Hey guys,
My sub amp Alpine MRV-1005 has a Paremetric EQ, has the following
-Quality Factor(Bandwidth) Adjustment Knob
-Center Frequency Adjustment knob
-Level Adjustment Knob.

Basically WTF do these do?
Do I need to use these(it has a switch to turn P EQ on/off?
How do I know what to adjust and what too?

Thanks heaps for any help/advice.

Luke

Hell, I don't think u really need it. I've never had the need for one.....its like the 'loud' function on my h/u...i don't reall use it..

i guess an eq is good to have. u can make some feq louder/quieter....

As I understand it, it goes like this. :badgrin:

A normal EQ lets you cut or boost a set bunch of frequencies (100khz, 200khz, 500khz, etc.)

If you get a Real Time Analyzer (gadget with a microphone to measure your sound output), you might see that 100khz frequencies are OK, but 150khz are too low or high.

A Parametric EQ allows you to adjust the normally fixed frequency ranges, in this case changing the setting so you can adjust the 150khz band, not just the 100khz, 200khz etc.

Or something like that............ :rant:

A fully parametric EQ allows you to single out a particular frequency and cut or boost it.

There's no real need for it in a car stereo setup unless you're going for SPL or SQ championship.

A graphic EQ will suffice for a general car setup.

Parametric EQ's are brilliant for live music where you can cut out feedback very quickly and accurately.

The centre frequency is known as Q for some reason lol.

Basically you can adjust the bandwidth of the EQ, so eg:

Q
/-|-\
1k 2k

And then you can cut or boost that range with Q being the highest amount of boost

Then with adjusting the range you can get this:
Q
/-|-\
1k 1.1k

So now your cutting and boosting a much smaller range of frequencies. Which is why you have 3 controls.

Bandwith size, centre frequency and your cut/boost control.

It's pretty full on EQ'ing and hence why you dont really need it in a car stereo unless you're going spastic on an SQ champ setup or SPL setup


EDIT: the Q's dont sit where I want them to sit..they should be above the "|"

spot on kb...

You can adjust the size of q being the area that u are boosting or cutting. Wider q is smaller, narrow q is bigger.
Generally try to avoid any form of boosting (sometimes its helpful) You can usually cut away ur problems though.

I always have bass boost set to zero. Same as Eek I leave the loud button off too. But it's individual some people like certain sounds.

One of my friends is crazy about hip hop midbass. I could only play hip hop midbass and he would be amazed.

Your amp is capable of producing x amount. Boosting will not affect this amount but means it will distort much quicker.

Peace

Tim

edit knew someone had posted this question http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50554

loud function is evil. its the portal to clipping and muddy bass

Default Parametric EQ - What does it do/Do i need it?

*Shudders* That reminds me of 3rd year engineering maths
:doubt:

The centre frequency is known as Q for some reason lol.
Actually, the Q is the bandwidth, not the centre frequency - a lower Q represents a larger bandwidth (or bell curve) and a higher Q represents a narrower bandwidth.

Parametrics are great for eliminating feedback, but you tend to find most live sound guys use Graphics for the sheer speed of response - I hear 6.3kHz feeding, so I reach over and pull it out, too easy.

Actually, the Q is the bandwidth, not the centre frequency - a lower Q represents a larger bandwidth (or bell curve) and a higher Q represents a narrower bandwidth.

Parametrics are great for eliminating feedback, but you tend to find most live sound guys use Graphics for the sheer speed of response - I hear 6.3kHz feeding, so I reach over and pull it out, too easy.

Oh sorry you are right..My bad.

It's been 4 years since I've done any theory with live sound and EQ's so my apologies :D

Just as a nice interesting fact, as it was stated before, dont boost, just cut.

There is a history to this as well, EQ's were first devised when they were making movies, they used to have one mic in the middle of the room that caught all the sound. The problem was it was a condensor and it picked up EVERYTHING. So they'd move it further away...but what happens when a mic is far away? Treble drops out.

So they made a gizmo that would cut out the bass frequencies and equalise the sound once again, so they could have the mic far away and make it sound closer. They called it an equaliser ;) Thats where it's name came from.

Anyway, nowadays the theory of cut dont boost is still strong, and for good reason. :D

They can be useful when you have a low frequency rolloff (like when you use a free-air sub) - you boost from a centre frequency of 30Hz, with say, 8db gain, and adjust the 'Q' to extend the response, you can really achieve some decent results (to the point where I had a boxed 15" subwoofer replaced with a 12" kicker freeair, and I don't miss the 15" (!!))

Also useful is comressors and gates - been having some serious fun with the new toy at work (Yamaha 02R series 2... mmmmm.... full digital desk, 48 channels each with individual Gates, compressors, delay, and 3 band parametric EQs - wish they had that kind of stuff for car audio) Add to that 16 channels of digital I/O...

Cheers
Heath Young

While we're all discussing this I thought I'd jump in. :)

Just while were on the subject of 'Q' adjustments, frequency manipulation and EQ's, many people might find it peculiar that 'Q' in both scientific and audio terms is actually a T/S spec of a speaker motor and refers to the ratio of reactance to resistance (in series) and the ratio of resistance to reactance (in parallel) yet still people tend to associate it with the equalisation? :)

The 'Q' on headunits and amplifiers actually refers to 'Quasi-parametric'. In other words, while serious parametric EQ's will allow total control over the frequency, band-width (there's the 'Q' again) and gain of each 1/3 octave (or whatever) band of the sound spectrum, the Quasi will only offer generic manipulation (subbass / midbass / midrange / treble etc) where you set the center frequency and how many bands around it to manipulate (just as everyon e has said above).

Just thought if beginners are reading this, people might want to make this point known so people don't get the 'Q' of a speaker mixed up with the 'Q' of amplifiers, equalisers and head units. :D:D

Also useful is comressors and gates - been having some serious fun with the new toy at work (Yamaha 02R series 2... mmmmm.... full digital desk, 48 channels each with individual Gates, compressors, delay, and 3 band parametric EQs - wish they had that kind of stuff for car audio) Add to that 16 channels of digital I/O...


Tell me about it, I have dual Rane 1/3 octave parametrics in my car and there is nothing quite like being able to adjust just about everything except the weather! :D:D

Tell me about it, I have dual Rane 1/3 octave parametrics in my car and there is nothing quite like being able to adjust just about everything except the weather! :D:D
oooh drools... i need some eq'ing. I've got full adjustment of my crossovers but not too much in terms of EQ yet. May get another headunit instead

FHRX what EQ's do you have there?

FHRX what EQ's do you have there?

As in what are my favourites that I sell ya mean?

Not including the ridiculously expensive ones, my three favs would probably be:

Zapco EQ30-SL
http://www.zapco.com/prod/signal_procs/assets/eq30sl_big.jpg

Phoenix Gold TiEQ30
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/20/5d/pr-Phoenix_Gold_Titanium_EQ30_Car_Audio_Equalizer-resized200.jpg

PPI DEQ-230
http://www.precisionpower.com/signal/images/DEQ230.jpg

The old Image Dynamics ones were fantastic too but they no longer make them. :(