16-Band EQ (80PRS) Setup, Songs or Tones? SQ Guys?

[Jessica]

Of course this could be used to your advantage i suppose under certain circumstances.

you are practically using the vehicle's resonance to your advantage. Thats how my 5.25s sounded so strongly when I had them in perfect alignment and phase with the sub woofers running a a 12 db slope ...

I could see how your subs could pick up the slack for your mids but not walk all over them and muddy them if you were very clever about it.

I skimmed past some stuff and see that a lot of guys, and ones who build their own crossovers, face these issue a lot. Seems you want to give great thought about what slopes to use where and what xover points to use them most effectively. I am going to have to do more reading i suppose and try to weed out the bad from the good. that is the worst part. Being inexperienced with this thing, it's hard to determine what is fact and what is fiction. So, i will just have to research and test till i get it.

Just when you think you know something....

edit spelling

[Kyblack76]

Great great stuff guys....

damn...

[Colin - STAPUFT]

All I know is this: Even if I were a Millionaire and had 20 cars with 20 different stereos, every one would sound better than the other ones. (I hope that makes sense). What I guess I am saying is, every vehicle I have ever sat in sounds better than mine.... if it be louder, lower, more balanced, images better, is more lifelike- you name it. All I can ever hear is how the other system outshines mine in that one specific area. So every time I go back to mine, tinker with something and jack it all up. Then everything gets set to 0 and the tuning starts up again... and for the millionth time, it sounds different and better than it ever did- until I sit in someone else's ride. lol

I've been lucky enough to sit in Cableguy's truck- on two separate occasions. All I know is that is what music is supposed to sound like. You don't even think of it as "Wow, the stereo images and sounds good" - you just know the music sounds right, the way it was meant to sound. You forget you are listening to a stereo- it is more like the music is in your head the way you imagine it. I suppose it doesn't really get much better than that.

....well, except I want it to be about 6x as loud (not like Cableguy's truck isn't quite loud enough). And that is where I go wrong... more amps, more processors, more speakers. But hey- that's what is fun to me.

Scottishbear's write-up is GREAT. I'm still trying to do the steps he has listed and get to a point where I am satisfied. Very good write up sir.

What I do (the short short version):

Set everything to 0 (all processing, eqs, xovers, time alignment, all of it)

Get out the O-Scope or DD-1 (before I had an O-scope, I was just wasting time IMO)

Scope and Find the max level of your Head unit

Scope and Find the max level of each processor down the line (HU to EQ, EQ to Signal Processor, Signal Processor to X-over)

Make sure that you don't over drive anything and that you have EQs, Processors, X-Overs in the best order

Scope and find the max level of each amp

Hook up speakers and play just the Mids- adjust high pass as low as you dare with max volume (do the same with highs, lows, subs, etc...)

EQ time: (It would be best to eq with a RTA, but hey- those are a bear to find- at least for me anyway) CUT any high points. Don't boost anything or you will destroy what you worked to get up to this point. Only lower the high points- the more headroom your amps have, the better.

Then listen to voice tracks and polarity tracks- this is where I will change phase of single speakers to see if it helps or hurts.

Listen again, and time align. ...as little as possible.

If it all sounds like crap, then trash it and start all over again. If it still sounds like crap, move speakers- buy new speakers or get new amps. lol

Rinse & Repeat.

[White Lightning]

....well, except I want it to be about 6x as loud (not like Cableguy's truck isn't quite loud enough). And that is where I go wrong... more amps, more processors, more speakers. But hey- that's what is fun to me.

Wife won't let me have any more money to put on more and more equipment, So I have to make the most out of my couple of drivers ...

LOL

On a serious note pretaining to this ... My truck and my 49 Ford will have to share headunits ... Not sure on how I'm going to make that work yet, but ...

[Colin - STAPUFT]

Two harnesses? One in each vehicle all set up and ready. ...like a docking station.

I've been thinking about adding a Head Unit to the back of the van. One just for shows (like I ever go to them)- because the Kenwood is great, but when playing a CD, anything over half way on the volume and it just skips. Pretty useless when metering. lol



Back on topic.... Orion, what news with the EQ good sir?

[OrionStang]

Getting there Colin. Dropping the 50hz band a couple db's fixes the sub issue. And I can just turn it back it up when I want to demo just the front stage.

Also reset all teh slopes to 12 and am working on actual x'over points, like how close or far apart sounds best between lpf and mid hpf, and mid lpf and high hpf.

Its just taking the time to play with it.

[alaskanzx5]

cant wait to get to the point of doing all this with my 80prs. ill spend an hour or 2 the first day doing it and then and hour or 2 here and there through out the week.