Do i need an equalizer??

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

A 2100 will easily command $550 if it's in good shape and 6 years old is the minimum. Mine is the final version, and it's going on 11yrs old. Unless you just have a nostalgia thing going, the old Orion HCCA amps really don't have a place in a modern system, especially if you are shopping for amps to buy. For the money you can get a lot more power that will not **** your car's charging system dry. Remember that they were Class A/B amps and were real current hogs.

Sundown SAZ-1500d?

As far as needing an EQ, work with the EQ in the HU, it's not bad at all and you already have it. Set the time alignment first, that can make a huge difference and eliminate cancellation nodes for one listening position. This will allow the EQ to achieve an effect at any frequency. If you are doing serious set and leave tuning and have exhausted the capability of the HU EQ, then and only then would I bother with a larger trunk mount unit.

Whoever it was that said that Q factor should always be fixed has a lot to learn.

 

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

Also, those components, were you saying i should try them? Do you have any experience with those components?

Nope, never used them. First entry in google - "spl components." //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Team Hammer 10+ year member]

Whoever it was that said that Q factor should always be fixed has a lot to learn.

I Said that.

If you wish to explain why a variable "Q" is worth spending time tring to figure out which bands are really getting cut or boost be my quest!

Variable is worth less when you make a adjustment, Lets say 2.5khz and the result is 2kHz and 3kHz are cut or boosted. Not to mention the frq's in the middle are now 2~3db highier or lower!

Constant "Q" is always best. If I want a 3db cut or boost at 2.5khz thats what I get. Not a frq adjustment at 2khz 2.5khz and 3khz. That has a bandpass that looks like crap.

 

[Boulderguy 10+ year member]

Hammer, you'd be right if all your frequency anomolies fell onto center frequencies & their Q matched that unit's Q. But how often does that happen?

+1 for parametric from this control freak. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Team Hammer 10+ year member]

Hammer, you'd be right if all your frequency anomolies fell onto center frequencies & their Q matched that unit's Q. But how often does that happen?
+1 for parametric from this control freak. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I ran my H701 and C701 through this very test and it was dead on. I made changes and a friend plotted it with some of his Raytheon equipment from work. There was no intermodulation at all and everything in the middle stayed flat. We changed the Q values and they did stay centered as well.

I wanted to know if Alpines EQ really did work as advertised. I was pleased that it did for $500.00 it should.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/veryhappy.gif.fec4fed33b4a1279cf10bdd45a039dae.gif

And Yes I am a Parametric EQ fan too.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

I ran my H701 and C701 through this very test and it was dead on. I made changes and a friend plotted it with some of his Raytheon equipment from work. There was no intermodulation at all and everything in the middle stayed flat. We changed the Q values and they did stay centered as well.
I wanted to know if Alpines EQ really did work as advertised. I was pleased that it did for $500.00 it should.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/veryhappy.gif.fec4fed33b4a1279cf10bdd45a039dae.gif

And Yes I am a Parametric EQ fan too.

Every EQ has some Q factor. When you move a band, say 1.25k, your not just boosting that exact frequency, your changing frequencies both higher and lower than it too. With a constant Q, you may not always be able to get the exact frequency change your looking for. This is especially true if the EQ has only a few bands to work with. If I only have say 11 bands between 60-20000hz a constant Q is going to limit you alot. If I need to tame near 3.5k but only have points at 4k

and 2k the ability to change the Q helps alot. With a fixed Q, I'd knock down 4k a bit, and hope I got the effect I want. If the curve falls to quickly, I may have to knock 6db's off of the center frequency (4k) to get a meaningful change down at 3.5. However, with an adjustable Q, I can get a shallower slope and just move 4k down a tad. Parametrics give you alot of extra options when tuning. That's why you see 32 band graphics, but parametrics are usually less than 15 bands. The ability to adjust the Q gives you just about as much control, with half the required center points.

ps.I have heard the para on the h701 is useless, I can't attest to that, seeing as I havent' hooked mine up yet, but I doubt I'll use it much for the horns anyway.

 

[Team Hammer 10+ year member]

Must be missing something here. With Constant Q we get a boost or cut in the Frq band we wanted. By "Constant" We are talking about that frq band your adjusting, Not those on either side of it. Which is what I want.

