What Happened to the Graphic Equalizer? 

The best thing about the rack systems of the 80s were the lights. I used to sit there and just look at my stereo as the music played. All of my friends agreed that the eq was the favorite part of every system we owned. Today? I've got a black box sitting on my desk that you wouldn't even know if it were on or off. I truly honestly sincerely dislike being negative, but why in the world did the powers that be take away the very thing so many people from the 80s loved? The eq was the one thing we had control over. That's why we played with it so much. I didn't care so much about the "perfect" sound. My stereo was a toy to me. I wanted to be part of the action.

I would like to see someone do a detailed video of how to hook up a graphic eq to modern receivers, int, amps, avr's correctly. Personally I like to tweek the sound without having to navigate through menus etc. Love your channel.

I remember assembling a 5 band graphic equalizer for my stereo system in 1988. I still have it and love the V settings. It gives a special feeling when you tailor the sound output of your sound system. Regards for sharing your thoughts. _ Dr. Y. Karoli India

Modern audio equipment with zero frequency controls are a scam - I'm looking at you Bose

I used to have all 3 of the pioneer units you mentioned. One way I used them was to record on to a tape. Then play that tape in my 1974 Olds 98. Sounded awesome 😎

I think equalizers are getting popular again especially the ones with a spectrum analyzer. They look cool. I recently bought one for an old Teac reel to reel I have. Some tapes don’t sound as good as others. The EQ remedy’s that. Thanks for the video!

An interesting and lucid comment on EQ's. A friend had the SG-9500 EQ in 1978. I was impressed. i bought an ADC and in 1982 upgraded to the Sound Shaper Two IC. It has twelve bands per channel, output and meter adjustments, bidirectional dubbing and a swell subsonic filter (18dB/Oct@15Hz). What with standing waves, room nodes, crapola recordings and questionable speakers an EQ is a necessity. I prefer to use my EQ more as an elaborate tone control, tweaking the sound to suit my taste. I've never needed to boost or cut more than two or three dB's. People should know that EQ's don't have an amp, they use your main amp for power so (as you say) boost judiciously.

I bought a Kenwood 4600 in 1976 along with a Sony PS 3300 direct drive turntable the sound quality was great considering all other stereos I had before were not high fidelity, then I met a guy who had a equalizer on his hi-fi set an his music was playing so much more with a brilliant tone so I got a small 5 band per channel Sound Shaper an my music reproduction sounded superb, 25 yrs later i was hunting at a Goodwill an found a super mint BSR 12 band per channel equalizer for 15 bucks, hooked it up an it sounded phenomenal like a total more expensive sound system, it renewed my albums so much more an the tuner was out of this world.In 2022 I decided to clean all my function knobs causing static from dust an its sounding so incredibly dynamic.The sound system is over 40yrs old an i am 68yrs old it still serves me very well!!!

I just scored a like new Yamaha eq-550 for $19.99 at my local Goodwill!!! I paired it up with my pioneer SX 950 and it sounds amazing!!!!!! And look awesome too!!!

Equalizers are a vital , critical part of any hi-fi. Go ask Macintosh. £16,500 for an integrated amplifier if you please. What is on the front ? 8 dials to alter the tone of your system. The vast vast majority of CD's and Lp's are as flat as a fart, too boomy or too bright. Very rarely are they just right. Finding the right loudspeaker is a total impossibility at any price in my experience. Go to a rock gig - The mixing desk has hundreds of knobs to correct the sound . Why, because all rooms, situations, instruments are different. A hi-fi without tone controls or an equalizer is a trip to audio hell. Make the " traditional U-Shape on an equalizer, then all you ever need to alter is the bass and volume controls on the amp. While I am at it, no speaker should have a woofer of less than 12" diameter, and then put additional horn super-tweeters on top of the cabs, ones that will go to the highest Hz possible. Enjoy.

I recently used Detox D5 to fix the 22 sliders and other Potentiometers to restore proper contact. I also used silicon to restore easy movement of all 24 Potentiometers. I then went forth to replace the electrolytic capacitors here in my 1976 Soundcraftsmen PE-2217 Equalizer/PreAmp. In the process I found some boo boos. Capacitors that were supposed to be 4.7uf were instead 2.2uf. Anyhow I fix these bugs. Once fixed, things were so much better. I then played " Crystal Ball Carolin No - Topic ". That now shook my entire room with my 1976 home made speakers which range from 8Hz to 40 KHz with the help of newly added super tweeters. I then had to take my left speaker apart due to the vibration of the crossover inductor coils. I glued them to the PCB. Anyhow, each speaker has one 15" woofer, two dome mid-range drivers, and four tweeters. On top of each speaker is a Aperion Audio MKII Planar-Magnetic Flat Ribbon Super Tweeter Speaker. Things are now sounding really good indeed.

I still love the GEQ. A 10 band GEQ can do real magic to listening experience. Am searching the PCB. Thank you for this video.

