A properly tuned system, in which the speakers are placed ideally and the sound is flat, should not require the use of bass or treble controls.

In my system for example, my settings are at 0. All of my tuning is done with the crossover. I also do not have an EQ.

If the cleansweep does what it is supposed to do, then it will be a good first step to achieving excellent sound quality from the stock headunit. In no means will it be a cure-all though.

And P Diddy is correct in saying that Bose does things differently from other companies. This also is true with their home setups.

 

This is true for the most part, but one must consider the environment as well. The car is full of materials that absorb as well as reflect sound waves. The reflections can cause destructive and constructive interference and thus anomolies in the sound quality. This is where an eq can help. My preference is to eq as little as possible and use speaker placement and as the primary tool for setting sound quality, but an eq can be a very useful tool as well. Also, music played with a flat response (all frequencies at the same energy levels) sounds dull. Music is enjoyed because of its dynamic nature, peaks and valleys. In the end, the only thing that is important though is that you enjoy the music in your car. You are the ultimate judge because you have to listen to your system. Have fun and enjoy the music.

 

I was in my shop on Tuesday and the JL dealer just left the store. JL is saying now that there is a 6/30 release date on the cleansweep. Sucks for all of us. My shop was told that they are getting the first production of the cleansweep and I might just get the very first pre-production model out there. I CAN'T wait to get it. Then I can finally start my audio project. I will keep everyone posted on the estimated delivery date on the cleansweep.

 

Hahah... I think somone actually said on here that the date would be pushed back (since it is JL Audio afterall).

That sucks though. I am interested in it as well.

 

i went ahead and ordered (off ebay) an alpine 3402 parametric equalizer instead of waiting... brand new for $75, figured I did not have much to lose. I have created my own sine wave and pink noise CD and will try to use that (via the head unit) to equalize - trying to avoid another $50 for SPL meter, so going to use car PC sound input with "good" mic at first attempt to do RTA. (Using CoolEdit Pro on s/w side).

(Any advice on the RTA attempt)?

 

wow rcdash thats a great idea...i never thought EQ was that cheap, what tools do i need to tune the 4 channel output? i have no clue how do tune a EQ?

 

you can good deals on "older" but still high quality eq (particularly the non-flashy units that sit in the trunk - you know, the ones with millions of dials, ***** etc) on ebay. Just have to start searching for parametric equalizers. You can get "normal" equalizers, but I think to get the same effect you really need the 31 channel variety, which are expensive. The 7 parametric bands on the one I got, allow you to "pick" the seven frequencies that you are going to correct (cut or gain). Since there are usually not that many peaks/valleys (even with our HU), I think it is a reasonable option. There was a prior post about the eq settings one pro audio shop set for one g35driver member (using the stock HU with and AudioControl 31 band eq with replaced speakers - dont remember which brand - had a huge dip at 2500 Hz) and that showed only a few bands that had "issues" (albeit rather major ones).

You don't have to tune to get a flat response across all bands, but alot of people seem to start there and then tune to taste.

I will admit the nice thing about having a unit up front is that you can change it based on the song that's being played at the moment. I can still do that using the car PC as all my sound (including from the HU) can potentially be routed through the pc. So in my setup I have stock HU -> Alpine 3402 EQ 2 channel input -> 2 channel PC Sound input -> digital processing in pc -> 4.1 channel output -> AMP 7451a Infinity + Basslink amp (for SW) -> Diamond Audio S600a Hex speakers + Basslink sub.