I have a Pioneer MP3 player and a Perf. Tek. amp with built in equalizer. Also Kicker S12L5 sub. Currently I'm only using what's built in the player and amp. I was just thinking if it was worth adding an equalizer to made sound better (clean high, mid, and low freq.). And if it is worth it, which kind would you suggest?

input appreciated.

 

i used to have a performance teknique amp, hows that goin 4 ya, i wasnt too impressed with mine.

equalizer is good if you really want to have more adjustability of your music. if your HU already has a 7+ band equalizer you may already be in good shape. my HU only has a 3 band EQ, low, mid, high. i would see more of a benefit from an EQ. maybe a crossover for your highs to get better seperation of mids and highs.

 

Look for an old ERA- or (ERE- if it's for subs) model alpine or go digital with a PRA- or PXA- model, it can make any system sound good, even your Frioneer, sorry just old shop smack-talk coming out. Oh yeah, and square subs aren't the best for SQ, so if your L5s are like the L7s maybe you could look into some JL W3v2, W6v2 or a W7 if you got the loot and the juevos. Oh yeah and a simple Audiocontrol 3.1 or 4.1 gives good flexibility and increases S/N ratio and lowers %THD as well as boosting output voltage to the amp (more powerful signal voltage usually equals less work/heat for the amp and gives more headroom in tuning, i.e. free power, or at least cleaner). Oh yeah and you can find one for less than you'd pay to get into a movie these days, same with the Alpine ERA-G320, etc.. Oh yeah, and sealing componenets and/or coax speakers also helps make sound 'cleaner' and 'tighter'; just a few inexpensive, experience-proven points I thought might help. Good luck.

 

totaly worth it.......................I have the kicker 5 band KQ5, and the 30 band KQ30. check it out .

http://www.kicker.com/ShowPage.cfm?f...ml&menu=SIGNAL

you can really notice a diff when you turn it on and turn it off. really.

 

Is this amp that you have running the Kicker sub? Or your interiors? If just the sub what is running your interiors? If the HU is, then an EQ wouldnt do a thing as they are all passive and would require an amp....

--Don

 

Performance Teknique - I think it's a nice amp for it's money but NOTHING even close to others I heard.
The amp I have, ICBM774, is a 4-channel amp that's powering my front Kicker components and the kicker amp. So right now I'm only using 3 channels and it still works and the sub still bumps!

My Pioneer has only highs, mids, and lows and bunch of other settings that I'm not really satisfied with.

I was looking at alpines and kickers before, but those things are d@mn expensive! Going to look into crossovers more too. Thanks!

 

Ideally, you should not need an EQ at all. If you get good equipment, use good mounting locations, use correct enclosures, use correct crossover frequencies, and set gains properly, you can achieve very good sound with no equalization. An equalizer is really a bandaid for system deficiencies.

Nobody here can determine if your system has deficiencies that need correcting without actually hearing it. But if you think you have all of the equipment set up properly and the system still doesn't sound good enough to you, then you might get better results with an EQ.

 

i have an eq and love it. i can turn down vocals and turn up the bass. i love tweaking the system. you can see it on page 2 of my homepage

 

I always found a tremendous increase in sound quality when adding an EQ. If you have the dollars to spend, do it.

 

i have a space below my single receiver and want to fill it with something. is it a good idea to fill it with a cheapo eq from ebay?

 

well, again, thanks for all your input

I just realized one thing - I am going HU-less very soon. I'm going to install my CarPC and wire it straigh to the amp. So I think EQ will be a must in this setup to achieve best quality possible.

Now, I have a few more questions: what exactly should I look in EQ? I know I've seen 5-band, 7-band, 9-band, etc. What else is there to look for? Again, I've seen some nice Alpines and Kickers, any other brand worth checking out? Quality and price -wise?

 

I don't know man. It's all your choice, but if you do it - do it right the first time. I think you should either wait for a good deal on something or not do it at all for now (meaning save up and get soemthing nice).

 

I have an Audio Control EQ, and they are great! You set them one time to the acoustics of your car and you're done. I have a four-channel one for more flexibility. I think those in-dash EQ's are useless. They are just considered for "tone" control and not really "equalizing". The Audio Control has more controls and frequencies for the overall band. Look at the pic in the far left corner, this is the EQ. Sorry for the messy pic, but my setup is behind the seat, so you don't really see it.

 

Sorry, I don't mean to be rude or flame. But your wiring job looks like a major fire hazard to me What the hell are you using for power wire "solid copper core home electrical wiring"? That power wire looks stiff as a board.

 

EQ's are great preamp's- generally have a built in line driver which increases the voltage sent to your amplifiers- higher the voltage signal, lower the gains on the amp=less distortion to your speakers

An EQ should be used to lower peaks and not raise valley's in the frequency respose- too much boost to a frequency can introduce clipping

I personally like dash mounted Eq's for on the fly adjustments.....This is my brother's setup

 

buahaha- yup looks like time for a clean rewire

 

Believe it or not, this is high quality wiring. It just looks messy because of the electrical tape covering all the butt connectors for splicing. Believe me, my system pounds and I don't use anything cheap when it comes down to wiring anything it the car. Not a fire hazard. Just for added protection from shorts. I rarely have shorts and secure everything I mod in my car. But, thanks for the comment, though.

 

MixxMaxx - what component is to the right of the eqx?

 

I had a AudioControl 4.1 mounted in my center console for a couple of years, and while there was the initial coolness factor of being able to adjust on the go, after I had it set right I almost never touched it. I just needed it mainly for it's line driver.

I don't think a dash mount EQ offers enough adjustability and often is just another unnecessary component. It's no replacement for a true 1/3 Oct EQ.

 

It's a Kicker amp to power both sets of my components. This is a great amp that runs stable at 2 Ohms.