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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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In Reply to: Common Sense posted by boland7214@aol.com on May 7, 2007 at 22:07:55:
My first EQ was an old BSR unit with analog meters and 12 bands. I equalized the crap of my cassette recordings so they'd sound "better" in the car, in the walkman, etc. I listened to everything with a Gundry dip (4-8kHz attenuation), an upper bass dip and a lower bass emphasis. As I progressed from mass market junk to mid-fi to entry level hi end, I used the EQ less and less. The BSR was replaced with an Audio Control (which had little Quality Control) and then by a quasi-parametric/graphic Kenwood EQ that I still use today. I also use a Behringer 1124P to cut down my room bass nodes for my LFE subwoofer (Def Tech PF15).Now in the process of digitizing my analog tapes and LPs (for portability), I had an experience in which I could hear severe phase shift for myself. Some of the analog tapes are so low in level (a result of low record levels to avoid over-saturation from my goosed-up low bass), that I could not get a strong enough signal from my preamp to feed my CD recorder (Marantz CDR-632). So I just boosted the EQ evenly, top to bottom for a louder signal. The phase shift was easily apparent. I understand why people are afraid of EQs. OTOH, I do wish my preamp (C-J PV11) had simple tone controls to tame overly bright recordings. I agree with boland here, in that careful use of an EQ can make bad recordings more listenable. The best part is that, unlike interconnect and cable choices that act as tone controls, when listening to a good recording, you can just dial out the EQ and enjoy.
When I was shopping for a used preamp, I found virtually none that had any tone controls, save the Vincent (which lacked a balance control, which I need) and very old ARCs. IMHO, well-designed bass and treble controls are far more preferable to mid-fi EQ add-ons. I do think, though, that as digital technology gets better and cheaper, the better EQs that are out of reach for me now will become affordable options. I just wish more higher-end gear offered simple, well-designed bass & treble controls. I have heard Richard Vandersteen several times say that there is nothing wrong with modest adjustment of tone controls for recordings that need it.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Common Sense - bondmanp 12:36:01 05/08/07 (0)
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