New to SQ need a few pointers
 

Hi all... i've had a system for quite a while but i'm not sure how to tune it for SQ. any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
Cheers...

Im no expert to tuning a SQ car/truck, but listen to music you like and you know well. By knowing well, I mean a song you listen to lots and dont get sick of and that has a good range of differnt types of sound on it. I tend to like listening to instrumental music when i try to tune my truck. Hope this helps in some way and with that said, im off to play with my new EQ

i listen to a song i like and i think it sounds awesome... but i was more so looking for how one can determine if their system has good sound quality. How can one tell if my car sounds better then someone elses??? i guess the judging aspect of sound quality

How can you tell if your car sounds better than somebody else's?

I use my ears, because that's all that matters, unless you compete, in which case you will need to go to lots of car audio competitions and get an idea of what the judges are looking for. It does not mean that it sounds better than your car. I personnally don't like the sound in many SQ cars, as I find them not bright enough for my taste. I like to re-create venues that I listen to music in, which tends to be smaller bars, or large concert venues. I find the sound in most of these places is rather bright with lots of bass punch. That's why my system is set up that way. That's one of the reasons I like JBL speakers, they make most of the concert speakers, so why not use them to re-create the same sound in my car. Anyway, the best way I've found to tune your system is to use a live cd of the band you listen to at your favourite venue. In my case, the band sells their live disc for $10.00 everytime they play that venue. I can then try to re-create the same type of sound in my car...It's still hard to do, but I'm getting pretty close. Most of my friends hang out at the same bar, they know what the band sounds like, so what I usually do is play the disc in the car when they are with me, and guage their response silently. So far I've been told that it sounds like we're in the bar, or fuggin' awesome sound, or similar. Ultimately, until I'm 100% satisfied, I'll keep tweaking. Good luck tuning, it will never end....

There are also a few good disc that'll guide you through on what to listen for........ like Chesky Ultimate test disc, Stereophile CD-2, etc.

A visit to a musical instrument store (Tom Lees Music, Long & Mcquade, etc) might be a good idea also, listen to some real instrument (in Acoustic Gitars, violins, Piano, drums etc) from their entry level to their most expansive ones... it should give you an idea about harmonics, tone and dynamics etc is about. Usually the intrument with the equal octave to octave rich in harmonic & tone content are the more expansive ones. and once you hear it you'll know why.

Basically its all about "recreating" the performance from the recording..... (CD, DVDa, SACD) like how the engineer intended for us to hear it, which is presented on a soundstage. Because there are so many variables that'll change the sound in a car audio system...... (acoustic, speaker placement, x-over designs, electronics etc) It is most important that you get the speaker system right first before correcting them with an eq and delays. But to know what sounds better....... you just have to do more listening.

get a db meter radio shack
play a cd with freq. segments and try to get all the freq. to play at the same level. then turn off all speakers using gain. put on one speaker at a time and have them play at the same level individualy. this is a start
to do it by ear will sound good for you but how about the passenger. everyone hears different. the meter is a constant.
go to cambridge this sunday and use thier rta and play pink noise all freq equal and the rta will show whats lacking.
now you will be opening the door to sq

The thing you really want to know is...how does that instrument sound on its own, and what are it's signatures. Once you have had a chance to determine that after listening to it live or soloed, you can then begin to go to the car and detect what may or may not be missing in your set up. Going to a music store is great...having access to someone with a recording studio is even better if you have one. Nevertheless, once you know what you are looking for, it will get easier as to knowing whether or not you are on the right track. Then you can begin to make adjustments, if necessary, to all of the "tuning products" in your car and hear if they are adding to your system or removing from them.

Good luck man.

I agree. Does a kick drum sound like a kick drum, does a snare sound like a snare, etc, etc.
Knowing how the real thing sounds and then comparing it to how it sounds in the car will make tweaking it for SQ a lot easier.
My 2 cents. :smokin:

good question....i myself have always wondered what makes a "SQ Setup"

not being really big into car audio as many others, to me as long as it sounds clean with no distortion that's good enough for me LOL

when I hear talk of hooking up RTA's and blah blah blah i'm like whoa

SQ is completely subjective. One persons Excellent SQ is another's dull, flat system. I've heard many SQ vehicles over the last 20 years, some very high placing systems in regional and national competitions, and my overall impression has been: Yeah, those sound pretty good but a little too flat for my liking. I personally like a hot tweeter with slightly subdued midrange and punchy bass. Anyway, if you're interested in SQ competitions go check them out. I don't compete, as long as it pleases my ears and my circle of family and friends( for the most part), I'm happy. I really don't need anyone telling me what sounds good when I have two judges on the sides of my head.