it's more around 60-70Hz, that's a good thing and the point of the topic. However, I also noted design can cripple whatever the intent may have been in the designand test phase. There's tons of equipment that on paper may look like a pussycat but turn out to be a lion and vice versa...

That being said, and with what I am asking, it'll take more than a pinch of salt...

 

[Radio raheem]

....I think alot of this has to be taken with a pinch of salt, for example the sharp939 has a 100 hz cut off although i dont like the 939 it is plain to me that the 100 cut off is actually more like 60 to 70 hz any good dicirning ear will tell you this....

Did you read this...

...What I have discovered is that though some may have a low cutoff, engineering, design and materials can lead to some seriously misleading expectations, and subsequent dissapointment....

If your expectation is not alot at 100Hz, and then you feel like it's more around 60-70Hz, that's a good thing and the point of the topic. However, I also noted design can cripple whatever the intent may have been in the designand test phase. There's tons of equipment that on paper may look like a pussycat but turn out to be a lion and vice versa...

That being said, and with what I am asking, it'll take more than a pinch of salt...

Hey freddie sorry to be off topic i

i have put aload of padding inside my sharp939 speakers and tightened the speaker boxes up she sounds beutiful at low volumes now

i wont know till tomorrow if she is an m90 killer but initial testing at low volume she sounds way way better than she did before

Whats the bet that you were right all along because im VERY impressed with this box now at low volume

 

[Superduper]

freddie --the pioneer CK5 with the flat woofs play way down low -
and the tele studio

The Studio 1/1M have no EQ....

It does. I has a 2 band equalizer and adjustment is effected with knobs instead of sliders...

 

[redbenjoe]

freddie --the pioneer CK5 with the flat woofs play way down low -
and the tele studio

The Studio 1/1M have no EQ....

It does. I has a 2 band equalizer and adjustment is effected with knobs instead of sliders...

Fkin A spot on !!! :super:

 

[Radio raheem]

The Studio 1/1M have no EQ.... [/quote]

It does. I has a 2 band equalizer and adjustment is effected with knobs instead of sliders... [/quote]

Fkin A spot on !!! :super:[/quote]

The tele studio does have some of the lowest bass out there wheather it be knobs or sliders......

I wonder why they never told you the frequancy of the knobs like they do on an eq

 

[2steppa]

My Technics SA-C05 has a 60 hz bass slider. The speakers seem to respond fairly well to it, giving a nice deep rich boom.

The bandwidth of the EQ is a major factor in the perceived audio result of moving a slider.

ie, a 60 hz slider will maybe boost a range from 50 - 70hz or even wider with the centre 'notch' of 60.

I remember being unimpressed with the 100hz minimum on my friend's Panny RXC-100, very boxy and hollow sounding
We connected the speakers to an amp and a Technics EQ and they responded very nicely with a 60hz boost.

On the home HIFI I boost 32hz and 16khz gives a wonderful result on my Pioneer S910 's

 

[Superduper]

Ok. edit: I was gonna say that most of these equalizers are passive devices and not active devices but I looked at my service manual library and many are actually active devices. While an active equalizer can actually boost the signal on a particular frequency range, passive equalizers do not work that way.

Instead, passive radiators work by systematically cutting the signal of a given frequency range making the center point (when all bands are at the center) a general attentuation of the signal. Sliding the equalizer knobs down will cut the signal more but pushing them up to max merely restores the signal level back up to where it was originally. Sliding all bands to the top merely results in a flat signal at a higher than normal level.

 

[Radio raheem]

I remember being unimpressed with the 100hz minimum on my friend's Panny RXC-100, very boxy and hollow sounding

That is a Big suprize 2steppa...... I wouldnt have thought that from the mighty panna rxc100 i guess she is not so mighty in my book now

 

[Radio raheem]

Just so everyone knows, virtually all of these equalizers are passive devices and not active devices. While an active equalizer can actually boost the signal on a particular frequency range, passive equalizers do not work that way.

Instead, passive radiators work by systematically cutting the signal of a given frequency range making the center point (when all bands are at the center) a general attentuation of the signal. Sliding the equalizer knobs down will cut the signal more but pushing them up to max merely restores the signal level back up to where it was originally. Sliding all bands to the top merely results in a flat signal at a higher than normal level.

Norm i have always wanted to ask sombody such as yourself while we are on the subject

Take a box with a slider frequancy of 100 hz how would you mod that box so the slider could be made to change the slider from 100hz to SAY 60 HZ

Always wanted to know thanks

 

[Superduper]

Take a box with a slider frequancy of 100 hz how would you mod that box so the slider could be made to change the slider from 100hz to SAY 60 HZ

Always wanted to know thanks

By changing the values of the equalizer RC circuit adjacent to the pot. A pot is basically a voltage divider. Since a cap is actually a resistor that varies with the frequency of the signal, you might say that a RC circuit is a voltage divider that varies with frequency. I can not tell you what values to substitute because (1) it would depend on the box at hand and (2) since it is a collection of components and not a single item that will determine the characteristics of that bandpass filter, it would need to be calculated on a case by case basis. Don't ask me to do the math.

Further complicating things is that many amplifier output modules use capacitor coupled loads (such as the GF-777 and any others that use the HA1392 module). The output capacitor acts as a high pass filter and effective strips the low HZ's anyhow so making a bandpass filter (equalizer control) in the frequency range below what the amplifer is able to output to the speakers would be a wasted effort. It would be like trying to dye a shirt, right before you bleach it.

 

[monchito]

have to check my pioneer sk-909 to see

 

[Radio raheem]

have to check my pioneer sk-909 to see

Easy 100 hz

 

[Radio raheem]

Take a box with a slider frequancy of 100 hz how would you mod that box so the slider could be made to change the slider from 100hz to SAY 60 HZ

Always wanted to know thanks

By changing the values of the equalizer RC circuit adjacent to the pot. A pot is basically a voltage divider. Since a cap is actually a resistor that varies with the frequency of the signal, you might say that a RC circuit is a voltage divider that varies with frequency. I can not tell you what values to substitute because (1) it would depend on the box at hand and (2) since it is a collection of components and not a single item that will determine the characteristics of that bandpass filter, it would need to be calculated on a case by case basis. Don't ask me to do the math.

Further complicating things is that many amplifier output modules use capacitor coupled loads (such as the GF-777 and any others that use the HA1392 module). The output capacitor acts as a high pass filter and effective strips the low HZ's anyhow so making a bandpass filter (equalizer control) in the frequency range below what the amplifer is able to output to the speakers would be a wasted effort. It would be like trying to dye a shirt, right before you bleach it.

Thank you norm you are a true wizz

 

[2steppa]

I remember being unimpressed with the 100hz minimum on my friend's Panny RXC-100, very boxy and hollow sounding

That is a Big suprize 2steppa...... I wouldnt have thought that from the mighty panna rxc100 i guess she is not so mighty in my book now

Don't get me wrong Rimmer, it's still a kicking box that I'd love to own and the sound is incredible.

To be honest if it's a decent source signal that particular box doesn't need any bass boost, especially at higher volumes.

And it's a stunner visually too

 

[snoop918]

It is really hard to tell if the eq values are true values. I think the design of the eq on a boombox even though it is very functional was mostly for eye candy. Take the Trc-931 and the Trc-975. Both of these have really good bass. The 931 goes down to 80hz and the 975 goes down to 100hz. The 975 definately has more low end.