Hello all -
I thought I would start a thread about my dabblings with the EQ function built into the SSP-800. I was going to hire an acoustician to calibrate the EQ for me, but I’ve recently decided to give it a go my self. I’ve been playing with EQs for the past few years, so I’m pretty sure I can put the EQ in the SSP-800 to good use.
Bear with me as I’m a bit rusty at using the audio analyzing software needed to measure the in-room response. I also need to pick up a decent measurement microphone and mic preamp, so it could take a little while to get some real substance in this thread.
I don’t intend this thread to be a tutorial on using the EQ or on taking in-room measurements, though I hope that if this is your first exposure to such things that this thread piques your interest enough to consider trying your hand at EQing as well. Or even better, if you are experienced with taking in-room measurements and setting PEQ filters, maybe I can learn something from you.
To get things started, I toyed with the SSP-800 EQ last night, using just a Radio Shack SPL meter and a CD with some test tones. I just wanted to see if I could affect some change in the SPL reading by adjusting the “G” (gain), “Q” (filter width) and “F” (frequency) settings within the SSP-800.
I assume that most everyone here know what the gain and frequency are, but the “Q” may be unfamiliar. “Q” is the width of the filter. The lower the number the broader the filter. The higher the number, the more narrow the filter.
Below is a table that Tom with Classe was kind enough to provide me on the bandwidth values for the “Q” setting in the SSP-800 EQ.
The table is quite self explanatory but, the Q value is the X axis, and the frequency is the Y axis. For instance, applying a Q value of 6 on a 120Hz frequency will have a filter bandwidth of 20Hz, which is +/-10Hz from each side of the 120Hz frequency. So lets say you have a peak in the upper bass with a center point at 120Hz. The peak is 6dB and it spans from 110Hz to 130Hz. You would set the filter for -6dB, with a Q of 6 and a center frequency of 120Hz to cancel the peak.
The tricky part is getting accurate measurements of your in-room response so that you can notch out all of the peaks.
If you want to get started in building your knowledge about measuring the frequency response of your room, I recommend that you check out the “Room EQ Wizard” (REW) audio analyzer software.
It’s free and there are a bunch of end-users that hang out on the www.hometheatershack.com forums. Read the help file in REW from start to finish and do a google search for “EQ House Curve”.
Cheers,
- Tim
I thought I would start a thread about my dabblings with the EQ function built into the SSP-800. I was going to hire an acoustician to calibrate the EQ for me, but I’ve recently decided to give it a go my self. I’ve been playing with EQs for the past few years, so I’m pretty sure I can put the EQ in the SSP-800 to good use.
Bear with me as I’m a bit rusty at using the audio analyzing software needed to measure the in-room response. I also need to pick up a decent measurement microphone and mic preamp, so it could take a little while to get some real substance in this thread.
I don’t intend this thread to be a tutorial on using the EQ or on taking in-room measurements, though I hope that if this is your first exposure to such things that this thread piques your interest enough to consider trying your hand at EQing as well. Or even better, if you are experienced with taking in-room measurements and setting PEQ filters, maybe I can learn something from you.
To get things started, I toyed with the SSP-800 EQ last night, using just a Radio Shack SPL meter and a CD with some test tones. I just wanted to see if I could affect some change in the SPL reading by adjusting the “G” (gain), “Q” (filter width) and “F” (frequency) settings within the SSP-800.
I assume that most everyone here know what the gain and frequency are, but the “Q” may be unfamiliar. “Q” is the width of the filter. The lower the number the broader the filter. The higher the number, the more narrow the filter.
Below is a table that Tom with Classe was kind enough to provide me on the bandwidth values for the “Q” setting in the SSP-800 EQ.
The table is quite self explanatory but, the Q value is the X axis, and the frequency is the Y axis. For instance, applying a Q value of 6 on a 120Hz frequency will have a filter bandwidth of 20Hz, which is +/-10Hz from each side of the 120Hz frequency. So lets say you have a peak in the upper bass with a center point at 120Hz. The peak is 6dB and it spans from 110Hz to 130Hz. You would set the filter for -6dB, with a Q of 6 and a center frequency of 120Hz to cancel the peak.
The tricky part is getting accurate measurements of your in-room response so that you can notch out all of the peaks.
If you want to get started in building your knowledge about measuring the frequency response of your room, I recommend that you check out the “Room EQ Wizard” (REW) audio analyzer software.
It’s free and there are a bunch of end-users that hang out on the www.hometheatershack.com forums. Read the help file in REW from start to finish and do a google search for “EQ House Curve”.
Cheers,
- Tim
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