EQ Station Manual v. 2.01 sw. 220 English - TC Electronic

EQ Station Manual v. 2.01 sw. 220 English - TC Electronic EQ Station Manual v. 2.01 sw. 220 English - TC Electronic

tcelectronic.com
from tcelectronic.com More from this publisher
13.09.2014 Views

GRAPHICAL EQ TYPES IN THE EQ STATION Reduce the Q of the BP filter by a factor. Either of these methods solve the boost/cut symmetry problem to mathematical perfection: Figure 4 - Asymmetry between '1 + BP´ and '1 - 0.5 BP' and symmetry error. But it's still not symmetrical! If we send the signal through one of these one-band EQs set to +6dB and then through another EQ set to -6dB, the result will be the dashed (middle) curve in Figure 4 which deviates from neutral by nearly 2dB! In some EQ designs the ability to use the same BP filter both for adding in boost cases and subtracting in cut cases is considered a benefit, and the asymmetry is not considered a problem. But we prefer symmetry, so that an EQ with one setting is cancelled out perfectly by another identical EQ with the opposite setting. To make the cut curve (blue dotted in Figure 4) the exact mirror image of the boost curve (black solid in Figure 4) we need to do one of two things: Figure 6 - Boost/cut symmetry problem solved Now that we've chosen boost/cut-symmetric EQ filters, we will discuss the remaining properties with only boost filters as example. Restructure the circuit in Figure 2 from feed-forward to feed-back topology (Figure 5). Figure 5 - Single-band EQ in Cut-mode implemented by BP negative feed-back. - or 14

GRAPHICAL EQ TYPES IN THE EQ STATION Q mapping: Constant or progressive Q, and which? Two single-band EQs with the same center-frequencies and the same slider settings may differ greatly depending on the designer's choice of Q as a function of Gain setting, as the following 3 examples will show: Naturally there is an infinite number of possible Q mappings, the examples shown are rather extreme. Structure dependent multi-band gain build-up Even with identical center frequencies, gain settings and Qs, the responses of two graphical equalizers may differ significantly when multiple bands are applied. This is due to the structure dependent multi-band gain build-up. We will look at 3 different implementation structures with different multi-band gain build-up properties. Parallel BP feed-forward/feed-back structure This structure which has been used in the TC 1128 and its EQ Station digital twin produces relatively little gain buildup. Since it is based entirely on summation of BP filtered signals, the responses of individual BP filters are added in the absolute domain, not the dB domain. Figure 8 - Three-band boost (i.e. feed-forward only) extract of Parallel BP feed-forward/feed-back EQ structure. Figure 9 - Three-band boost extract of Cascade-ofbiquads EQ structure. Figure 7 a/b/c - Three different examples of Q mapping Note that the above used " Input + gain•BP" structure from Figure 2 can be contained in a single bi-quadratic filter, a.k.a. 'a biquad'. This structure is used in EQ Station's 'Classic27' algorithm. 15

GRAPHICAL <strong>EQ</strong> TYPES IN THE <strong>EQ</strong> STATION<br />

Reduce the Q of the BP filter by a factor.<br />

Either of these methods solve the boost/cut symmetry<br />

problem to mathematical perfection:<br />

Figure 4 - Asymmetry between '1 + BP´ and '1 - 0.5 BP'<br />

and symmetry error.<br />

But it's still not symmetrical! If we send the signal through<br />

one of these one-band <strong>EQ</strong>s set to +6dB and then through<br />

another <strong>EQ</strong> set to -6dB, the result will be the dashed<br />

(middle) curve in Figure 4 which deviates from neutral by<br />

nearly 2dB!<br />

In some <strong>EQ</strong> designs the ability to use the same BP filter<br />

both for adding in boost cases and subtracting in cut cases<br />

is considered a benefit, and the asymmetry is not<br />

considered a problem. But we prefer symmetry, so that an<br />

<strong>EQ</strong> with one setting is cancelled out perfectly by another<br />

identical <strong>EQ</strong> with the opposite setting. To make the cut<br />

curve (blue dotted in Figure 4) the exact mirror image of<br />

the boost curve (black solid in Figure 4) we need to do one<br />

of two things:<br />

Figure 6 - Boost/cut symmetry problem solved<br />

Now that we've chosen boost/cut-symmetric <strong>EQ</strong> filters, we<br />

will discuss the remaining properties with only boost filters<br />

as example.<br />

Restructure the circuit in Figure 2 from feed-forward to<br />

feed-back topology (Figure 5).<br />

Figure 5 - Single-band <strong>EQ</strong> in Cut-mode implemented<br />

by BP negative feed-back.<br />

- or<br />

14

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!