Ideal Equalizer Setting

[beeus]

I know the answers to this question are highly subjective therefore I am really just asking for opinions.

I primarily listen to instrumental movie scores. For those of you who listen to the same sort of thing, what are your ideal equalizer settings?

Just fyi, I am currently using a NW-S706.

Thanks!

Edited June 5, 2007 by beeus

[cool_rock]

well i own a nwe005 and i prefer custom eq settings. with mostly this eq settings

3,-3,-3,-3,3 and when with soft vocals -1 +1 -3 -3 +3

i dont have clear stereo and clear bass but besides sound is very cool i wonder how sony has enhanced alot in sq sony has definetly beaten ipod in sq.

can u plz tell what the settings of clear stereo and clear bass does it takes more battery power

[pata2001]

Set it to off, and get a good headphones. I have the S705F, and with EQ off and the NC022 stock bud, it still sound decent.

[fahad2mail]

i need the audio settings with clear stereo and clear bass on(S705f)

[cool_rock]

Set it to off, and get a good headphones. I have the S705F, and with EQ off and the NC022 stock bud, it still sound decent.

well i really like the walkman equalizer and i alway listen my music with eq on and nwe005 stock buds also sound decent. but i dont like flat music. with eq off.

[Guest Stuge]

well i really like the walkman equalizer and i alway listen my music with eq on and nwe005 stock buds also sound decent. but i dont like flat music. with eq off.

Yeah ,It's because he likes that way .His ears like flat music.

It is because of Excessive using of I-pod.. lol

[pata2001]

Sony tends to color their SQ, especially using Mega bass/Groove/Clear bass, IMO mainly to compensate the commonly crappy stock bud E808, plus the old premium stock bud E838 is not bassy at all. Boomy bass != good sound quality. I used to be a stock bud basshead (gotta love the Sony "Groove" sound on their cassette walkmen), but after getting and experiencing better headphones with better frequency response range, I conclude that almost any recent DAP will sound good using a good headphone, even without EQ. The limitting factor is the headphone/earbud.

Good thing Sony is improving in terms of stock bud, at least with the S70x (except the hiss problem) and A80x. I don't notice the difference of Clear Stereo.

[cool_rock]

well clear stereo only works with the supplied heapdhones. so it is recommeneded to use the supplied headphones with to get clear stereo effect

[markey]

well clear stereo only works with the supplied heapdhones. so it is recommeneded to use the supplied headphones with to get clear stereo effect

The clear stereo will work with what ever phones you wish to use. In the case of the noise cancellation on the S7xx range you are restricted to that feature by only being able to use the supplied (MDR-NC022) phones.

[pata2001]

well clear stereo only works with the supplied heapdhones. so it is recommeneded to use the supplied headphones with to get clear stereo effect

Wrong. Clear atereo option is available regardless of headphone. Although I've yet to notice the difference.

[dura_]

Clear stereo is ment for the supplied headphones only. Clearly stated in the manual, which advises to switch it off with other headphones. Which leads me to believe it basically adresses a slight volume balance due to different cables length left and right. (which also explains why there is the option with or without extension cord).

[pata2001]

adresses a slight volume balance due to different cables length left and right. (which also explains why there is the option with or without extension cord).

What does cable length have to do with stereo seperation?

[dura_]

Well, without the extension cord the total length of the right cord is more then twice as long as that of the left cord, including the common part. Since the cable is very thin it probably has a high resistance too so this difference might lead to slight but audible volume differences.

The relative difference between the channels gets less if the extension cord is used of course.

I indeed seem to get a better stereobalance with clearstereo, but perhaps my expanation is wrong...anyway, the way sony advises to switch it off with other phones gives me the idea that clear stereo compensate for some inbalance or other shortcoming in the supplied phones.

