by michael on February 17, 2010
Equalizers (EQ) are great tools for fine tuning those little frequencies that is missing in your system.
EQs cannot be applied to solve foundation problems. In fact the more EQ is being used the worst off the system can be tonally.
Our goal is to naturally EQ the system using as much as possible, cable, power management and associated equipment etc., while maintaining an external EQ to fill in the minor missing gaps.
EQs must be flexible, less digital inclined and should not alter the tonal palette drastically.
It should be analog sounding where possible and have a good solid power supply section. EQs can help restore some voltage drop by enhancing back the signal before it is fed to the amplifiers or next chain of equipment.
That is all EQs should do. It is not a magical wand to cure system problem. It is an aid and not a cure.
Without EQs, a system can sound lonely, a tad dry and subdued (depending on systems). EQs enhances the presence, brings back hat little that is missing without overdose.
At Audio Creations (AC), we use Audio Control (AC) not because it is synonymous with AC but due to it’s long standing solidity and quality. We are experts with AC units and we know how to identify which units are better than others and what joys it can bring you, and what it cannot do.
We highly recommend modifications for EQs and crossovers (primarily AC units) by means capacitor upgrades and high-end modules. They make significant tonal benefits and improve the grip and control in the music material. We offer these mods, for both new and used alike.
Know the boundaries of what an EQ can do, and it can be a useful tool to bring you a step up in your car audio system.
Enjoy tuning….
by michael on February 16, 2010
Subwoofers!! Can’t live without one, yet some people are trying ways to do without them. Can we come up with a good car audio system without one? We cannot lie to you, the answer is NO.
I have seen many “champions” spend thousands on a good imported subwoofer but expect to get it all up and running for lows couple of hundred ringgit (RM). You see that commonly in Malaysia because imported car audio equipment is expensive here due to the weak currency, hefty shipping and high-taxes. Therefore people tend to stinge on the application and installs.
Subwoofers like any speaker driver sounds as good as how you build them. Enclosure, crossover and placement all plays an important part. In other countries, one may spend as much on making the enclosure right as they have invested on the subwoofer driver itself. Some people even build a couple of enclosure to see which ones works best and sounds best in their system.
Sometimes it takes a long time for a person to decide on what subwoofer to buy, but the minute they get it, they rushed for the installers to slap it into a box. Guess what, the choice is usually the smallest sealed enclosure. What if the bass is too hard and does not go low? Stuff it with polyfill?
Building a right enclosure is not rocket science nor it’s a simple task especially in a car audio environment. It is still a tough nut to crack but with the right expertise, equipment and know-how, you’ll fall in-love with your subwoofer again. It can be a budget JL audio WO, to expensive JL audio W7, to exotics like Scanspeak 23w and Phase Aliante, all the same rules apply.
You don’t need an expensive subwoofer per se. Look at home audio subwoofers, many of them use reasonably affordable drivers, no where high-end! Yet, some home audio ones are very expensive (an indication would be rm5,000-rm15,000). Why? Because it has a built in plate amplifier? Could seem like a good reason but it is not. We know the prices of those plate amplifiers.Â
Remember to spend wisely. Equal amounts to material, application and install. Efficiency, displacement and tuning goes a long way.