Nice EQ settings - Share please!

[L]

Anyone that has set up their Ipod to have really great sound using RockBox?

Mind pooling your settings here so I may get the great sound on my DAP too?

I keep trying but obviously I have no idea what I'm doing. =/

[soap]

Ideal sound for me is flat.  No EQ and the flattest earphones I can afford.

I'm guessing you don't want the sound I like, or else you wouldn't ask the question.  Do you think you'll want the sound Joe-Shmoe #2 likes?

The only tweak I would suggest is playing with crossfeed (not crossfade.)
Many people don't realize that the majority of music they listen to was mastered for playback through speakers, and sounds unnatural through headphones.  Crossfeed does a decent job of simulating the usage of speakers.

[saratoga]

Anyone that has set up their Ipod to have really great sound using RockBox?

Mind pooling your settings here so I may get the great sound on my Ipod too?

I keep trying but obviously I have no idea what I'm doing. =/

EQs are generally for headphones, not DAPs.  So if you found someone with the same headphones as you, they could recommend a good EQ.  Otherwise the changes someone recommends for their headphones will have a totally different results when played through yours.

If you're not sure about the EQ, its probably best to leave it alone.

[SilleeString]

I have to disagree with saratoga. If you're not sure about the eq, play with it!  It won't blow your ipod up, and you may bump into some settings you'll absolutely love.

[mnhnhyouh]

I agree with soap, no eq, and especially on older recordings, crossfeed.

h

[senab]

Try to think what the word 'Equalizer' means, it's mean to equalize the sound you hear through your headphones (ie. make them have a flat response). That's the true purpose of an equalizer, not to pump up the bass/treble/etc.

[L]

Yup, I do know the part about different earphones and headphone etc. I have a relatively good in-ear headphones but I believe it can be made to sound better.

And so that is why I'm asking for inputs by people as to what their settings are. This way I can then try it on my Ipod and see what works best for me.

So please contribute! I do also think that it will benefit other users!

Thanks in advance!

[saratoga]

Yup, I do know the part about different earphones and headphone etc.

I don't think you do because:

1)  You asked for EQ settings for the Ipod.  EQ settings are per headphone, not per DAP, so the requests is meaningless.  You could just as well ask for good EQ settings for your pants.

2)  You're still asking for recommendations without mentioning which headphones you're using, which makes giving recommendations impossible.

Let me be absolutely clear:  EQ is designed to complement the frequency response of a specific pair of headphones (or speakers in the case of stereo recievers).  If you have a pair of MX500s, a good set of EQ settings for it will work well on all DAPs w/ Rockbox (not just the one you're using!).  If you're not using the same headphones, a given EQ is more or less just a random distortion added to your output.  So in that case,  you'd do just as well to punch in random values.

[L]

No, then you're the one not getting my request.

Even if there are different earphones, some earphones especially in the same model series could be quite similar in nature. So you can't say it won't sound good even if that guy has a totally different earphone since it might be similar in the way they were made.

I only did not say the earphones I have because I wanted to try any possible EQs that people have. You do realise there is still a difference in perspective, even if you find it great on the earphones I have, I may not like it at all.

Even if Apple says that using the Mac OS works best on my Macbook pro, it doesn't mean I can't take people's advice and try Windows XP right?

I have a Shure E4c, a Sony EX81 and a pair of Panasonic in-ear headphones which I forgot of were what series.

[dunno]

there are many factors which affect the final output of music but, two important factors are

1). are you tone deaf ?.
2). Mismatched impedences of the various components which will colour the sound.

Select a song/album of which you are very familiar with and have a fair idea of what it should sound like, if to your ears it sounds defficient in any tone i.e. bass, midrange, high freq etc. use the EQ to adjust the different frequencies so that it sounds as it should to you.
Now, my interpretation of what XYZ sounds like could be very different to what your interpretation of it would be, its very subjective, on top of that there is the artists original intention of what his/her/it's music should sound like, what if a band intentionally wants a trebly tone for its music, one would be destroying artistic intention by EQ'ing said piece of music with lots of bass, hence the Holy Grail within HiFi circles is to try and put together a HiFi which is neutral/flat and doesn't colour the sound at all, that way artistic intention is preserved and the music becomes more meaningfull.

and thats why my EQ settings would be of little value to you.

there is a link over at mistic river discussing EQ settings.

[Febs]

Even if there are different earphones, some earphones especially in the same model series could be quite similar in nature. So you can't say it won't sound good even if that guy has a totally different earphone since it might be similar in the way they were made.

It is true that you "can't say it won't sound good."  But it is equally true that you can't say that it *will* sound good.  That's the point.

You're suggesting that people share there EQ settings so that, for example, you can try my EQ settings, listen to them, and decide whether you like them.  I think that Saratoga's point is that you can achieve exactly the same thing by trying your own EQ settings, listening to them, and deciding whether you like them.  Getting my EQ settings provides you with nothing other than an aribitrary starting point for the process, but it is no better than any other arbitrary starting point.

[dunno]

Hi-End HiFi systems dont have Equalizers, infact mention an equalizer to an pure Audiophile and you will be banished to the wilderness for 40 years, listening to music Live, or over a "good" HiFi system is nirvana, bliss, but I have heard some folks say, hey where's the bass when a particular piece of music is played, failing to realise that the artists intention was to record it bass light, but thats what those folks like lotsa bass, to each his own. It is nice to have EQ's to try and make a system Flat, not colour the sound, thats what I use the EQ for, I haven't touched my EQ settings since setting up, I don't adjust the bass or treble for every other song or type of music, my players freq response is to my ears flat/neutral. if I try another set of headphones I'll then use my reference music to try and attain a flat/neutral sound from the new phones as well, then leave it alone, flat is flat.

[dunno]

and "Flat" frequency response doesn't imply the music if off,

Link below will endevour to explain what a Flat Frequency response is.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/roomacoustics/acousticalmeasurements.php

another nice article on speaker frequency response

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/131062.html

[L]

Even if there are different earphones, some earphones especially in the same model series could be quite similar in nature. So you can't say it won't sound good even if that guy has a totally different earphone since it might be similar in the way they were made.

It is true that you "can't say it won't sound good."  But it is equally true that you can't say that it *will* sound good.  That's the point.

You're suggesting that people share there EQ settings so that, for example, you can try my EQ settings, listen to them, and decide whether you like them.  I think that Saratoga's point is that you can achieve exactly the same thing by trying your own EQ settings, listening to them, and deciding whether you like them.  Getting my EQ settings provides you with nothing other than an aribitrary starting point for the process, but it is no better than any other arbitrary starting point.

I've tried many times. If I had many different EQs to check from, I can easily see which one sounds the best to me and do minor adjustments to them.

However, if I do it from scratch, which I've tried umpteen times, I only end up making it sound weird.

And sigh guys, haven't we gone off the topic far enough?

[Mikerman]

If you go to Misticriver.net's forums, you'll find a thread I started (under username Mike) under one of the Rockbox forums, entitled "Share your equalizer settings" or something like that.  That thread also went off-topic, but some settings were posted and I think you'll find some of what you want--at least it's a start.

Sorry I don't have anything more philosophical to add.



edit:  Got the link:  http://misticriver.net/showthread.php?t=36635&highlight=share