Tips From The Top

Hunting for the perfect sound? Learning to use your home audio system’s equalizer could be just the skill you need.

An equalizer uses frequencies to create the sound you want. It gives you the control to adjust aspects of sound to sculpt the music to your unique preferences. First used in recording studios, equalizers are now mainly digital, and available on all kinds of electronics, from stereos to smart phones to some streaming services.

Why do you need to know about your equalizer when so many electronics come with pre-set conditions? A couple reasons. First, everybody’s preferences are different. By using the equalizer, you’re making the most of your home audio system to achieve the sound quality you like best. Second, the circumstances in which we’re listening to music – room size and other noise – shape the sound. So knowing what you can do and how to do it can make all the difference between a good listening experience and an outstanding one.

A recent Digital Trends article gives a “top to bottom EQ guide” using a graphic equalizer to master your settings for the perfect sound. With the graph, frequencies exist on one axis and decibels on the other. From left to right, sliders enable you to adjust frequencies; like a piano keyboard, you’ll find bass on the left, midrange in the middle, and treble on the right. When you move a slider up or down, you increase or decrease the loudness of that unique frequency.

Try out your equalizer skills with a piece of your favorite music, something you know well. Small dB adjustments can greatly affect the sound, the article’s author points out, so start with a 1-2 dB change and adjust slightly from there. Sound engineers recommend decreasing a single frequency level first, since increasing a lot of frequencies will result in a muddled sound. Subtracting a frequency level first will allow you to listen more closely and make more specific adjustments. Plus, altering one frequency will affect how all the frequencies interact, resulting in a different overall sound. Keep in mind, too, that it takes a minute or two to hear the change, and you may have to raise the volume.

You can also go the easy route and select pre-set labels (“Jazz”) to achieve a sound quality without combing through, one frequency at a time. And even if they’re not quite what you’re looking for, they’ll give you a place to start. From there, you can play with the sound to accomplish your ideal listening experience.

For more information on making targeted adjustments, check out the Digital Trends article.

To learn more about how to take your home audio system to the next level, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.

 

References

Ryan Waniata, “How to master your equalizer settings for the perfect sound.” Digital Trends. February 11, 2019. https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/eq-explainer/