Sound system, built in or 3rd party equalizer...

Knowsknone · 05-10-2008, 02:05 PM

Alright, well I have a Sony STR DE635, a very nice unit with a built in "equalizer". Although from many hours of tweaking, to me it seems like a big crossover and only has 2 bands per channel (rear, center, front bass/treble).
Now this is sufficient I know, but would buying a 5/7 band graphic equalizer be better for my system? Seeing as how it would add much more control over low/mid/mid-high/high, I see it as a brilliant idea, but I read in several places they are just stop-gaps for a poor quality system, or maybe a bad speaker setting or even a horrible room for a home theater.
One of my friends has a band and I have worked with their 15 band 4 channel equalizer and by far it made the system sounds a lot better when properly calibrated, and I hope this may be the same for my sound system?
Thanks in advance!

Wayne A. Pflughaupt · 05-10-2008, 09:50 PM

Welcome to the Forum, Billy!

Unfortunately, it's difficult to integrate an outboard equalizer with a home theater receiver, as it has to be connected between the preamp and amplifier. This means you have to have a receiver with pre-out jacks, as well as main-in jacks. It's pretty common for receivers to have the pre-out jacks, but the main-in jacks are fairly rare. Without them, you'd have to use an outboard amplifier, which of course drives up the "price of admission."

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

gene c · 05-10-2008, 10:36 PM

From what I've read on these types of forums, add on equalizers are not very well accepted by those who are very knowledgable about room acoustics and such. They seem to think they cover up problems rather than fix them. I think an eq can improve a entry level or moderate system a bit where improving room acoustics isn't on the "to-do" list for whatever reason. Just don't get carried away with it. The few times I've used one, I had a rule of no more than + or - 2 to 3 db of adjustment.

Quote:

Unfortunately, it's difficult to integrate an outboard equalizer with a home theater receiver, as it has to be connected between the preamp and amplifier.

I picked up an Audio Control Bijou multi-band 6 channel eq off Ebay a while back (for a song) just for fun and hooked it up between the analog outs of my universal dvd player and the in's on the receiver. This worked pretty well (when playing a dvd or cd, of course) but revealed an outboard eq's other little problem. Hiss. Even though the Bijou was a fairly high end product in it's time, audible hiss was noticable during playback at lower volumes. I much prefer eq's that are built into the receiver, but they should still only be used manually to tweak a system but not to try and correct serious room acoustic issues or a poor receiver/speaker match. But they are fun to play with.

Knowsknone · 05-10-2008, 11:47 PM

Ah I see, yeah after looking into it more I see it as being more of a hassle to get it wired correctly just for a bit more tweaking, which I would like, but alas it seems it would take more time and money than it would be worth in the long run.
I also noticed that some receivers have very limited equalizers, limiting it to bass gain +/-10 and treble gain +/-10, while others have built in 4 band equalizers. Even more so, their limit of presets, such as on newer Sony models Pro Logic II and IIx or NEO6 Cinema on the same limited equalizer systems, I take it these are for people who wanna plug it in, turn it on and have good quality sound without hours of mindless knob and dial turning right? So is there a newer receiver isnt so bias when it comes to settings, that is $150-$200? I guarantee that you'll all give me a funny look for my price range, but I want the most customizable receiver for cheap.
Wait cheap? Whats cheap these days anyway?



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