Car stereo EQ Poll

[Jamie Tate]

I've noticed in the Yes and Journey thread that what one person considers bass shy is another's perfect bass level, and another's dark and murky is another's harsh sibilance.

Since most of us fall under the audiophile category and probably don't EQ our music at home I thought I'd ask about where everyone has their car stereo system set. This is a less than perfect setting for music reproduction and will sometimes need tweaking. It'll also give us some insight on whether the average preference is for top or bottom end.

[Jeffrey]

Hi Jamie,

I usually go w/ a flat setting unless I'm playing bootleg cdr's that need help! :) Howsabout you?

-Jeffrey

[Joe Schmengidy]

Treble whore

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by Jeffrey
Howsabout you?
-Jeffrey

I forgot to vote. I'm a flat guy too (with stereos that is). I used to be a treble whore (with stereos that is) but learned to calm myself. I would record chrome tapes in normal mode and add top end with an EQ. I wonder how much of my hearing I blew? It wasn't until I got my first good system at home and really listened to it flat that I realized how much damage the EQ was doing. Ever since then I've not been a big EQ fan. It really makes things sound bigger.

Sometimes I'll have to check mixes in the producer's car and am just appalled at how awful his car stereo sounds. Most people, I've noticed, love the top end. I guess they were denied it for so long during the cassette era that they are now trying to make up for it.

[sgb]

As J. Gordon Holt so sagaciously noted some 20 years ago, "high quality audio in a car is like Arpege in a glue factory."

[Steve Hoffman]

The thing is, in your car, when the engine is idling or off, it sounds one way (usually the bass is fine). When you hit the gas, the bass goes out the window. So, a constantly varying listening environment with no way out except to compromise.

Try this, to see if you are sustaining hearing loss by tweaking your car system:

When you come home, after playing your system in the car for a while on the road, leave it set where it was. Next morning, start your car. Does your stereo scare the crap out of you with how loud it is? If so, turn it down when traveling. Save your ears!

[Jamie Tate]

Mom my does that. She'll have it cranked so much it'll scare the dog next door.

I am always so conscience of listening levels. Some producers get frustrated because I mix so quietly. I always have the DIM button pushed. I don't have it loud until the very last time I listen to it. They know when I turn things up a little I'm close to being finished. Listening low you have to watch out for that damned Fletcher-Munson curve. I've learned how to under compensate for it.

[Gary Freed]

Getting decent midrange when driving 50 miles an hour can be a difficult at best. Road noise is the biggest culprit.

The type of car speakers and their location play a big role. Most car
CD players come equipped with the standard 1 bit delta sigma dac so
you don't tend to get the same fidelity as you would out of really decent home rig. Car Speakers are also smaller which affects the overall sound as well.

I find myself adjusting the EQ often in the car where as at home I'm almost
never feel the need.

My tendency is to drop the treble down a notch or two in the car when listening to some CD's just to even things out a bit.:)

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by yesman


I'm a flat guy too (with stereos that is).

:D :laugh: :D

-Jeffrey

[Grant]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
The thing is, in your car, when the engine is idling or off, it sounds one way (usually the bass is fine). When you hit the gas, the bass goes out the window. So, a constantly varying listening environment with no way out except to compromise.

Try this, to see if you are sustaining hearing loss by tweaking your car system:

When you come home, after playing your system in the car for a while on the road, leave it set where it was. Next morning, start your car. Does your stereo scare the crap out of you with how loud it is? If so, turn it down when traveling. Save your ears!

That happens to me. While i'm driving, I have to make a conscience effort to keep the sound reasonable. I need my ears!

I suspect that many people start out liking treble, then maintain the practice because they have started to develop hearing loss in the high frequencies.

[Grant]

Originally posted by Gary Freed
Getting decent midrange when driving 50 miles an hour can be a difficult at best. Road noise is the biggest culprit.



50? That's nothing! Out here, we drive 75 or more!:)

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by Grant
I suspect that many people start out liking treble, then maintain the practice because they have started to develop hearing loss in the high frequencies.

That's why I stopped. Didn't want to be deaf when I was 40. My years as a treble-holic didn't last long. Only high school. I've since learned better and have more interest in the low end now.

[RDK]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
Next morning, start your car. Does your stereo scare the crap out of you with how loud it is?

Exactly! :eek:

My wife's always telling me to turn it down in my car, but everytime I get into her car and start it up the radio blasts me away! :D

In the car at least, you'd have to count me in among the treble whores (which i think is Latin for "three hookers"). I don't have a hugely powerful and expensive system, so can only play it so loud before distortion sets in. I'd rather keep the bass down and give the top end a bit more pop just to keep the amp distortion down and give me better mids.

At home I went (like so many of us in our youths) from the smiley-face EQ to a bit of treble boost, but I've seen the light over the last few years and now keep things flat.

Ray

[petzi]

Some recordings need a little help, but in general, turning up bass or treble gets annoying rather quickly.

