BRZ EQ Settings - Frequency Response Curve Test

[TM]

Thanks! I'll be using your settings when I pick up my new BRZ today.

[ean611]

So I tried settings listed in original post. I think metering was done in wrong location, as it resulted in a flat sound that I couldn't use. I fired up my tuning equipment and here is the result. (All measurements made at drivers ears, yes this matters)

I can't do anything about the low bass response. You can clearly hear that 40-80Hz range is overboosted. If you see the fall off, that is 100Hz, meaning attempting to further adjust 100Hz will either overboost the low end (wide band filter) or over cut 100-150Hz range.

There is a bit of a gap around 200Hz, not much I can do about it with just the head unit. Also a small issue in the lower midrange (500-600Hz), but again, nothing can be done. Also, most people won't hear that.

The upper end is as flat as I could make it. There is a minor gap from 3.5-5KHz, but adjusting the 6.3KHz slider or the 2.5Khz slider hurt more than it helped.

The results as you can see are FAR different from what avholic came up with. I'm not sure the hardware used, but here is my setup.

Pink noise generation by RoomEqWizard V5 (Google Home Theater Shack if you want this)
Alesis IO2 USB phantom power interface. This does the A/D and D/A so the PC sound card doesn't have to.
DBX RTA-M. Reference mic used for RTA and sound analysis.

Once I had this EQ setting, I'm now at the edge of what I can do, as for better sound, I'd need better amps, possibly better tweeter, and much better tuning capability. I do not want to add weight to the car, so this is a challenge.

EDIT: The rears sound like shit. You'll see the way I dealt with that was to use F2 for fader settings. This will absolutely effect the response curve, as I had a different curve before I added F2 setting.. As for R1 vs R2, that's personal taste. I used R1 because I found R2 attenuated the left channel too much, while R1 is close, but not enough.

[Shanahan]

Audio is very subjective and every ear hears it a little different. The "best" settings are what sound BEST to you. I have done a lot of audio tuning, mostly home and some commercial AV, & a few auto SQL setups over the years. I haven't gotten any of the microphones out, just tweaked by ear to what I like the best. I first tried avholic's settings and it felt very dead to me. By ear I ended up closer to ean611's settings. I don't know if there is a difference in speakers or amps, between the FR-S and BRZ. I am running the BRZ Fujitsu Ten in an FR-S. I can say for sure the FR-S pioneer had a better overall sound than the Fujitsu Ten, too bad it had 0 features and looks like a turd.

[white_knight]

Personally, the system is severely lacking in basic 'loudness'. Needed a mere boost to bass and treble. These settings worked for me across a range of styles - R&B, dance, rock, etc.



I kept the position to zero.

Hope these settings work for you

[ean611]

Originally Posted by white_knight

Personally, the system is severely lacking in basic 'loudness'. Needed a mere boost to bass and treble. These settings worked for me across a range of styles - R&B, dance, rock, etc.

Attachment 35602

I kept the position to zero.

Hope these settings work for you

You are correct in that this radio does not have Loudness. This is a VERY good thing, as Loudness sucks. Loudness is a non-linear EQ setting that boosts bass and treble at low volume. That being said, the Bass is already over boosted as is prior to any EQ settings, and the lower midrange cut there is a bit harsh.

[wheelhaus]

Agreed the "loudness" setting on most stereo systems is terrible. For anyone wondering, by "non-linear" it simply means that the EQ effect is applied differently at different volume levels. This may sound like a cool idea, but in practice it only screws up the overall EQ, often making the music sound tinny and muddy/boomy at the same time. Personally I think it should go the way of the dinosaur. The BRZ's 7-band EQ is light years better than what a generic loudness setting could offer.

[xxscaxx]

I used OP's settings but kept the stage at the center, not back to R4. Sounds great now. I didn't like it with the stage towards the rear.


Thanks!

[slalaz]

I tried your settings and it's great! But I still seem to prefer EQ3 or EQ2. But sometimes I feel it's a bit too pitchy even though I feel that it has more bass. Just from my ear (I'm not experienced in this field). Think you can tell me what exactly am I liking rather than your settings?

