I didn’t mean to give the impression that I’m against all forms of EQ. I only meant to say that people who place a single microphone in the middle of a room and hit Auto EQ on a $600 receiver aren’t necessarily getting what they think they’re getting out of that process. I’m also saying that, because of consumer perception, receivers with such circuitry are going to be favored over those without.

Having a window with sympathetic vibration at say 42Hz is not necessarily indicative that 42Hz has ‘even strength’ everywhere in the room. On the other hand, just as a timpani ‘system,’ consisting of a variable tension drum head, a given volume of air contained below that and a ‘tuned port’ of sorts, has a natural resonance frequency, so can a room. I installed a pair of subwoofers in one room where, no matter how I placed the subs, there was a boominess if the music material ever strayed low. If I reduced the subwoofers’ overall level until that boomy frequency came into line, so much of the rest of the under 80Hz material seemed to disappear. Out came the SPL meter and signal generator. Turns out the room, with it’s fixed volume and openings, has a natural resonance about 34Hz. As a result, I had to adjust the overall sub level and placement to work well while ignoring data in the 32Hz to 36Hz range. However, while the overall tendency of 34Hz to ‘boom’ too loud still existed and an EQ suppression of 34Hz would have been helpful as far as not exciting the room’s natural resonance so much, even without EQ to reduce 34Hz, I was still able to find spots in the room where 34Hz almost disappeared. Bottom line: the behavior of standing waves is not tamed by EQ.

Which brings me back to a principle I would like to follow even if I can’t always apply it practically: deal with the source of the problem, don’t just put a Band-Aid on it. If the room (or a window) has a natural resonance because of it’s physical properties, I try to do what I can in the physical world before resorting to an electronic correction.

In the end, however, each of us does what we can, within limits, to achieve the sound we hope for. If your methods differ from mine, I have no problem with that. If the results you achieve are generally pleasing, then I offer my hearty congratulations!

May we all find the best ‘giant headphones!’