Vote

I wan to say "don't like the idea" or "Never!", but there are times I wonder if it would solve some problems. I just feel that having another obsticale in the signal path is detrimental.

Is this the STEREOPHILE website? If it is, I'm shocked that such a question (one using the "e" word, let alone the digital "e" word) would ever be asked.

For digital sources I use the built in parametric EQ on my DA5ES. Doesn't get me to perfectly flat, but sure helps the high end rolloff I was experiencing. In addition I'm planning on getting a Behringer Feedback Destroyer for my sub to flatten out my bass response if room treatments fail to work sufficiently.

I would only use it if the dealer set it up and it was returnable.

Do as little to the signal as possible

First I think I should look for a better room, one with fewer boommobiles passing and a quiet ventilation system.

My listening room certainly isn't perfect, so I don't see the harm in a bit of EQ. If it balances out the overall sound and makes the listening experience better for me, I'm going for it!

I answered "don't like the idea" because of the SACD factor. I think that all digital equalizers out there are PCM based, so that inherently changes how SACD presents the music signal. For CDs or other PCM encoded data, if it helps, then why not?

I think a well implemented equalization could be useful in the low bass region while higher frequencies are not equalized.

First, I have to get the rest of my system up to par. My speakers need upgrading. In addition, the cost has to be reasonable

I am under the impression that any EQ causes phase or timing distortions and is thus unwelcome.

I think digital equalizers are a great idea, not just for taming rooms, but also to potentially compensate as us baby boomers lose hearing at certain frequency ranges. However due to cost, I currently use an analog equalizer in the tape loop of my premp. This allows me to switch it in and out easily via remote control. Any degradation in sound is worth the taming of room brightness.

Great idea as long as it can correct peaks and nulls through computer sampling. Ned Wolfe

I would love to have one but the nice ones cost too much for a poor boy like me. If they come down in price I would buy two of them since I have two systems.

i think the idea of room EQ is great. however i dont like the idea that somehting is altering the signal. i take the view that physical room tuning is a far better mode of approach to improve sound quality, however im sure like many other audiophiles i have to have my stereo in a room that is more than just a dedicated listening room, in this case i dont see any problem with using digi EQ.

I have had a Yamaha 10-band EQ for a few yrs. Have yet to use it.

I recently have got my Tact RCS 2.0 upgraded to the new 2.0S version. I'm using room corrections since more than 3 years now. No system will perform to it's full potential without it. This is valid for entry level systems to the very high end

I recently have got my Tact RCS 2.0 upgraded to the new 2.0S version. I've been using room correction for more than three years now. No system will perform to its full potential without it. This is true for everything from entry level systems to those at the extreme high end.

It takes some TacT to get the EQ well ;-) For me, without the possibility to create a 'tuned' listening room (and who does?) this is the solution! Within a few years such a divice is a standard component in your hifi system - yes, also/especially in High-End systems!

This is the fast track to madness. The fiddling with the controls will never end and you'll never be happy.

Can't live without it.

I have a Goldline Digital Parametric Equalizer in my audio room (and two in my home theater). The difference in sound is very dramatic. Without the equalizer, the sound (even with my Krell KPS, Krell 650 M monoblocks, and Transparent Audio Reference cables, and Owens-Corning sound panels) is dull and seemed to have a veil covering the sound. But with the Goldline equalizer, properly equalized, the sound is open, detailed, and vibrant. One has to hear the difference to believe it. It brings out the best in your system. I cannot listen to music without it.

I don't quite trust anything digital, just as I prefer analog vinyls to digital CD's.

In my experience, every correction for one problem reveals or creates a secondary problem.

When I finally get started ,then finish my wreck(ed)room to audio room I plan to incorporate some type of digital EQ after acoustically adjusting the room with foam and baffles. You Know Live End Dead End, Absorbtion Refraction.

Eqing for speaker/room problems can be useful but has some limitations. One can reduce the peaks but might not be able to correct the dips as that could drive the speakers into distortion and, on bass, room problems could become worse. Also the speaker/room correction is for one microphone position, presumably at the listening position. The rest of the room could end up much worse off. Infinity successfully corrects one room bump from their subs with the RABOS system. Perpetual Technologies has done impressive speaker correction demos and has long promised a room correction system. Tact demonstrated their systems with room correction at T.H.E. SHOW in Las Vegas last January. Both had tremendous dynamics at the high cost of extreme digititas. I

Digital EQs can be totally transparent and the improvement brought by a little EQ is vast compared to the trivial and placebo effects of cables, tweaks, etc.

Well, I have the Infinity Interludes and Intermezzos with the RABOS equilizers, so I really do not think I could use one. Besides, I am a mostly analog type of guy, and why would I want to digitze my sweet,pure analog signal?

At this point it looks like $4000+ for non-lossy fullrange equalization, $2000+ for non-lossy bass equalization, or $300 for lossy fullrange equalization used just for the bass, which is less critical. Throw in the interconnects, speaker cables, rack space, and time and we are into big spending no matter which option we take. Wonderful sound I imagine, but my personal audio dollars in the near term may be better spent on one of the better power conditioners.

How about room correction for less than 2 thousand dollars that passes the WAF?