[Dan C]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
The thing is, in your car, when the engine is idling or off, it sounds one way (usually the bass is fine). When you hit the gas, the bass goes out the window. So, a constantly varying listening environment with no way out except to compromise.

Try this, to see if you are sustaining hearing loss by tweaking your car system:

When you come home, after playing your system in the car for a while on the road, leave it set where it was. Next morning, start your car. Does your stereo scare the crap out of you with how loud it is? If so, turn it down when traveling. Save your ears!

:thumbsup: Over the past few years I've trained myself to keep the volume just at audibility while driving. After years of abuse and ear infections, I need to protect the precious hearing I have left (I also carry a pack of ear plugs everywhere I go, just in case).
Dan C

[Dan C]

Originally posted by yesman


I forgot to vote. I'm a flat guy too (with stereos that is). I used to be a treble whore (with stereos that is) but learned to calm myself. I would record chrome tapes in normal mode and add top end with an EQ. I wonder how much of my hearing I blew? It wasn't until I got my first good system at home and really listened to it flat that I realized how much damage the EQ was doing. Ever since then I've not been a big EQ fan. It really makes things sound bigger.


I was exactly the same way, and sadly I have the tinnitus to prove it. :sigh:
Dan C

[JohnG]

I use a Pioneer EQ in my car system that can tweak the bass or treble as needed. It also controls the subwoofer, so I can woof a little more or a little less....depending on the music.

Works very well, in fact when you turn off the EQ, it seems the sound quality has been sucked out of the car.

My settings are relatively flat with just a tweak in the bass and a slight reduction in the treble ( high notes can sound to harsh in a car with metal tweeters...so its nice to be able to tame those frequencies with an EQ).

[John Moschella]

This is an amusing thread because I have always felt that bass equalization is what you need in a car with one caveat and that is ear level tweeters. I guess for my last 4 or 5 car systems I always mount tweeters near ear level somewhere convientent and out of the way. As a result I feel very little need for high frequency equalization. Bass is another story. Usually I stuff a sub in the trunk and this will always require equalization to get things to sound reasonable.

The tendancy is to continually raise the volume when on long trips. This is bad. What I do these days for trips is play a disc and then take an extended break. On normal drives to work I'll blast a song every now and then, but nothing extended.

[John B]

I'm a flataholic. Listening in a minivan doesn't add to my street creds.:o

[Gary Freed]

Hi John,

An ideal location for the tiny tweeters is in the dash board near the windshield. Installing the tweeters at ear level near the rearview mirrors like many of the aftermarket installers try to do will drowned out your mid range coming from the larger speakers installed in lower part of the door panels. When installers put the tweeters at ear level near the mirror it also shortens the soundstage and those bright tweeters at ear level will eventually affect your hearing.:)

[lsupro]

The automobile is such a horrible chamber to listen to music. I really only listen to the radio, no cd's. I will adjust eq according to the station good or bad processing.

[Gary Freed]

Originally posted by lsupro
The automobile is such a horrible chamber to listen to music. I really only listen to the radio, no cd's. I will adjust eq according to the station good or bad processing.

Hi Bill,


Hope all is well!

I agree that acoustically cars are pretty lousy.

I find that the radio makes a bad situtation even sound worse than a CD or cassette. What bothers me about radio is all the news and commercial interuptions.

My office is about 30 minutes away from home. It's one of the only times of the day that I can listen to music uninterupted. At home it's a bit more difficult. My two young kids and the wife usually occupy most of my time which is fine.

My car system seems to suffer from a little too much top end.
The speaker placements probably could be better, so very often I find myself lowering the treble a few notches to smooth things out.:)

[sgraham]

Perhaps there should be a "don't take car listening seriously" option.

My car stereo is a joke, and I'm not seriously tempted to spend money to upgrade it.

[lsupro]

Originally posted by Gary Freed


Hi Bill,


Hope all is well!

I agree that acoustically cars are pretty lousy.

I find that the radio makes a bad situtation even sound worse than a CD or cassette. What bothers me about radio is all the news and commercial interuptions.



I understand your plight and am glad you are happy listening to your favorite music in what ever car you drive.

I was a bit presumptions in my thought before typing my post. I should clarify I am not one who advocates putting much money in a vehicle. I have an employee that has $4000 in his car stereo. It's not for show, its not for looks, its not his hobby. He tells me he does it to get the best possible sound out of it in the car. It had to be loud to cover up the road, ac, engine, and wind noise. So he chooses to damage his hearing to cover all that up in a 97 Cavalier. Just a stupid way to spend money on equipment,in my opinion. He loves it. The stereo equipment is worth more than the car is. Its kinda funny, really...

[John B]

Originally posted by Gary Freed
Hi John,

An ideal location for the tiny tweeters is in the dash board near the windshield. Installing the tweeters at ear level near the rearview mirrors like many of the aftermarket installers try to do will drowned out your mid range coming from the larger speakers installed in lower part of the door panels. When installers put the tweeters at ear level near the mirror it also shortens the soundstage and those bright tweeters at ear level will eventually affect your hearing.:)

Thanks for the tip Gary.