Graphic Equalizer Settings For Music
Cameron Fluet
While most people will simply flip on the radio or load up Spotify to listen to music, audiophiles like to dig a bit deeper and customize their experience. This often comes in the form of adjustments to the equalizer, which offers the freedom to tweak every aspect of the sound booming out of headphones or speakers. Even some streaming services now have built-in EQs, giving you more ways than ever to play with your music and find something that best fits your ears.
There are several reasons why you might want to use some EQ on your music, and they range from simple personal preference to more complex reasons such as format quality/characteristics and, perhaps most importantly, the effects that the devices and playback systems we use have on the music we listening to.
At its most basic definition, an equalizer manipulates frequencies. The technology first took off as a piece of analog electronics that was initially used in recording studios before making its way into the home. Whether analog or digital, an EQ is used to adjust different elements of sound to achieve an end result that appeals to the listener.
Some streaming services have EQ slider adjustment options baked into their apps, such as the ones in the desktop versions of Apple Music (the iOS version only has presets) and Spotify (has it on the desktop and mobile apps). These will actually show you what the frequency curve looks like when you select a preset. This can help you understand what different EQ settings can do for you. Other services, such as Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited, YouTube Music, and Qobuz, do not offer native EQing options.
While humans can technically hear down to the depths of this register, most of these frequencies are less cerebral and more gut. Somewhere in the middle of this register is where your subwoofer will make that eerie sound of deep space in sci-fi movies, and these frequencies can add some serious, unearthly power. However, you would very rarely want to add more of this sound, and taking away from here can help give the music more overall clarity.
The majority of the time, a stalwart hip-hop groove will start at or around 60Hz. The foundational, big-hitting lower register that spouts forth from your subwoofer rests in this domain, including the heavy punch of the kick drum, and even lower tom drums and bass guitar. Moving up toward the 200Hz line begins to affect the very lowest boom of acoustic guitars, piano, vocals, lower brass, and strings. If the music is too darn heavy, or not heavy enough down low, a bit of an adjustment here will help.
This area is a touchy one that can change the sound quickly. Putting on the brakes in this region can take away the brittle sound of instruments. Adding some juice, especially toward the top end, can give things a metallic touch, and can wear down your ears quickly if pushed.
As mentioned above, this register is where your ears aim a lot of their focus. Adding or subtracting here can raise or lower the snap of higher instrumentation quickly. Sounds like the pop of snare, and the brash blare of a trumpet can all be affected here. Adding a little push here can give more clarity to vocal consonances, as well as acoustic and electric guitar and piano.
Raising or decreasing the level at the lower end of this register can help bring some vibrancy and clarity, adding a tighter attack and a more pure sound. If things are a little too sharp or causing some pain after listening for too long, lowering the bottom end of this register can help out quite a bit. Toward the top is where things start to space out into less tangible definition, moving away from what you can hear and more toward what you can feel. That shimmering resonance at the tip of a cymbal crash floats around in the regions of this space.
We're all familiar with music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. While these streaming giants are widely used, there are other platforms you can choose from. However, we need to ask ourselves if any music streamer offers extra features for its listeners, particularly in terms of audio quality and personalized recommendations. One does, and it is called .
Deezer has been around for almost two decades and is a platform that prioritizes premium sound quality while still being affordable for most people. There is a lot to know about Deezer, so we have created this helpful guide to give you a solid idea of the platform.
What is Deezer?
Whether your home hi-fi system is a beautiful vintage receiver and speakers, a modern pair of powered speakers, or something in between, adding a dedicated network music streamer to your setup is one of the best ways to bring hi-quality digital music from your streaming services or local files to life.
These internet-connected devices come in all shapes, sizes, budgets, and capabilities, and they work with the latest and best streaming music subscription services, from Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal to Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer, and more. Connectivity options with network music streamers are vast, making them easy to hook up through input/outputs such as RCA, optical, USB, XLR, HDMI, Bluetooth, AirPlay, Chromecast, and many more. Some network music streamers have their own built-in amplifiers so you just need to add speakers, while most are meant to bring all that excellent digital sound to your existing system.