Great chat. I've dug out my old SG300 from my shed to put in my new set-out, looks as cool as ever...may or may not connect it, but I loved it in the 80s

The Graphic Equaliser was not a means of boosting the overall sound of all or any part of the acoustic spectrum. What it did was balance the output of a modestly priced system, so it sounded like a much more expensive one. I have one with my system and is a Marantz EQ 561, which has a built in Pink Noise Generator & Microphone socket. Plug your mic into the eq and at the distance specified position the mic.Select left channel turn on the Pink NG adjust the master volume on your amp to level displayed on the display - adjust the slider controls until you have a flat line, or as close as you can get it on the centre of the slider + or - when satisfied your L Channel is balanced,, repeat for the Right Channel. You have just balanced and optimised the sound quality to your room acoustics. Some musicians + others may have acute sense of tone and therefore able to make slight adjustments to compensate for their personal preference, but note you make the smallest adjustments necessary, or you will blow your speakers or even overheat your amp, esp in class a mode.

So cool Bruce I can remember theses I had one in the day I really loved it . Thanks for sharing I love your videos.

I agree that using a graphic EQ shouldn't be excessive - you should never drive your amp to the point where it clips because that will damage your speakers. But if your amp has the necessary head-room, and if your speakers also have the necessary headroom, then using an EQ to flatten out the power curve of your speakers - so long as you don't over drive them beyond their physical capability then EQs are great at fixing non-linear power curves (to a certain extent) or defects in recordings.

I've been using graphic-EQ's since the 70s. My first was the 10-band Soundcraftsmen 2012. It came with a test/calibration record which I still have. I later upgraded that unit with the "next gen" Soundcrafstmen 2215. The 2215 was all "IC" based and the original IC's are no longer considered audio-grade today. No wonder audiophiles HATE EQ's! I upgraded those chips using modern 14-pin (quad) high-end low noise audio op-amps. Today I use that re-built (1988 vintage) EQ on my "upstairs" system. My main (basement) system utilizes an Ashley 15 band EQ (scratch&dent) purchased in 2012. The Ashley unit is a "constant-Q" EQ and uses dedicated high grade low-noise op-amps for each band. EQ's are GREAT if you know how set each octave. The Soundcraftsmen test record uses "warble tones" with Fletcher-Munson gain compensation. It takes a while to train your ear to recognize and split music into 10 bands, (octaves). But once you learn what to listen for, you can set and tweak bands with confidence "by ear" by just focusing on various instruments. I really don't know of any third party test record (or CD) that you can use to "tune" a generic EQ to the room other than the LP that came with the Soundcraftsmen. I learned a lot about sound quality, room acoustics and human hearing limitations just by listening to those "warble tones" over the years. As far as I'm concerned EQ's are a MUST unless you live in an anechoic chamber. Even the best headphones can benefit from a properly set EQ. NO headphone available has a perfectly flat response from 20-20k. It's all based on personal preference and musical taste.

I had one back in the 80s and I am thinking of picking up one again for my cassette deck as some tapes need a top boost or bass boost.

I have always used them, I'm 66, but it is getting harder to hook them up as you said. That's why I found you.

I used to have a Fisher one back in the 80's but after a while I found that the standard bass & treble controls on my amp was sufficient.

I used to be a physical stereo audiophile but these days i do everything through my pc, so no physical equalizer, but definitely use a software one at all times on the pc, i've never heard any speaker that gives me the highs and lows i like without some tweaking.

Excellent points. I am looking at buying a decent integrated amp, but I want tone controls on it, since room acoustics and recordings vary. In Live Sound and DJ applications, we still use EQ's. The Send Return Loop replaced the Tape Monitor loop. Flat sound should only be for Active Studio Monitors. Extended listening at flat response can be a very fatiguing experience. EQ's and Tone controls help with that.

Loved this video I found it very informative.

Yeah I had a couple of them back then....and have 2 now....yes I liked changing the sounds...nice to have, you use and yes you need that tape monitor....

I have a parametric and I really love it

Great video, thanks for the explanation! I had wondered about this for quite a while. It even seems to me that a simple bass and treble control are often hidden within menus on modern home theater receivers. I had even heard at one point that graphic equalizers were just plain bad. (Something I embarrassing uttered at a recording studio flushing my credibility until the next hour when I proved I did in fact know a lot). Never heard about the tape monitor before.

I used to believe there shouldn't be anything between my play source and amplifier, but your right. Not all media were mastered optimally for sound. An equalizer can do wonders fine tuning certain frequencies for a more pleasurable listening experience. P.S I DON'T like anyone who calls themselves an "audiophile". They're stooges imo.

I knew people in the 70s and 80s that had equalizers. They usually pushed all of the sliders to the top. Very lively but crappy sound. LOL

I had a 1994 Chrysler Concorde with the infinity sound system. It’s stereo had a graphic equalizer. 5 band. That car had one heck of a sound system. Then later I had a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 with a two band graphic equalizer. It was a very good sound system too. But to this day I’ve never heard another car have as good of a stereo system as that 1994 Chrysler Concorde.

i still think graphic equalizer is a great thing. it should back again.

iam a great fan of EQ since 1987 and i still using GE for my for Home theater after the room corrections. i like the sound with more trebles and bass and less mid. most of the AVR and seperates comes with GE. there is no tone control wich can replace the GE but it vanished somehow.

