iTunes Equalizer for U2

[DontExpect]

I consider myself an "audiophile" in some regards, as I maintain a nice speaker analog speaker system, try to stick to CDs/Vinyl for music playback as much as possible, etc., but inevitably I've got to use iTunes to play my music.

With that in mind, what Equalizer presets do you find work best for listening to U2? Do you set some albums to Rock, others to Electronic, Bass-booster, or do all those presets depend on your individual speaker setup?

For those who know a good deal about music mixing/mastering, are songs mastered to sound their best at the "Flat"/unadjusted preset?

Off to listen to Disappearing Act on the "Rock" preset

 

[dan_smee]

I actually find Dance the best for early U2. I use Deep on my iphone, but it is a bit flat for early U2 because larry pounds the hi-hat and you dont get a crispy sound out of it.

Dance has the bass at a level that doesnt blow the speakers out, but also has enough of a dynamic range to play the treble at a fair clap too

 

[AndrewCowley]

I use Dance for almost everything on my iPod.

For a few odd things Dance results in way too much mid range so I might try Acoustic, R & B and Rock as alternatives.

Whichever EQ you use is mostly dependent on what type of headphones you use. It is also somewhat dependent (less though than headphones) on the quality of the MP3 files you have. I found that the iPod EQ function is totally useless unless you use replay gain on your music files. So I always use the MP3Gain software on my MP3 files before loading them into my iPod.

 

[theedgeu2]

I am going to try a few of these out. I don't even usually mess with the EQ. Do you feel it does a significant difference?

 

[corianderstem]

I usuall listen to everything on the "rock" equalizer setting. I tried the "no EQ" setting, and everything just sounded .... wrong.

 

[dan_smee]

You dont notice a difference until you go back to no setting. Everything is much richer, obviously depending on the function of the preset.

 

[AndrewCowley]

I initially used Rock but over time I tried out the others and realised that Rock totally rips the mid range out. Yes it boosts the bass and proportionally boosts the highs but everything in betweeen goes totally awol.

I moved from Rock to Acoustic and appreciated getting the mid range back. But then I wanted more and now I use Dance.

But it really is very dependent on the headphones you use. I've heard Dance with other headphones than mine and it sounded very tinny. I use Sennheiser PX-100's which are by no means a high-end product. But I like their sound and I reckon they pair up nicely with the Dance EQ setting.

Just waiting now for a 'purist' to come in here and say you must use flat since that is the way you are intended to hear it. Yes in a perfect world, in an acoustically perfect room with a high-end audio set up. But in the real world, where we degrade the quality by using MP3 and then further degrade it with crappy headphones you need to use everything you can to get the sound to your liking and EQ is one of those things.

 

[corianderstem]

Hmm, I'll check out acoustic and dance. I have Sennheiser ear-buds and also some Bose earbuds that I use at work (since they don't block everything out, and I can hear someone talking to me). I'll play around with the settings on each pair.

 

[Irishteen]

For those who know a good deal about music mixing/mastering, are songs mastered to sound their best at the "Flat"/unadjusted preset?

Records are mixed to be listened to at flat because that's how the music is supposed to sound, an exception might be bass boast as I've read some people mix the bass down so that it can be boosted by car stereos who tend to do that semi-automatically

 

[dan_smee]

I have sennheiser hd-212 pro's. mid range, and Dance is by far the best preset on itunes

 

[AndrewCowley]

Yay! Another Dance convert.

 

[theedgeu2]

I Will Follow

With Dance EQ=Fucking awesome!

With no EQ=

 

[Bonogirl777]

I Will Follow

With Dance EQ=Fucking awesome!

With no EQ=

That is pretty good.

 

[dan_smee]

its all about dance people!

 

[theedgeu2]

its all about dance people!

Yessss! I just converted my whole iTunes library to Dance EQ!

 

[theedgeu2]

Next up, Wire.

 

[dan_smee]

I was very surprised when I discovered Dance. I always stayed away from it because I dont really like dance music, but it makes the most of every instrument in the mix, it feels like it spotlights everything at once without making it a soup

 

[Bonogirl777]

Wow. Dance is good.

 

[the tourist]

On the iPod itself, Rock. On the iTunes, I adjust it to make a nice U shape where the mids are right around the flat line and the bass and treble are up higher, each getting higher as it proceeds outward.

 

[AndrewCowley]

On the iPod itself, Rock. On the iTunes, I adjust it to make a nice U shape where the mids are right around the flat line and the bass and treble are up higher, each getting higher as it proceeds outward.

I believe the Rock EQ on the iPod is essentially that same shape. Such a shame to demote the mid range like this.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i forget what i use for itunes. i think i use rock.

i don't believe i have an equalizer set for my ipod, as i tinker with that stuff on my stereo.

 

[coolian2]

i've never had an eq set on my ipod, but mostly i use my jvc earbuds on it on the bus. i've switched over to dance now though. i switched from flat to dance on my itunes with my bose on-ear phones and it's much richer, moreso than rock.

 

[innocent_eyes]

I use rock on both itunes and ipod, but i may play with it a little. Flat is just too dull! I\ll have to see how dance sounds...

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I like the Dance setting! Thanks for suggesting it.

 

[the tourist]

I believe the Rock EQ on the iPod is essentially that same shape. Such a shame to demote the mid range like this.

Well, mine is a bit of a harsher angle than rock. But then again, I don't have specific settings for specific bands/songs. I have everything uniform. And I play everything out through a stereo, so I'm sure that affects the real EQ... but on headphones, it sounds great to me.

 

[nielsgov]

Dance sounds great. I usually don't mess with EQ but I have to say that Dance sounds much better than EQ off.

 

[corianderstem]

I tried the dance setting last night, and some of it sounded great, but for some of my stuff, the bass was all distorted (which tends to happen on the iPod anyway).

I was randomly listening on shuffle, so I didn't get to check out any U2 on that setting yet.

 

[flybabe]

If you want the most out of U2 songs,and really hear the band full force,loud and clear,set the EQ to R&B,I know that is a weird setting but it sounds so awesome.
I have it set both on my iTunes and my iPod.

 

[mikal]

with my good headphones, Dance sounds great. with the ipod headphones, i prefer Rock.

 

[coolian2]

i've been testing these with one tree hill off the remastered joshua tree. i found r&b too bass heavy and bono almost completely vanished. rock i found to be completely flat. dance so far seems like the winner.