How to turn your old stereo speakers into the best sounding monitors you ever heard!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boray
  • Start date Start date
You know what most of us think about it. It WILL give you phasing problems. You are adding 12 dB at 30 Hz? And at the same time cutting 7dB at 60 Hz?

I still think -even with stereospeakers- that just learning what the response of your speakers is and working with that is better than adjusting your eq to get a pseudo-flat response and still having to learn what the response is...
Even with decent monitors you have to compare, get to know them, know what you want your mix to sound like on your monitors to get it best sounding on every other system.

You want your monitors to be accurate. Flat is part of that, but accurate is what you really want. Massive equalizing will make them sound flat, but the side effects of that will make it less accurate. You don't want that.

Oh well. If it works for you...
 
Boray said:
This is truly amazing! Read my post about it at VSPlanet:

http://www.vsplanet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=010966

/Anders
Click to expand...
That is the biggest load of horsehit I've seen in a while... it doesn't work.............. it adds more problems than it fixes........ and Roel nailed all the reasons already ('cos he's SMART!).......

Plus... the minute you move your head even an inch, those settings'll mean shit......

But I suppose that's typical of the advice you'd get at a BBS that FT hangs out at........

Yikes....... :rolleyes:

Bruce
 
I agree with you this time BlueBear! :p

You will get nothing even close to flat using this technique. It's even worse than than the old pink noise test, which is useless in anything but an anechoic chamber.

Gotta take an MLS, and even then, and equalizer is only of limited use in correcting problems.

...umm....power response anyone??...
 
I would have agreed with you if I hadn't heard the results myself. No phasing problems (what I can hear), and it actually sounds quite good all around the room... All CDs I've played sounds absolutely outstanding compared to before. It sounds so real and clear. Very detailed. But you are of course entitled an oppinion. If you are right, then that can only mean that I just got very lucky with my settings... But... You can't really say anything if you haven't heard it for yourself and compared... I was expecting more responces like yours when I posted this post on VSPlanet... So I'm not surprised at all over your reaction...

/Anders
 
ANYTIME you put an EQ into the chain, cutting... and especially boosting... will add phase-related artifacts to the signal....... period... end of discussion.

AND as I pointed out, because of room modes and standing waves (which will be a problem in ANY room not inherently designed for sound reproduction), if you move even 1 inch from your "flattened spot", those EQ changes will be meaningless........

If you like the sound better, great - YMMV........... but you're fooling yourself into thinking you've actually improved it!

Bruce
 
By the way, what is your reference? If you used the way these speakers sounded before the EQ as a reference it has quite a different meaning than when you are a guest engineer in alot of different studios.

Some systems do sound better with alot of EQ. But those really are inaccurate. And flat or not, if they aren't accurate, I couldn't really care about it. If they are accurate, they'd sound good without eq too. I really have trouble believing this...
And those extreme settings! +12 dB at 30 Hz and -7 at 60hZ? I never even got that extreme with eliminating feedback live!
 
As I said... You have to hear it to believe it. But I won't argue. I could just as easily hold this method for myself... But now I thought others could gain from it... Apparently people just got upset instead... (In this forum anyway)... Sorry.

/Anders
 
If you wanna upset me you gotta try harder... :p

Just saying that I got serious doubts reading that... If it works for you...
 
I found a better use for my old stereo speakers than that.I set them on my old turntable,hooked up my casio keyboard to them,set it to the "rock organ" setting and "PRESTO" ,just like magic,they had the sound of a Hammond B-3 and 147 leslie.I hooked up a footswitch to the 3345 rpm selector so I can "pedal" the leslie effect to fast/slow.The only problem is running out of speaker cord when it gets all wound up around the speakers,but I will figure that one out soon......








:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
 
You guys sure don't make me feel welcome here (except for Roel that seems to be a nice guy)... Well, back to VSPlanet then... Sorry for sharing my success with you...

