[Adam.Gonsman]

I just inherited an old Realistic 12 band stereo equalizer. It's a model 31-2010. Anyone know anything about these things? I don't have an EQ currently and my Yamaha RX-V3300 does have pre-ins on the mains so I could make use of this one but don't know anything about it or it's quality so I don't know if I would be doing more harm than good by hooking it up.

[Marc H]

Adam, I think you would be doing more harm than good. I bet it will add a lot of noise.
If you do hook it up be cautious with the volume control if you are boosting any of the mid to lower frequencies especially when combined with a surround sound setting.

[Karl_Luph]

Adam, I used to have a similar eq from radio shack that I used in the 70's. I would suggest just using it in the tape monitor loop for a secondary sound system(like garage or workout room, kid's room etc...) Your Yamaha probably has better technology built into it's eq section that the radio shack eq.Some of the older equipment does have a tendency to get dirty pots or slides and have higher thd figures etc..

[Adam.Gonsman]

This is pretty much what I was thinking.

Unfortunately, The Yamaha has very minimal EQ abilities. I think their assumption is that providing you with pre-ins on the mains, that you'll go buy a real EQ if you care that much about flatening response. Guess I'm off to do some research about current EQ models.

Any suggestions? I'd like to stay under about $500.

[Karl_Luph]

Adam, for $500.00 you ought to be able to buy some decent eq. Check out Ashley,Rane,Alesis,DBX,Yamaha. Urei used to make a very good eq, although I'm not sure if the are still made.Just research and look to see what other members recommend here, I've got alot to learn about it too.Keep us informed.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Adam,

As you probably know, a graphic equalizer has filters that can be boosted or cut at fixed frequency centers. They also have fixed bandwidth, and even an EQ like the ME-60 cuts a pretty wide path – 1/3-octave on either side of the center frequency, or 2/3-octave total affected bandwidth when you move a slider.

A parametric EQ is infinitely more flexible. Each filter will have three controls:

• A frequency control that is sweepable to allow any desired frequency to be pinpointed. Most late-model parametrics are designed so that each filter can be set for any frequency between 20Hz-20kHz; with most older parametrics, each filter has a range of control – i.e., the first filter operating from 20Hz to 200Hz, the second from 80Hz-1kHz, etc. Obviously, for a parametric EQ dedicated for a sub, you would want the former.)
• A bandwidth control that sets how wide an area the filter will affect. The allowable bandwidth adjustment varies from one equalizer to the next – some squeeze down as narrow as 1/20-octave, some open up as wide as 3 octaves. Most parametrics are somewhere between these two extremes.
• A gain control that adjusts the amount of boost or cut is applied.

As you can see, the extra controls for parametric filters require more front-panel real estate, which is why a parametric equalizer has far fewer filters than a graphic EQ.

Parametric EQs also have another nice feature: Independent switching for each filter. This means that only the filters actually used are in the signal path.

Now that you know how a parametric equalizer works, it should be easy to see how they are more powerful than a graphic. A parametric EQ is the best tool available for addressing the room-induced response deviations that plague all home theater subs. The ups and downs of response can be very broad, or very narrow, and they can be spaced very close together. A parametric equalizer can address these situations with surgical precision; the pre-set filters and bandwidth of a 1/3-octave equalizer can only hope to do an approximate correction.

Still, a 1/3-octave equalizers can do a good job of smoothing response of the main channels, if they need some “tweaking.” Be sure you get a constant Q model like the Rane you’re looking at. Ashly’s equalizers are also constant Q.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

[Adam.Gonsman]

Thanks Wayne.

That makes a lot of sense. After that explanation, I'm kind of leaning toward the ME-60 for the mains and eventually when I move up to another sub, a parametric of some sort for that.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and advice.