To EQ or not to EQ... that is the question.

[welldun]

Hello folks I'd like your thoughts on this EQ vs no EQ topic.
I understand that much of this is subjective but even in those cases many folks have their reason liking one vs the other.
With my own setup I tend to like the EQ results from my Pioneer Elite SC-99 using MCACC PRO. But since I'm no trained professional in critical listening, I'm not sure if I like the EQ results for the wrong reason.
So I pose the questions (which would you choose, and why?) and have attached a picture of the graphs (with 1/6 Smoothing) of my Frequency response measured at the MLP, combining the Left and Right Main speakers along with the subs.
The graphs shows a Blue graph which has the MCACC PRO Symmetry EQ applied along with all of the other tweaks MCACC Pro adds. The Brown graph has all of the MCACC PRO tweaks but with the EQ turned off.

*Forgot to mention that with the Symmetry EQ, MCACC PRO does NOT EQ the subs. the sub curve was independently calibrated via a minidsp which controls the 4 SVS SB-2000 Pro subs.

My own impressions when listening to both is that with the EQ on, the vocals and drums seem to move up and come forward about a foot. Not sure if that makes sense, but that's how I can describe the difference when listening.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Frankly I’m surprised you can hear a difference between the two. But if drums seem to “pop” a bit more, the ~2-3 dB lift in the 3-6 kHz range would account for it.

Regards,
Wayne

 

[Todd Anderson]

Do you have the minidsp EQing from 100Hz down for both measurements?

 

[welldun]

Do you have the minidsp EQing from 100Hz down for both measurements?

The way I did it, I had the subs aligned and EQ'ed from around 14Hz to 150Hz using raw data from REW and feeding it to MSO. I then used that combined result as the sub response that the AVR (MCACC PRO) measured while doing its calibration. SINCE it set the mains to LARGE, I then manually set the crossover to 100Hz for all speakers. The 2 mains have a decent amount of output below 100Hz even after the crossover is set, so that is causing a bit of a bump near that area. I did use the REW alignment tool to fine tune the subwoofer to main integration.

 

[welldun]

I've been playing around trying to decide which speaker would be the reference for all of the others when the AVR is doing its distances/alignments. It seems like when you go into the software for the AVR and do it manually, the left speaker is the reference. However when I run REW it always seems like the center channel is closer to the zero timestamp when looking at the impulse response.
Using the impulse response, I've played around with the AVR distance setting to get all of the speakers as close to that zero mark as possible. Then I use thise results to better integrate the sub(s) and Mains. The 100Hz Xover point is hood for all of them but below that the mains seem to cause a little bit of interference. I'm still working on that.

 

[JLM1948]

My own impressions when listening to both is that with the EQ on, the vocals and drums seem to move up and come forward about a foot. Not sure if that makes sense, but that's how I can describe the difference when listening.

I have absolutely no doubt that the boost in the 100-200Hz octave is perceived as "fuller" sound, and the lift in the 3k-10k range results in increased clarity, which you perceive as "closer".

 

[bjaurelio]

What type of smoothing is applied to those graphs? Also, have you measured other listening positions in the room? That would give you more insight on the changes from the EQ.

 

[welldun]

What type of smoothing is applied to those graphs? Also, have you measured other listening positions in the room? That would give you more insight on the changes from the EQ.

REW graphs with 1/6 smoothing. As for measuring other listening positions, I have that pretty well dialed-in when it come to the subs. I use MSO to find the necessary delays, gains and PEQ's for each of the 4 subs, so that the FR at each of the 5 seats (two rows) is almost identical. All of that is done before I run MCACC PRO in the AVR so that the AVR just "sees" a well behaved subwoofer FR and integrates it with the rest of the speakers. I've attached a picture of the sub(s) FR (No Smoothing) at each of the 5 seats . I'm pretty happy with the bass response in the room, but like many in this hobby, I'm always looking for where else I can make tweaks to improve things across the board.