I had that pioneer graphic rigged up to a JVC amp, and it done what it was meant to. I regret getting rid, but as you say, time moves on. I never took to CD's, I had a Sharp RT3151 tape deck, and I recorded on TDK SAX tapes, for a long time, then I bought Denon 100s, and that my friends is the best repro quality of all commercial cassette tapes. Nov. 2023, I'm looking to getting another graphic, they are still the business, but selecting the right one might be difficult.

the newest audio equipment I have is my pioneer vsx d1s. In fact it is paired to the pioneer gr 777. All my other equipment is from the 70's and early 80's. I like the eq to get a warm rich sound out of my system.

I bought one because I didn't like the sound of my expensive new hifi installation. I had big speakers and these demanded a bit of volume to shine but I wanted in my smaller room something that would shine at low volume. With the equalizer I could realize that but I realized short pathways are best and now I had added another element with noise and distortion. It seemed like buying an amplifier with excellent specs and then ruining those, was not the way to go. The thing got hot too and this meant substantial power consumption. Finally I gave it away.

I'm here because my 2003 Honda has a graphic equalizer that I use everyday for music I'm trying to understand it thanks for your info interesting how they're not used anymore that sucks

EQ helps with my cheap blue tooth. I’m a bass head EQ does what I’m looking for

There’s really no reason not to have one today, especially if you have a receiver and enjoy vinyl, cassette or even streaming (although there is eq within Spotify settings) .. friends come by and love the sound and interaction w my vintage Yamaha Natural Sound eq! It’s funny how people in the audio community will talk down a product (for example a record pressing or a phono cartridge) and yet they don’t have any EQ on their system to fine tune the sound.

I use a Technics SH-8017, it's OK. The electronics are very good. The plastic and tin case are not very good, at all. There are such drastic differences between mixes from gentle 1980's recordings to blown out everything in most modern mixes. It makes an EQ a necessity.

I’ve been looking for an eq for awhile…can’t find anything that’s quality…just radio shack stuff….love that pioneer eq…nice find⭐️

The adc soundshapers were the only ones that really did something

I miss having the tape monitor circuit which made it super easy to install an EQ. I like my music to sound fun not generic like the standard controls present.

Still enjoying my red led lit Yamaha equalizer also have a spectrum analyzer and a 3u big spectrum analyzer on the way ...always wanted the technic ge90 spectrum dsp eq but they want like 1500 for them now and I refuse

cleaning and recapping my 1985 12 band equalizer. Still works, but a little cracking and popping. ,,Audio recordings are terrible from the 70's and early 80's. EQ as a preamp makes a big difference. Nice video. Yeah and I'm a Boomer too.

I had one like that, I took it to the rubbish dump. I should of kept it because it was good. I now use a technics EQ in my system. It’s very good but my V curve is very shallow.

equalizers were always good and still are. you can bump up OR takeaway certain frequencies that your speaker may over or underproduce

yeah I miss the eq spectrum display I wish the new av receivers have spectrum analyzer that would be a great seller I think. I would be the first to get one.

I remember seeing those levers in my parent's audio gear in the 90's, they never messed with them and neither did I. I could see why they disappeared if people didn't use them and not many people complained about their deletion.

I just brought a Techniques Sh-z 200 because I brought a gold ring E3 and a project mm preamp and it's to bright apparently the preavamp is bright and the ealiptical stilli exaggerated agrated it I hooked it up and low and behold it fixes the problem with out any use it must match the impedance properly at it needs less than 47k

I have an yamaha eq-70 , do not listen to music without it , got to have it.

My new car stereo has a 13 band graphic equalizer & I hate it

Yes bring them.back i.have one but I don't know if can hook it up to.5.1 receiver

I have so many! It's an addiction 🤣

When I grew up in the 70's and 80's the only thing I used a graphic equalizer for was to add a bit more bass. TBH I couldn't be bothered messing around with all the different sliders, I just found out how to add some bass, set it to that and left it.

Audiofiles... What's wrong with tuning to taste? Everyone has different ears and different tonal rages that we respond to. Is it blasphemy to make minor tasteful adjustments even if it means its not true to the recording... I have a "dbx 215s" graphic equalizer plumbed into my system. I can bypass it or inline it. Sometimes I like to add a touch of color. Please don't shoot me audiofiles! :)

It is a shame EQ are not manufactured anymore...

Bring th39 back manufacturer s

as far as fancy hifi goes... graphic eqs don't really sound as great as normal eqs by design....

Baby Boomers like to tinker with there stereo systems. I still have my ADC sound shaper SS-10 & works just fine for me ! 🍺👍

They're crap! I used to sell the full entire Bose line 35-years ago. Even at my cost then @ $178, they are barely a decent value prop. Bose is a Marketing company that takes advantage of consumers that just don't know any better. All of their classic designs are now discontinued. Why? Because customers can hear dozens of competitors that outperform them for the same price or less. They make products out of cheap components that sound ordinary at best compared to a lot of other speaker lines. They hide their specs because they're shite. Gah... Recommending Bose is such a disservice to the general public when you have Wharfedale, KEF, Elac and so many other choices out there at entry-level pricing. Good gawd, man!