Flat EQ vs EQ off

[Guest]

I have a music EQ setting question. What audio difference is there between a flat EQ and the EQ turned off. I listen to my music collection in FLAC on my Mediamonkey player and use preset EQ settings such as rock and classical on the software that came with my creative sound blaster omni 5.1 external sound card. I can't tell if I get better sound quality with my setup by setting Mediamonkey's built-in EQ to flat or off. Would the sound quality be identical with Mediamonkey EQ set to flat or off or would one setting provide better sound than the other? Thanks.

 

[USAFRet]

I have a music EQ setting question. What audio difference is there between a flat EQ and the EQ turned off. I listen to my music collection in FLAC on my Mediamonkey player and use preset EQ settings such as rock and classical on the software that came with my creative sound blaster omni 5.1 external sound card. I can't tell if I get better sound quality with my setup by setting Mediamonkey's built-in EQ to flat or off. Would the sound quality be identical with Mediamonkey EQ set to flat or off or would one setting provide better sound than the other? Thanks.

The only person who can tell that is you.
Your ears are different from everyone else's.

Try it. See what happens.

 

[InvalidError]

In principle, flat EQ should be the same as off/bypassed. With a DSP-based EQ, there is not even the excuse of dirty bypass switch contacts for any changes in the signal when the EQ is "off".

The only change should be the DSP compute load which should be none when the EQ is off since that bypasses the EQ filter convolution. If Creative is smart about it, it should be bypassing the EQ filter when the settings are flat too.

 

[americanaudiophile]

If you were using an analog EQ there would be a difference since bypassing the filters completely would be better than going through them with the sliders centered. They could still introduce ringing and may not actually be flat.
You don't want to use EQ in two programs as they can interact. If you have to use EQ then use the one that gives you the best control.
There are two uses for EQ. You can use it to fix problems in the playback system or you can use it to fix problems in the music. Boosting frequencies can cause problems so it's always better to cut frequencies since that won't overdrive amps or speakers.