Equalizer - what is it? What is an equalizer for?

Many are used to think that the quality of the sound depends on the characteristics of the speakers themselves, and the more expensive the speakers, the better the sound. But this is not so. In the article we will talk about the equalizer. Who does not know, the equalizer is a program or a device for flexible sound settings. Of course, this is not a complete definition, but we'll talk about it below in the text.

Definition

Thunderblock, EQ, EQ are all the same. The definition sounds like this: it is a program or a device designed to raise or lower the volume of various areas of the frequency range of sound. Equalizer is able to equalize the entire amplitude of the frequencies and the characteristic of the signal itself as a whole. It is important to know that this program or device works only with an audio signal and adjusts it selectively, depending on the frequency selected.

This definition is complex and ordinary user understand the whole point is difficult, so now - in simple words. Equalizer is a program (in this case) that works with separate audio frequencies. As you know, there are low frequencies and high. Low - it's a bass, high - falsetto, or as it is called - squeak. So, the equalizer can lower or increase the volume of these areas. But the sound can be divided not only into two frequencies, it is divided into n frequencies. So the equalizer has several bands, the eight-band variant is more common.

Most often this program is used in the audio industry, but now let's talk about how it can help an ordinary person.

Types of equalizers

Just want to say that there are two types of equalizers, but they perform the same function - they change the volume of a separate frequency range of sound.

So, first let's talk about the parametric equalizer. This type is never present in the standard set of programs for a PC or phone, but if you want, you can download it from the Internet. It differs in that there is a setting of the width of the bands. That is, you can choose a separate piece of frequencies in the sound and then work with it. Basically, the work proceeds in exactly the same way as in all other types.

Now let's move on to the type that you will meet everywhere - this is a graphic type. It always has fixed frequency bands in its functional. You can not choose the range that you need. However, this type of equalizer is most often used. его вариантов. The bottom line is that there are many of its options. The simplest is the three-way. It allows you to adjust bass, squeak and midrange. It can occur on almost all devices, but it is not fully effective.

As it is easy to guess, the more bands - the more flexible the sound setting becomes. So, currently the maximum number of bands is 31. But such equalizers are used most often in recording studios, and in everyday life they are not needed.

On PCs and devices, you can often find five-band equalizers. They do not load unnecessary settings and allow you to work with sound to the fullest.

Equalizer on Windows

Initially, we started talking about how to improve the sound quality of the speakers. We return to this topic. So, let's say you bought the most expensive speakers that were sold in the store, and when you came home and connected them, you did not even hear a difference from the past. Do not be in a hurry to despair, first open the equalizer and twist the knobs, you'll hear how the sound changes. Now it is more detailed.

Windows Media Player

Equalizer for Windows can be found in two places: in Windows Media Player and directly in the "Sound" settings. Now we are talking about the first option.

Insisting an equalizer for Windows in Media Player, the effect can be rendered only on the playback of music files in this player. That is, if you run the same file in another player, the sound will be the same as before the changes.

So, you turned on the music or video, then right click and select "Advanced" from the menu. Then in the list, click on "Graphic Equalizer". For Windows 7, this instruction works one hundred percent.

Here, in principle, and everything, before your eyes on the monitor is an equalizer. You can change the position of the sliders and notice the difference in sound, there is also the option to select a preset, but more on this later. It makes no sense now to tell how to set up the equalizer for Windows, since it is the same in all operating systems. So now we will talk about how to open it in each of them, and in the end we will analyze in detail how to set it up.

Equalizer in the "Sound"

So, we figured out where to find the equalizer in the first way, but as mentioned above, its setting only affects the Media Player. Now it's worth talking about how to adjust the equalizer for Windows 10 so that the sound changes in all sources. Of course, this method works not only on the "top ten", but also on other Windows operating systems. Just now, let's analyze the configuration of this version.

Initially, you need to go to the "Sound" menu. To do this, enter the "Control Panel". There you need to click on the "Sound" line. Once you have done this, the menu will open before you. The list will show all the devices for playing sound connected to your computer. Select the required one and right-click on the menu, choose Properties.

An additional window with properties opens, go to the "Improvements" tab. There will be a combo box, scroll down the slider and tick the "Equalizer" line (7 Windows implies the same actions).

Further in the drop-down list you can select different presets. Each of them will change the sound, you can try them all and stop at the one you like. After that, click the "Apply" button and you can close all windows.

As you can see, this method does not allow you to customize the equalizer, you can only use templates, but, on the other hand, the effect is on all players.

Outside programs

Also there is an opportunity to download an equalizer for the PC. For example, there is a NeonVisual program. Having installed it, you can perform flexible tuning of all frequencies, thereby improving the sound of your speakers.

In addition, the program offers a user-friendly interface. Even an inexperienced user can independently figure out all the tricks.

In principle, such programs are unimaginable, but there is no point in talking about each of them. All of them are similar, and if you know how to use them, then there will be no problems.

