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#68231 - 07/02/2002 12:34 EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness
jloew
journeyman

Registered: 26/12/2001
Posts: 87
Loc: SF Bay Area
I know some form of this has been asked, but I couldn't find the right thread (so I made my own!)

If I set the EQ to +1db for all frequencies, is that the same as setting volume to +1db? Does Loudness boost all freqs by the same amount, or just low freqs? By how much?
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#68232 - 07/02/2002 19:54 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: jloew]
tanstaafl.
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
If I set the EQ to +1db for all frequencies, is that the same as setting volume to +1db?

Yes.

Does Loudness boost all freqs by the same amount, or just low freqs? By how much?

This one's a bit more complicated. Loudness boosts low frequencies more than high frequencies, but the amount of boost is also determined by the volume control. If you have your volume control set to 0dB, the Loudness is not affected. The lower your volume control setting, the more frequency shift you get from Loudness -- but since the amount of Loudness is inversely proportional to volume, what the actual audible effect of Loudness change is becomes subtle and difficult to define.

tanstaafl.
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#68233 - 07/02/2002 19:59 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: jloew]
fusto
addict

Registered: 27/12/2001
Posts: 504
Loc: Lummi Island, WA
Boy, what I wouldnt give for a set of simple treble and bass sliders.

*sigh*

I know, I know, too low-tech.
I just dont have the patience to monkey around with the EQ.
Cant ever get it to sound right anyway...

Z~
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#68234 - 07/02/2002 20:41 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: tanstaafl.]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
If you have your volume control set to 0dB, the Loudness is not affected.

I wish.

(The amount of loudness does decrease with increased volume, that's the whole point of loudness, true. But in the empeg's implementation, 0db still contains some loudness boost. My dream is to be able to actually set its cutoff points, currently we can't do that.)
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Tony Fabris

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#68235 - 08/02/2002 10:02 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: tfabris]
beaker
addict

Registered: 19/08/2000
Posts: 588
Loc: England
In reply to:

My dream is to be able to actually set its cutoff points...



Me too.
What I'd actually like is to be able to do is to set equaliser (or just loudness) values at intervals along the volume range and the player to interpolate the values inbetween. Thus giving a nice smooth loudness curve.
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Marcus 32 gig MKII (various colours) & 30gig MKIIa

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#68236 - 08/02/2002 12:24 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: beaker]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
What I'd actually like is to be able to do is to set equaliser (or just loudness) values at intervals along the volume range and the player to interpolate the values inbetween. Thus giving a nice smooth loudness curve.

That's way too much work. If done properly, a plain-old loudness control should be able to handle that. My problem is that in order for the loudness to work for me in that way, I would have to increase it significantly, but that puts too much loundess in the top end. So I'm currently at a "compromise" setting on the loudness scale. It still adds a bit too much bass at maxium volume, but doesn't quite add enough bass at lower volumes. If I could just adjust those cutoff points, it would be perfect.
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Tony Fabris

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#68237 - 08/02/2002 13:03 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: fusto]
eternalsun
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/09/1999
Posts: 1721
Loc: San Jose, CA
I've had the empeg in the car for many months and I have been putzing around with the EQ constantly, and I think afterso many months I'm *finally* arriving at a combination that sounds natural. Still not done! But now the empeg finally sounds decent in the car. Finally.

Calvin

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#68238 - 08/02/2002 14:02 Re: EQ vs. Volume vs. Loudness [Re: tfabris]
beaker
addict

Registered: 19/08/2000
Posts: 588
Loc: England
It wouldn't be much work to set up. I'm only thinking of about three or four distinct values across the entire volume range from min vol to 0dB. I'm not saying that this is a trivial task for the programmers though. Your method's OK but I think my method gives you more scope to get it just right. It would also cope better with the natural variation in gain at different frequencies of individual setups. Don't forget that the interior space of your vehicle acts as an amplifier (more so at the lower frequencies than at the higher) and this wil be different for each vehicle (although it probably marginal). I don't know whether this would put much extra stress on the processor though. Anyway I think it would be yet another cool feature to show off the player to your friends.
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Marcus 32 gig MKII (various colours) & 30gig MKIIa

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