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How I do my speakers and headphones equalizer calibration
  • I do all my equalize calibration using music. I listen lots of different musics and I keep doing equalize adjustments in the sound card equalizer, so when all the musics are average good I believe I have a good calibration to do audio mixing.

    I sit in front of computer monitor with speakers in each side of monitor pointed to my ears, or with the phones in the ears.

    At first moment I put the sound equalizer in flat position with all frequencies in zero (middle position).

    First thing is to find the maximum loud that the speakers can go, it is important to use a loud sound to perceive sound details. Raise the speakers volume to the maximum and use a music to perceive how much you can increase the computer volume just before the sound start to get distorted.

    Be careful to not get a too much loud sound because it will annoy your ears and you will think the problem are in the frequencies, but no, the problem is in too much loud sound.

    After this I lower all frequencies to the minimum, and I start raising one by one alone to listen the best point for the sound in each music in each frequency, so I can get a good average settings for the work.

    After lowering all the frequencies to the minimum I start raising the highest frequency (trebles), then I take note of the number and lower the frequency again, then next frequency until all frequencies are found, from trebles to bass.

    I repeat these steps for each music and after all I set the average numbers in the sound card equalizer.

    Another good way is to lower all frequencies and start raising the highest frequency (trebles). After find the good setting, keep it and go to next frequency until reach the lowest bass frequency. In the end there is a equalizer setting done. Also works ok to find calibration.

    Musics that I use:

    • Van Halen - Panama: great to perceive how much the speakers can get loud and good for calibrate all frequencies and reduce vocal sibilance.
    • The Cure - Kyoto song: great to perceive how much the speakers can get loud and to calibrate bass frequencies.
    • Rihanna - Umbrella and Rehab: great to perceive if bass frequencies will not distort, and vocal performance.
    • REM - Orange Crush: gret to perceive if mids and trebles are not harsh or sibilance.
    • The Doors - Riders on the Storm: great to perceive trebles performance and mids distortions.
    • U2 - New Years Day (live version) - great to perceive if trebles are not muted in vocals.
    • Vivaldi - Four Seasons - great to perceive how classics instruments are sounding.

    After these musics sounds good I believe the speakers are ok for audio mixing.

    The angle trick I just use it for enjoy music listening, the calibration is done with speakers pointed direct to the ears. The work in audio mixing also with speakers pointed to the ears.

    Important thing: you need to know in wich frequency each instrument and voice is more pronounced, this thing you will get trained on it after repeating this process.

    I also use the audiocheck website 20hz to 20khz tone testing before equalization with all frequencies in flat position to perceive how the speakers responds to the frequencies before start calibration.

  • 3 Replies sorted by
  • Just not call it calibration. Call it - subjective equalizer adjustments.

  • Use white noise to tune the room and Bonded Logic for a bass trap.

  • thanks for the tips. I am using a mattress in the room corner and cheap polypropylene cloth in the walls.