Well, in the meantime, move from the Windows operating system to Linux.

Equalizer on Linux

Unfortunately, there is no built-in equalizer on a computer with the Linux operating system installed. But it does not matter, it just waits for you to download it from the repository. But more on that later.

Initially, it is worthwhile to tell you what Pulseaudio is. The matter is that for Linux this is an important thing. This is a sound server, it will allow us to edit the sound streams, more precisely, the sound output. But to work with it you need a program. In this case, you need to download the equalizer to the computer, in the repositories it is called pulseaudio-equalizer.

Based on this information, it becomes clear that you can use various methods to set the equalizer. A package manager or terminal, it's up to you.

If you do not want to dig into the heap of instructions, you can just open the terminal and enter three commands in turn:

1. Sudo add-apt-repository ppa: nilarimogard / webupd8;

2. Sudo apt-get update;

3. Sudo apt-get install pulseaudio-equalizer.

After that, the coveted equalizer will be installed on your computer. It can be found in the "Menu" - "Audio and video." Having opened it, you will see presets and sliders, but we'll talk more about the detailed settings later, now we'll move on to the mobile OS.

Equalizer for Android

It's time to find out where to find the equalizer for "Android". After all, whatever one may say, phone users are more likely to listen to music than owners of personal computers.

As you can understand from the above, for Android the equalizer is a necessary thing. So now we'll figure out where to find it, and how to use it.

Initially, it must be said that the built-in equalizer for "Android" practically does not exist. Sometimes Equalizer software is automatically downloaded with the smartphone. After that, in your player in the menu, an additional line should appear, where you can configure.

But it's better to download a third-party program. There are a lot of them. There are simple three-way, and there are also huge ones - with their presets and additional functions, for example, reverb. In general, everything is in your hands.

Equalizer for iOS

Unlike Android, on iOS there is no need to download additional programs to customize the sound the way you want. For this, there are already built-in features. They can be found by going into the settings and selecting "Music". Next, you must put the "Sound Check" slider on "Enabled" and click "Equalizer". This was the first way to change the sound settings.

If the "Sound Check" slider is on, the system automatically detects the dB of the song being played and, in case of which, makes the track quieter. Now it's not necessary to screw up the volume, if the track changes to a louder one, the system will do it for you.

As for the equalizer, this method is not very good, because you are allowed to use only presets. That is, there is no flexible tuning of all sound frequencies, but nevertheless for inexperienced users this is what you need.

The second way

The second option is to download a more functional audio player, such as TuneShel or Radsone. Already in their settings you can use the equalizer with many bands.

So, if someone does not know how to download and install these applications on your phone, now detailed instructions will be given.

1. Find the App Store on your phone and start it.

2. Then click on the "Search" section at the top of the screen.

3. In the line for filling, write the name of the program you need and click "Search".

4. Now you should see the application that you were looking for. If this does not happen, check to see if you typed the name correctly.

5. Click "Download" in front of the application image.

6. Wait until the download and installation is complete, and then you can use it.

As you can see, it's easy to load another audio player.

How to adjust the equalizer

As mentioned above, very often there are presets in equalizers, so to speak, templates. They are very convenient to use. They are very useful when the user does not understand this issue.

To adjust the equalizer in this way, just turn on some song and change the preset one by one until you like the sound of the track being played. As you might guess, this is the simplest option and, of course, it will not allow to make a good sound setting in full, of course, so we move on to a more detailed method.

Also, opening the equalizer, you probably noticed the sliders (frequency bands). Someone has only three, and someone can reach up to ten. Now let's analyze the setting of the five-band equalizer.

It is important to know that the leftmost slider is responsible for the bass, and the right one for the squeak. The other three are something in between. For example, you listen to a song that attracts you with a bass, but for some reason it's simply not audible, but all because the bass and squeak are on the same level, or the bass is lower.

In order to feel the difference, raise the left slider higher until the moment the result suits you. Sometimes this is not enough, the composition becomes fuzzy. For more flexible settings, go to the second slider on the left and raise it or lower it. Once you have decided on its location, go to the peep - the rightmost slider. Most often, its rise gives a cleaner and lively sound. But if we consider an example with a track in which the main attention is attracted by the bass, then it is not worthwhile to raise a squeak to the maximum mark. Stop, when the singer's voice is audible legibly - that's enough.

If the desired result is not obtained, then go to the second slider on the right and add or subtract its volume until you are satisfied with the sound.

Now there is only the middle slider. It fully affects both the bass and the squeak, and it's very easy to set it up. Turn it up then down until you like the sound. Thus, you balance bass and squeak with each other.

Conclusion

As you can see, the equalizer program is a very useful thing, and if you learn how to use it, the quality of the music you play will increase many times. The main thing is practice, and eventually everything will turn out.

The important thing is that you now know where to find the equalizer on the PC and on the phone, and how to configure it. Of course, the presented setup is not so professional, but for a simple user it will work, and eventually you will understand the principle of the equalizer.