Yes, that’s what I’m looking for.
The lead vocals are often too pronounced with the background singers and band sounding muddled or parts of it lost, and then sometimes the leads don't stand out at all.
You have to understand that every program is mixed and equalized differently. You’re never going to be able to make everything sound perfect every time. That said:
We've spent hours upon hours doing the MCACC tests and searching the internet to glean a basic understanding of what the levels do and what's affected by the different EQ levels.
What we're looking for is someone to point us to some sort of simple chart or explanation of what the different EQ levels do and how to balance them for best results.
63 – Low bass. You don’t want much of this in the center channel – it’s supposed to be high passed at 80-90 Hz anyway. If things sound boomy or muddy, try reducing here. A typical male voice in its natural state (like if it was in the room with you) does not have any booming or resonating bass “undertones.” If that’s what you’re hearing, reduce this one.
125 – Mid bass. Again, too much here can make things sound muddy.
250 - Upper bass / low midrange. If voices sound unnaturally thin, increase. If they sound thick, reduce.
500 – Midrange. Not often you’ll find problems in this range.
1k – Midrange. Kind of the “presence” of a voice. Too much and a voice can sound “honky.” Too little and it can sound “dark.”
2k – Upper midrange. Increasing here can give voices an “edge” to make them cut through a mix better. However, if the voice sounds harsh or grating, try reducing here.
4k – Lower high freq. This will affect the lower frequencies of a voice’s sibilants. Sound effects like glass shattering are also in this range.
8k – High freq. Will affect the upper frequencies of a voice’s sibilants. If the “s” and “t” etc. sounds are muffled or exaggerated, 8 and 4k are the adjustments to play with.
16k – Ultra high freq. Typically nothing is needed this high.
What you might do is experiment by running each adjustment both to the max and minimum, one at a time, to get a feel for the frequency range it affects.
Another experiment, boost each adjustment one at a time and listen to the results. If a small adjustment gets a significant change in tone, then that might mean that area is too hot. Try cutting that one back to a negative dB setting.
If boosting an adjustment gets very little change in tone, that might mean that area is deficient or lacking. Try leaving that one boosted a few dB.
Also, sometimes it helps to just turn the center channel up a couple dB hotter than the other speakers.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