In my case I can adjust it 1.0 1.5 3.0 without making any changes to either side.

I can say this that the Parametric on the H701 is far from useless.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

Must be missing something here. With Constant Q we get a boost or cut in the Frq band we wanted. By "Constant" We are talking about that frq band your adjusting, Not those on either side of it. Which is what I want.
In my case I can adjust it 1.0 1.5 3.0 without making any changes to either side.

I can say this that the Parametric on the H701 is far from useless.

Cool, I don't think I'll use the para much, but it's good to know it works well. I heard a few bad comments about it, I guess some people just don't like them. I can see where a constant Q would have advantages, but if I only have a few bands to work with I'd much prefer having a fully adjustable Q vs the "what you see is what you get" approach you get with the constant Q.

 

[Jep772 10+ year member]

i got an EQ a few weeks ago, just a little 7 band indash. it helped with the mids/highs it woke my door speakers up alot... with the sub i lost separation in the bass @ higher volumes seems like. i't sounded alot beter alot better off the HU sub out so its goin back as soon as i get time.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Must be missing something here. With Constant Q we get a boost or cut in the Frq band we wanted. By "Constant" We are talking about that frq band your adjusting, Not those on either side of it. Which is what I want.
In my case I can adjust it 1.0 1.5 3.0 without making any changes to either side.

I can say this that the Parametric on the H701 is far from useless.

You're talking two different things. Fixed Q means exactly that, you can't change the Q. If it's 1 it's 1. If it's 4 it's 4. If whatever it's fixed at doen't suit your needs, then you're SOL. If, for example you need a broad freq boost at one point and a narrow cut at another, a fixed Q unit probably won't let you do that. That is where a true parametric EQ comes into play. It allows you to pick the center freq for the boost/cut and adjust the Q to make the adjustment have whatever width you need.

I also think you are mistaken on the exact effect that the EQ in the h701 has. It works in the digital domain but the EQ still has a Q. It has an effect on the adjacent freqs as far as boost and cut goes. If has adjustable Q and you can vary the width of the effect but it still has width, even at the highest Q setting. If it didn't it would be basically worthless. If it didn't emulate the effect of an analog parametric, it wouldn't has a use. Where it really shines compared to an analog unit is in the time/phase domain. An analog EQ has an effect on the phase of the signal and can make a mess of driver integration if you don't account for the phase shift. Working in the digital domain allows the Alpine unit to have the frequency shaping effects of a normal EQ but without the negative phase shift effects.

 

[Team Hammer 10+ year member]

You're talking two different things. Fixed Q means exactly that, you can't change the Q. If it's 1 it's 1. If it's 4 it's 4. If whatever it's fixed at doen't suit your needs, then you're SOL. If, for example you need a broad freq boost at one point and a narrow cut at another, a fixed Q unit probably won't let you do that. That is where a true parametric EQ comes into play. It allows you to pick the center freq for the boost/cut and adjust the Q to make the adjustment have whatever width you need.
I also think you are mistaken on the exact effect that the EQ in the h701 has. It works in the digital domain but the EQ still has a Q. It has an effect on the adjacent freqs as far as boost and cut goes. If has adjustable Q and you can vary the width of the effect but it still has width, even at the highest Q setting. If it didn't it would be basically worthless. If it didn't emulate the effect of an analog parametric, it wouldn't has a use. Where it really shines compared to an analog unit is in the time/phase domain. An analog EQ has an effect on the phase of the signal and can make a mess of driver integration if you don't account for the phase shift. Working in the digital domain allows the Alpine unit to have the frequency shaping effects of a normal EQ but without the negative phase shift effects.

I know the "Q" Bandwidth changes with each step. 1 being wide 3.0 being at it's narrowest. This is why the ParaEQ is needed to shift right or left to make needed adjustment. Seen I use 1/3 octave EQ's I get the best adjustment's from it.

I know that some people confuse the term "Q" but here it refers to EQ's.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

^^^

I have no idea what you just said. Care to translate into something intelligible?

 

[Team Hammer 10+ year member]

Look up Audiocontrol Technical Paper 106, THis should make it clear for the masses.