Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

Re: Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

Phil Graham said:
I think there are a few aspects to the human listening experience we can all agree upon:
  1. High frequencies are absorbed by air, we expect some amount of this. A system dead flat to 20kHz at a given point in space is preternaturally bright for most listeners. We all innately expect some VHF rolloff. Even a loudspeaker that is flat to 20kHz quickly has some built in VHF rolloff applied as sound makes it way to the listener.
  2. Real life objects, other than loudspeakers, have very different power response at low frequencies than high frequencies. More energy is radiated out in all direction at mid and low frequencies than at higher frequencies from every objects and instruments.
  3. The lack of directivity control at lower frequencies also extends to everday objects, so the low and mid energy arrivals from those objects interact more with the environment, and get more strongly included into our picture of the sound.
  4. At low and low-mid frequencies our brains develop to include more of this radiated energy in our hearing perception, therefore the total energy our brains "integrate" over is longer in the low and midrange that at high frequencies.
Herein, to me at least, lies the innate pull for some degree of tapering of the energy the system puts on the audience from the low frequencies to the high. Real objects dump out more low frequency energy in more directions, HF is absorbed somewhat, and this is what our entire existence on the planet is conditioned towards. It is no wonder then that some aspect of this "sloping" sounds "right" to many people who listen critically.
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Hi Phil,

Exactly! Quite possibly it’s more about our perceptions than Smaart’s measurement compromises. The real secret is listening ... and finding the compromise that's right for the particular space we are in.

Peter
 
Re: Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

So just when you thought it was over.......
It strikes me there might be another approach
Given that your trying to produce an artistic pleasurable experience, you're going to put your own "flavour" on the system,(system = PA+Room), preferably after you have "linearized" (not flat) the system.
where does this "flavour" belong in the system or in the console?
If you put the flavour in the console and you're recording, then you flavour the recording, if the flavour is in the system tune then the console can be more neutral and consequently a more neutral recording.

my 2c

ferrit
ferrit
 
Re: Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

So if the mixer is the "5 band member" playing along on his console. The SE could be the "6" playing along on his system....
 
Re: Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

Martyn ferrit Rowe said:
So just when you thought it was over.......
It strikes me there might be another approach
Given that your trying to produce an artistic pleasurable experience, you're going to put your own "flavour" on the system,(system = PA+Room), preferably after you have "linearized" (not flat) the system.
where does this "flavour" belong in the system or in the console?
If you put the flavour in the console and you're recording, then you flavour the recording, if the flavour is in the system tune then the console can be more neutral and consequently a more neutral recording.

my 2c

ferrit
ferrit
Click to expand...

Hi Ferrit,

I think a neutral “flavour” belongs in the system (more or less as suggested by L-Acoustics), the spice (if I can call it that) belongs in the desk. The engineer expects to say “check one two” and play his or her favorite CD and have it sound “correct” without having to do anything.

This type of set up will work for both experienced and in experienced engineers, recordings and playback.

Peter
 
Re: Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

Peter Morris said:
The engineer expects to say “check one two” and play his or her favorite CD and have it sound “correct” without having to do anything.
Click to expand...

Which has nothing to do with whether the system is tuned power flat or not! The only people I have ever seen want a very flat PA are people capable of measuring it themselves. The vast majority of people's perception of "flat" is not.
 
Re: Frequency Response/Contour EQ in full range systems.

Martyn ferrit Rowe said:
So just when you thought it was over.......
It strikes me there might be another approach
Given that your trying to produce an artistic pleasurable experience, you're going to put your own "flavour" on the system,(system = PA+Room), preferably after you have "linearized" (not flat) the system.
where does this "flavour" belong in the system or in the console?
If you put the flavour in the console and you're recording, then you flavour the recording, if the flavour is in the system tune then the console can be more neutral and consequently a more neutral recording.

my 2c

ferrit
ferrit
Click to expand...

Hey Ferrit,

linearizing means measuring FR ?
now I think Frequency Response is not enough to descibe the sound of a system, neither outdoors ( less reflections ) nor indoors

some talk about linear and non linear distortion to describe the shortcomings of FR, power response was already mentioned ( indoors it will influence, what
FR we get displayed on the screen and outdoors it may influence stereo width )

so at a certain point listening to the system comes into play, is this putting a personal "flavour" on the system or is this evaluating more data with a more apropriate "windowing" than with measuring ?

And what is used to listen to the system, CD, vocal mike ?
Do we make the CD sound good or do we make the CD sound like we`ve learned by experience will help us mixing the band ( Mastering EQ )

There are different aproaches, mixing stiles and without constant cross reference like headphones, analysers ( the averaging kind on the solo bus ), and of course linearized systems the different stages of EQ might be really difficult to discern.

In short neutral is not so easy :)~:-)~:smile:

Uwe
 
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