Equalizer: Software based (on the PC) or a Hardware, Analog one?

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Hi


After settling on a USB DAC that I like,
I feel that I need a small touch of an Equalizer, in order to fine tune the sound that I get.


What would be a better option: (that is, Sound Quality wise)
A software (digital) Equalizer, running on Windows,
or a hardware, analog Equalizer, based on resistors and capacitors, and connected right after the DAC, and right before the Amplifier?


Thank you
 
Hi


After settling on a USB DAC that I like,
I feel that I need a small touch of an Equalizer, in order to fine tune the sound that I get.


What would be a better option: (that is, Sound Quality wise)
A software (digital) Equalizer, running on Windows,
or a hardware, analog Equalizer, based on resistors and capacitors, and connected right after the DAC, and right before the Amplifier?


Thank you
I strongly prefer the second option. Two reasons:

1.-You will need a specialized PC, with the dedicated power consumption,
2.- Always some noise from the video or HDD card filters into audio lines increasing background noise.
 
Interesting.
BTW, you did not mention anything regarding the quality of a software equalizer..
I mean, assume for example, that we had an ideal world, inwhich the 2 issues that you described did not exists..
Can a software equalizer do a good job like an analog one,
or a digital one can never get to the level of an analog one?
 
Can a software equalizer do a good job like an analog one,
or a digital one can never get to the level of an analog one?

Two different things, so it depends. In some cases they may be indistinguishable. In other cases, one or the other may sound better. Also, there are some digital filters that have no analog counterpart. In some cases those filters can sound quite good if well designed. Of course, data converters need to be good too. SQ tends to be limited by the weakest link in the processing and reproduction chain.
 
If your feeding the dac from a computer, then definetly use a DSP EQ before the dac. If you plan on DAC to ADC to EQ back to DAC, analog seems like a better option. As far as sound quality niether is better, you would have to compare unit to unit.
 
The DAC is fed from a computer..
so there's no ADC+DAC, just DAC...


The DAC is Lee's TDA1387 DAC..

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What is it about the sound now that you want the equalizer to fix (or improve)?
There seems to be some rise around 100Hz that I don't like,
and also I might increase the mids a bit.

BTW, I think this is not from the DAC, but from the amplified speakers that I use..
(Yamaha HS7 monitors)
So I want to fix this.
 
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If hes like me, to equalize mix to mix. Some mixers/masterers like too much 200hz etc. ( or there system lacks it.) or mine has too much?

That's pretty close to 300Hz, where human hearing has a particular sensitivity to hearing too much around that frequency as muddy sounding. Lots of things can cause muddy sound, but cutting somewhere around 300Hz often makes sound seem less muddy.

Probably better to find the underlying problems in the reproduction system if possible (assuming a recording has been properly engineered). Of course, room and loudspeaker FR can be a source of problems, but so can distortion in electronics. HD and IMD byproducts around 300Hz can add to mud as well. If there is a problem with headphones, then loudspeakers and room acoustics can be taken out of the equation. What's left may still point to some issue.
 
BTW, I think this is not from the DAC, but from the amplified speakers that I use..
(Yamaha HS7 monitors)

In that case, probably best to try some things in digital to get an idea of how much EQ might be able to help. It can't fix everything. There are many ways to do that, but some are likely better than others. If no measurement mic, then maybe all that can be done is to try adjusting EQ to taste. Are you using Windows, RPi, other? Where are the speakers located, on a surface that can vibrate or otherwise interact with sound?
 
I strongly prefer the second option. Two reasons:

1.-You will need a specialized PC, with the dedicated power consumption,
2.- Always some noise from the video or HDD card filters into audio lines increasing background noise.

Your reply, above, made me roll my eyes. So a PC will have "dedicated power consumption" but an analog EQ circuit will not?

The OP already is using a DAC, right? Doesn't that assume that a computer is ALREADY present and consuming power? Would it not make sense to use that same computer to implement EQ?

Signal processing in the digital domain is largely blameless. It will not introduce noise or hum like analog circuitry might. It will be 100% accurate in terms of amplitude and phase unlike your analog circuit created from real world resistors with their non-specific values (e.g. components have tolerance to their values and this introduces error). No pots to inject other sources of noise.

What you did NOT mention is one of the major issues with DSP: IF the audio is not already digital - an additional ADC stage is needed and this is often frowned upon by purists because the ADC will like introduce noise and distortion. In this case it seems that no ADC is required, so DSP on the computer would be the better choice. You only need to route your audio through an application that can apply the EQ.

To the OP: check out SXQ:
SXQ XO and EQ
SXQ can function as a crossover or an EQ or both. Works under windows.
 
I don't yet have a measurement mic, but i can use my phone..

I am using Windows XP, so unfortunately I cannot use Equalizer APO, since it requires Windows Vista or above
(the "APO" infrastructure was introduced in Windows Vista..)

The speakers are on a desk, with some silicone insulation between them and the desk..
 
Reaper 32-bit works with WinXP, and it comes with some EQ plugins, etc. 60-day free trial, after that only a nag screen at start up if you don't buy a discount license.
You would do something like rip a CD track into reaper, then apply the EQ as an effect on the that track. REAPER | Download
If you can look at the FR spectrum on your phone that might help. Also, if you speakers can vibrate or are on a surface that can vibrate, that will cause some SQ issues that EQ just can't fix. I use these things to prevent any such issues: Recoil Stabilizers | Primacoustic
They really work quite well, but unfortunately are not cheap. If you can figure out a diy way to do the same thing you might be surprised at the improved sound.

If your sound card does not have an ASIO driver, don't remember WinXP that well myself, but you may need to set the default sample rate of the sound card device to 16/44 in Windows sound control panel to avoid any SQ problems with resampling.
 
Thank you Mark..

It can only do EQ when it rips?
If I have MP3s it cannot play them with an Equalizer?

Reaper is really a powerful professional quality recording and editing program, not a music player app. As such it can do things music players can't, and vice versa. For test and analysis purposes I would definitely use it over a music player.

As far as MP3, they can be imported into Reaper, but the an MP3 decoder would convert them to wav files for editing or mixing, etc. However, best to use the highest resolution files your dac can reproduce. Good quality recordings help too, ones that are not over distorted or recorded too loudly. They are better for subjective system evaluation.
 
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Maybe I should simply get a HW based EQ..

Nope, not to start with. Graphic EQs may not have bandwidths and or center frequencies that you will need. Parametric EQs have very few filters and lots and lots of opamps. Neither of graphic EQs or paramentric hard EQs are the right way to see what your problem frequencies are, and if the problems can even be improved in the frequency domain. Sometimes people have tried to fix playback systems in the frequency domain with EQs and they found no matter what EQ settings they used it never sounded better and never sounded right. It just means the problem was not primarily an EQ problem and and EQ was therefore not the needed solution. If you haven't shown that EQ will fix your sound quality problem, you can waste a lot of money on EQ boxes when you could have found out they weren't going to work for free.
 
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