Edited June 7, 2007 by dura

[veggiemusician]

I dont really hear any difference using clearstereo, maybe its because I use high bitrate mp3s! Someday I have a play round with different atrac settings to see if I can hear anything? For EQ i use 2 settings different earpnones

Stock earphones Clearbass +3 then +2 0 0 0 +1

UM2 Clearbass +2 then +1 0 0 +1 +2

Another thing, on the A80* players, theres two cordlenth settings for Clearstereo - on my S705 its just on and off?

[beeus]

I dont really hear any difference using clearstereo, maybe its because I use high bitrate mp3s! Someday I have a play round with different atrac settings to see if I can hear anything? For EQ i use 2 settings different earpnones

Stock earphones Clearbass +3 then +2 0 0 0 +1

UM2 Clearbass +2 then +1 0 0 +1 +2

Another thing, on the A80* players, theres two cordlenth settings for Clearstereo - on my S705 its just on and off?

Thanks for the info. What kind of music do you typically listen to?

[cool_rock]

u r right clear stereo only works with the supplied headphones it is also stated in the manuual for nwe016. so its use less to get another headphone.well the cord length has nothing to do with clear stereo its only for relax listning may be the clear stereo has some thing to do with the quality of buds or some other thing or may be the headphones may have some extra hidden wire for clear stereo signals besides the left and right channel or some way that othere headphones dont have. well i think so it works the same as fm stereo mode on sony mp3. that from cord sensitivty it produces the fm stereo effect

Edited June 8, 2007 by cool_rock

[fahad2mail]

ya, you are right. clear stereo works only with supplied headphone in s705f model. what is the ideal equlizer setting of this player? can anyone tell me?

[JustAnUnCoolCat]

Use whatever works for you, given the phones you have and what you are used to.

Me, it's whatever (on a given deck) translated to neutral/flat all the way

The cans i use do a pretty damn good job of taking neutal/flat EQ and reproducing just fine.

Guess it's definately a subjective thing this.

'Tom Kat'

[veggiemusician]

Thanks for the info. What kind of music do you typically listen to?

I listen to classical, pop and dance. Being a classical musician I like my classical music bassy and full - thats how it sounds sitting in orchestra!

[JustAnUnCoolCat]

In most respects, if you use a good set of phones that fairly proportional respond across the range, then most music translates pretty well without EQ.

Clearly, use EQ to make the audio a bit more prominent where you are used to hearing it in a certain way (VeggieMonster cited a good one, orchestral pieces... especially if you are used to hearing live performances, then having the right feel is kinda important).

Or use the EQ to compensate for phone deficiencies and/or hearing deficiences, if needed.

Clearly, listing to audio where there is quite a bit of background ambient noise/sound, almost certainly will have you EQing or raising vol, unless your phones are pretty good at attenuting outside sources.

But working on the principle of a quiet indoor use, i tended to test with classical orchestral (so many subtle and dramatic parts, it makes sense to include in a test) and really HQ live performance recordings.

Examples i would cite, of live stuff, was my legally legit recording of the Everly Brothers (a year or two old) when they performed at the Royal Albert Hall, and recordings of Joe Brown and The Bruvvers, Marty Wilde and The Wildcats, and same again on a different show combining the talents of all.

Definately no EQ required on the indoor setup, when playing back, definately no compelling reason to use EQ on my preferred cans - about the only examples of phones i'd eq with would be the MDR-EX71's or MDR-E818s. But since i dont use em no more for listening (the 71's sometimes get used as discrete monitoring items when i do outdoor stuff.. where 'cans' aint exactly subtle or discreet).

Generally speaking, without EQ, on the indoor setup or the decent cans, it's as close to being there as you can get (sure, there's a difference, there always will be, but good enough for me).

But no doubt, as i get older (bordering on 40 at the moment), my hearing will deteroriate and lose senstivity in some areas, so maybe in twenty years it'll be the reverse for me.. needing some EQ most of the time, but for now... well, it's not the case.

As i said before somewhere, go with what works