Spotify already has one of the best music discovery and playlist creation UIs in the biz, so where does the world's biggest music streaming service have left to go? Why, AI text prompts, of course. That's right, Spotify has announced that it is beta testing a new AI Playlist feature that will allow users to use text descriptions to curate playlists.
Available to Spotify Premium users in Australia and the U.K (for now) on Android and iOS devices, the AI Playlist feature can be found in the app's "Your Library" section, where you'll be able to tap the "+" icon to find the new AI Playlist (beta) menu. Here, you can select one of the premade suggested prompts or you can get creative and type in your own.
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A graphic equalizer (graphic EQ) is a high-fidelity audio control that enables the user to improve sound quality. Sound quality captured by sources, such as microphones and instrument pickups, is adjusted by changing the individual frequency bands of the audio.
Audio equalization itself is a process of adjusting the frequency balance within an electrical signal. The primary use of EQs is to adjust the frequency response of audio, which is done by boosting or cutting the energy of different frequency ranges -- or bands. This process is generally simple and can affect the quality of the audio. Musicians or audio engineers use EQs to balance different elements of a song and create more clarity within the audio.
The graphic equalizer got its name for the way its slide controls resemble a graph -- with the EQ's response and frequency on the Y and X axis accordingly. Graphic EQs are commonly found in car audio speaker systems, home theaters, recording studios and middle- and high-end stereophonic audio systems. Graphic equalizer programs are also available for use in fine-tuning sound in a PC. They are well-suited for live sound environments, where an engineer can make quick decisions with clearly marked sliders.
Graphic EQs work by boosting or cutting predetermined bands to improve sound quality. The bands are set within a fixed range. Graphic EQs send incoming audio to a set of filters that pass audio based on their assigned band. The user moves up or down the slide controls labeled in decibels to boost or cut the energy passed through each band. The slide potentiometers for each channel are placed side by side, with the lowest frequency on the left and the highest frequency on the right. In this way, the positions of the buttons appear to follow a graphical curve. There are also various types of EQs, with graphic EQs being just one type.
A typical graphic equalizer consists of several audio filters or amplifiers, each centered at a specific frequency in the audio range. Most graphic EQs have two identical sets of filters or amplifiers, one for each channel in a stereophonic sound system. Incoming audio is sent to a set of filters that pass audio based on frequency range. The user can boost or cut the energy passed by each band by using the slider controls.
Graphic EQs typically divide sound into six or 31 bands of frequency, with a slider controlling each band. The number of filters used depends on the EQ. For example, EQs with filters spaced one-third of an octave apart with three filters to an octave would be a one-third octave equalizer. The more filters per octave, the more control the user has over EQ responsiveness. For example, the center frequency of each band in a 31-band graphic equalizer is one-third of an octave apart from the center frequencies.
If the treble is too loud on a track, for example, cutting one of the higher frequency bands can soften it. Likewise, if there is too much bass, lowering a slider on one of the lower frequency bands will fix it. However, making just slight adjustments can change the sound significantly.
High-pass and low-pass filters are used to set limits. High-pass filters cut low frequencies while letting high frequencies pass through, and low-pass filters cut high frequencies while enabling low frequencies to pass through. So, for example, producers can use high-pass filters to cut the low basses, while using low-pass filters to avoid higher frequency sounds like cymbals from bleeding. Bleeding occurs when one audio source output leaks into another audio source's input.
Parametric equalizers are multi-band variable equalizers that enable the user to control each band's amplitude, center frequency and bandwidth. Parametric EQs boost and cut amplitude, shift the center frequency up or down, and widen or narrow the bandwidth of each band. This type of EQ enables precise adjustments and audio engineers can pinpoint particular frequencies in recording and mixing studios.
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