Just wanna give a jist, Linear Phase EQ boost & cuts does not add much phase shift and inevitably "noise" to the actual signal. Minimal Phase EQ's adds more phase shift and add noise to the signal when boost & cuts. (also reason why digital linear phase EQ's are more targeted to mastering Engineers than minimal phase EQ's) I know its more detailed then this just trying to make it easy for the newbs who are learning im sure it will be expounded on in more detail.
Linear Phase EQ vs Minimal Phase EQ
- Thread starter jaynm26
- Start date
bouldersoundguy
Well-known member
It's "minimum", not "minimal". Phase shift isn't noise, doesn't add noise.
Mo Facta
Farts of Nature
Minimum phase EQ's add phase distortion, not noise. There is also a phenomenon called "ringing" which occurs with both EQs either before or after the waveform event.
The easiest comparison is to look at the waveform of a squarewave processed with both EQ types at identical settings. Here is an image courtesy of the purple forum:
The top waveform was processed with a linear phase EQ. As you can see, the squarewave remains unchanged, apart from the pre- and post-ringing artifacts.
The bottom waveform was processed with a minimum phase EQ and as you can see it changes it drastically and produces only post-ringing, albeit much more pronounced.
Cheers
The easiest comparison is to look at the waveform of a squarewave processed with both EQ types at identical settings. Here is an image courtesy of the purple forum:
The top waveform was processed with a linear phase EQ. As you can see, the squarewave remains unchanged, apart from the pre- and post-ringing artifacts.
The bottom waveform was processed with a minimum phase EQ and as you can see it changes it drastically and produces only post-ringing, albeit much more pronounced.
Cheers
When I say added noise, I'm talking about the additional amplitude when a signal is processed thru minimum and linear EQ's. the post mo facto put up look how much amplitude is added the low point of the WAV form is lower and the high point is higher. There is additional amplitude when processed thru minimum phase EQ. I just call it "noise" added shit that's not contributing to anything.
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Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Yeah, but ask mastering engineers if they actually use linear phase EQ's. You won't find many...
True thas why I said "targeted" but in actuality most mastering engineers use minimum phase EQ's (If & only if were talking bout digital EQ's... another reason why most mastering engineers stay out of the box when it comes to real FX processing... digital still has some draw backs). I would go into why but my answer would be short then picked apart then I would have to go into the laundry list which im am trying to avoid. The FIR & IIR of the digital EQ"s algorithms are the reason basically.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
bouldersoundguy
Well-known member
That's not noise, that's an altered signal. It could be called distortion. It's kind of hard to communicate when your definitions of important words don't match ours.
Ethan Winer
Acoustics Expert
Agreed. Linear phase EQs were all the rage until people listened more carefully to what they do.
If you want to compare EQ types to hear how much worse LP is, create a step input as Mo did in Post #4, then add 10 dB of boost through both and listen. To my ears the LP is much worse. When doing such comparisons, it's important to use the same Q settings. But you don't even have to bother because I already did that. The attached files are from my Audio Expert book. Each file first plays a bare impulse, then the same impulse with a low Q boost, then again with a higher Q boost. It's easy to hear that the minimum phase EQ sounds natural and does what's expected, while the LP type adds a strange sounding pre-ringing "fwoop" sound.
--Ethan
View attachment impulse_ringing.mp3
View attachment impulse_ringing_lp.mp3
Well get hip
Yea but a full explanation will take pages I gave a small responseYou started the thread....
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
We can wait.....
I gave my short answer bout FIR & IIR.