~just got my car today btw! And first thing I wanted to twiddle was the audio :P

[Blue86]

[QUOTE=wheelhaus;403763]An "ideal" audio system is one that can reproduce the original recording exactly as it was recorded. This means it produces a flat frequency response, so the speakers are actually producing measurably even response across the 20-20000Hz range in the environment. Most albums are mastered in a recording studio for perfect balance and sound quality, but not many people have a studio, or a dedicated listening room that has perfect acoustics and sound reproduction. Most listeners don't want a perfectly flat response, they want the music to have a little color, as the OP stated, warm, rich sound isn't perfectly flat.

I'm gonna agree with most of your informative post except the bit about recording studios. The reality is that on good audio gear most commercial releases sound like garbage!

Commercial music is most often played on shitty radios and iPod headphones etc. I am convinced these factors play into the way it is mastered.

[tedddee]

So I've played with the EQ and position quite a bit now and have finally settled.

I'm using the EQ settings from ean611 and the sound position suggestion from avholic.

My biggest gripe with the whole system is how much the car rattles with bass. My 10 year old Impreza has no rattles and I've never done anything to it. The fronts on the BRZ are really heavy on the bass, so I've found putting it back to Rear4 and Right2 allows me to play music at a decently loud volume without hearing the door and window rattle.

ean611's EQ settings sound a bit better IMHO compared to avholic's, as they aren't as bass heavy. I cannot, however, agree with ean611 on the front speaker bias. Too. Much. Rattle.
While the rears are pretty terrible, R3 or R4 still puts a decent amount of sound through the front and overall it sounds pretty good. Leaving it center or moving it to F1 or F2 just puts way too much bass through the fronts. Any hip hop or techno with a deep bass just rattles, rattles, rattles. So aggravating.

Mainly I would just like to say thanks to both of you guys for putting in some time on this for the rest of us! In the end I was just looking for a way to be happy with the stock system, and you guys provided. After I'm done with suspension upgrades, maybe I'll look into putting some dynamat in.

[ean611]

Originally Posted by tedddee

So I've played with the EQ and position quite a bit now and have finally settled.

I'm using the EQ settings from ean611 and the sound position suggestion from avholic.

My biggest gripe with the whole system is how much the car rattles with bass. My 10 year old Impreza has no rattles and I've never done anything to it. The fronts on the BRZ are really heavy on the bass, so I've found putting it back to Rear4 and Right2 allows me to play music at a decently loud volume without hearing the door and window rattle.

ean611's EQ settings sound a bit better IMHO compared to avholic's, as they aren't as bass heavy. I cannot, however, agree with ean611 on the front speaker bias. Too. Much. Rattle.
While the rears are pretty terrible, R3 or R4 still puts a decent amount of sound through the front and overall it sounds pretty good. Leaving it center or moving it to F1 or F2 just puts way too much bass through the fronts. Any hip hop or techno with a deep bass just rattles, rattles, rattles. So aggravating.

Mainly I would just like to say thanks to both of you guys for putting in some time on this for the rest of us! In the end I was just looking for a way to be happy with the stock system, and you guys provided. After I'm done with suspension upgrades, maybe I'll look into putting some dynamat in.

Well, I can't provide more info now, as I've dumped Hybrid Audio L6 in the doors, L3V2, L1V2 and L2x into dashboard, and L3 in the rear.

FYI, I've used zero sound deadener in the car. Good results so far. This car does not need much acoustic tuning. That being said, The rattles, I may use very small amounts of mass loader (dynamat butyl rubber is mass loader) on the rattles. With a little bit of power, the doors produce some nice bass.

[G_Rossney]

SVC (Source Volume Control) - I'm guessing this allows you to increase or decrease the volume for each source. If the BT Audio is much quieter than the Radio you can increase it.

ASL (Automatic Sound Levelizer) - Usually a setting to increase volume as the car increases speed.

[MFPC]

Hey OP, just dropping by to say that I really appreciated the eq settings. It was a night and day difference between the factory settings and yours.

Thanks again!

[DoomsdayJesus]

Want to try this and saw the other posted settings, but am I the only one who can't see the OP settings?