/Anders
 
Naaa...Anders
Nobody is upset with you for dragging up this old discredited idea.We've heard this old chestnut a few times before,however.
Let's say that you used a test measurement mic to get a really accurate mathematical curve of how your speakers in your room respond to test tones.You take this info and reverse it into a graphic EQ.Now all your mixes will sound perfectly flat,right?
Nice idea,but...
What you have failed to consider is what your mixes will sound like when played on somebody else's system.Unless the listener has your gear with mods,the sound will be just plain off,by the amounts of the "corrections" you have made with EQ.
A better idea (assuming you can't afford to upgrade to monitors) is to use reference CDs to LEARN your gear inside and out.Use a well-produced CD of the style you admire,along with a graphic frequency analyzer like this to go to school.Compare the graphical readouts of the pro mixes to your mixes.How hot is the bass compared to snare,etc.?
After you have your mix,you want to listen to it on as many different speaker types as you can.Home hi-fi,portable CD players,car units etc.Also,it is a good idea to check all mixes in mono for any phase problems you might have missed.
Good luck and keep on learnin'
 
Boray,

I don't think anyone is trying to make you feel unwelcome. You are more than welcome to come and share your ideas, discoveries, and knowledge...and of course ask questions.

It can seem a bit rough here sometimes, but that's only because a lot of people here have been around the block a few times, and really do know what they are taking about. When someone new comes in and touts their new ideas/theories, and resists the knowledge and experience of the elders of this community, it puts people on the defense.

I lurked here for months before I posted, which allowed me to get to know the forum and it's members. This way I knew who the key players were, what technical level I should approach topics at, and what etiquette I should follow.

It's not so bad here, it just takes some getting to know what we're all about. :)
 
I, for one, am neither upset nor defensive....

...I simply know better!


Bruce
 
Boray, You can be offended and leave or suck it up and learn a little. Nobody is saying your home speakers dont sound better. We just like to make sure people are passing on good advice.

Either way, welcome.
 
The idea of eqing speakers started around the early 70s. I came back to OZ from the US with a new set of JBL speakers and a set of UREI 1/3 octave equalisers, ...CUT only!!!

we hired a calibrated mike and started with the white/pink noise thingy!! we also tried the sweeping tone method of speaker tuning.

After 6 months we threw the lot out (except for the speakers) and I've never recommended it since. ;);)

cheers
john
 
Ok, thanks everyone! No offence taken...


Tom Hicks, With those extreme EQs I had to
do to get my speakers flat, I think it's more
likely that the sound from my mixes prior to this
EQ has been off by the opposite amount...
Thanks for the rest of the tips. I already knew
about them, but thanks anyway.

And here is something I wrote in the thread in
question:
"For those who are still sceptic... This is not
much different from Roland's own mic simulation
or speaker modelling. It's based on the same
theory... Think about it! Those mic simulations
are probably never used by the real pros, but
some people use them and like the results... This
is exactly the same thing.... Even if you like
the sound of your speakers and like to continue
to mix on them, having an EQ effect patch like this
is good to compare with, just like Roland's speaker
simulations. But for me it's going to be the other
way around. I will record and mix with the EQ
tuned speakers and then when I want to test how it
sounds on other systems (like old stereos), I will
simply turn the EQ off...

If anyone else tries this method, please tell me about
your results. It would be interesting to know if
I just got lucky or if this works on most old
stereo speakers..."


LooneyTunez, Thanks! I'm not exactly a total newbie, only to this forum. I excpected to get loads of comments on VSPlanet just like the ones people here gave. But maybe they hold back their comments just because they know me better. But for you I'm just a new guy comming in here with a very stupid idea (the way you see it.) I guess my problem was that I was too positive about it. But I was just so surprised over the great new sound...

/Anders
 
eq

Boray,

As you can see by the above replys from a few of these guys they are award winning musicians with award winning productions, huge album credits, looked up to by the industry etc etc and are never wrong about anything to do with recording or music.

not!!!.

alot of big ego's here with f-all to back them up.

stick to the planet

newbie J
 
Ohmygod, Johnrg, well put!

Boray, pls see my PM, and welcome aboard!

;)
 
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