Equalization Graph Adjustment

This page introduces the basic concept of the Stereo Workstation Software Equalizer. To really see what the Software can do you should also take a look at the Disc Session Concept section.

The old Analog Graphic Equalizers had two rows of vertical sliders, one row for the left channel and the other for the right channel. The sliders could be independently set to arbitrary positions creating a kind of graphic representation (the Analog Equalization Graph) of the characteristic that was desired.

Stereo Workstation Software enables a continuous equalization characteristic (the Digital Equalization Graph) to be drawn and viewed on the Monitor display screen. Almost any conceivable Graph can be created to provide better Sonic Performance in the normal audio range from 20 Hz to 20000 Hz. Independent left and right Graphs can be specified or a single Adjustment can be drawn that will be used for both channels.

It is necessary to separate the Equalization Adjustment into a Baseline Adjustment and a Track Adjustment. The Baseline Adjustment is the Adjustment that would exist if your CD/DVD Discs or Music files were perfect and represents the Equalization Adjustment for Your System. The Stereo Workstation Computer Aided Adjustment feature will guide you in generating quick and accurate Baseline Adjustments for your system. A Track Adjustment is the Adjustment that would exist if your System was perfect and represents the Equalization Adjustment for a particular Track. Each Track on every Disc and every Music file will probably need a different Track Adjustment. The Track Adjustment added to the Baseline Adjustment is the actual effective Total Equalization Adjustment that is implemented by Stereo Workstation Software.

The Baseline Adjustment will only need to be generated once unless the system equipment changes, and this includes changes to the room. As many Baseline Adjustments as needed can be stored on the computer hard disk and any one of them can be installed as the Current Baseline at any time.

A unique Track Adjustment can be stored and retrieved for each Track on every Disc or every Music file. The following image shows a typical Track Adjustment as it would appear on the Stereo Workstation Monitor display screen:

The light blue Track Adjustment was drawn using a Graphics Tablet. Starting at the low frequency end of the graph it is seen that there is a slight low frequency boost. Moving to the right the gain falls off to a small upper bass attenuation. Continuing to the right the gain comes back up and then drops off for an upper midrange attenuation ending in a treble frequency boost.

The real problem with Analog Equalizers was a user interface issue. To adjust the Analog Equalizer you would have to listen to some Music at the normal listening position, jump up and run over to the equalizer (which rarely could be located close by), make the adjustment, run back to the listening position to evaluate the effect, then run back to the equalizer to make another adjustment, and so on until the correct equalization characteristic was realized. If You could live with the noise and non-linear problems associated with these equalizers then eventually, after a lot of work, an Analog Equalization Adjustment setting might be found that actually did improve the Sonic Performance. But play something else and you would have to go through another long adjustment process and there was no way to store and retrieve the previous Adjustment. The net effect is that these Analog Equalizers were essentially useless as practical Sonic Performance improvement tools. Stereo Workstation Software allows you to remain at your normal listening position, while making adjustments, and has the capacity to store as many Baseline Adjustments and Track Adjustments as needed.