Help me get the most out of my factory setup with new Head Unit

[low_ohmz]

I just got a new head unit (JVC KD-X210). Nothing special but just wanted something a little better than factory and something with usb/aux inputs. I feel like the unit has some potential but I am clueless on how to tweak the settings.

I have 2 tweeters up front, 2 speakers in front, and 2 in back. The head unit has loudness setting (0,1, & 2), bass boost, preset eq (which I am not impressed with), and of course customized eq's.

I listen to mostly classic rock, jam bands, and electronic music. I'd like to get a whole system in the future with an amp and sub but realistically I will probably only end up doing the speakers with my budget.

Anyone have any advice on how to get the most out of what I have?

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[Umbra]

I just got a new head unit (JVC KD-X210). Nothing special but just wanted something a little better than factory and something with usb/aux inputs. I feel like the unit has some potential but I am clueless on how to tweak the settings.
I have 2 tweeters up front, 2 speakers in front, and 2 in back. The head unit has loudness setting (0,1, & 2), bass boost, preset eq (which I am not impressed with), and of course customized eq's.

I listen to mostly classic rock, jam bands, and electronic music. I'd like to get a whole system in the future with an amp and sub but realistically I will probably only end up doing the speakers with my budget.

Anyone have any advice on how to get the most out of what I have?

I'd advise you to read the manual to familiarize yourself with the settings. Bass Boost and Loudness boost skew specific frequencies. Most people here, myself included, would advise you to turn them both all the way down, or set them to "off".

As far as EQs go, for things to sound their best you're going to want to cycle through them depending on what you're listening to. Typically there's one that sounds ok across the board, but not nearly as good as if you'd adjusted the frequencies to suit the song.

Play with them and see what sounds good to you. Hearing is subjective; what sounds good to me might not sound good to you. If you're looking for clarity I'd recommend keeping the bass low. Stock Door speakers are not going to handle lows, mids, and highs at the same time and sound good doing it. Typically door speakers are only meant to play down to around 65hz, if that - just north of sub bass. Ideally you'd want to configure it so it cuts off the bass and a subwoofer picks up where that left off, but if lieu of that, try this: if you have any way to set a high pass filter (HPF), set it somewhere in the 65-80 range. This tapers off the bass, preventing the speaker from attempting to play it. Stock speakers often sound bassy, but what the listener is really hearing is disortion - you don't want that.

It's a little late, so I've gone off in all directions with this post, sorry about that. Hopefully you can glean some useful info.

 

[low_ohmz]

there's a program i use on my computer that alters the eq of some of the music i listen. I was thinking about converting some of my files to have the eq setting permanently applied to the track. I don't think that would work though with the DAC in the head unit.

The program is called Audioburst FX (powerfx) and it's a winamp plug in. The only thing I'm disappointed in the head unit is the terrible preset selection. If I knew what I was doing I would create my own custom eq. but it's over my head at this point.