Eight Band Sub-Woofer Graphic Equaliser
Rod Elliott (ESP) [1], Updated 19 Jul 2009
Please Note: PCBs are available for this project. Click the image for details.
Introduction
Your sub is installed and set up as best you can, but you can't quite
get it to sound right. Some frequencies are too prominent, while
others seem subdued. If this sounds familiar, then this equaliser is
what you need to fix it. It is not a panacea, and will not cure an
impossible room, but the majority of lumps and bumps in the subwoofer
response will respond very well to an equaliser as described here.
The unit is an 8 band variation on the expandable equaliser
described in the Project Pages, and is dedicated to its task. Boards
can be stacked to get more bands if desired, but the arrangement shown
will be quite sufficient for most installations.
Photo of Completed P84 Board
The equaliser is a
constant Q design,
so unlike most "ordinary" equalisers, it does not have a very low Q at
low settings of boost and cut. This is a major problem with the
standard (graphic) equaliser circuit, and is completely avoided by the
constant Q version. Using the Multiple Feedback Bandpass design, these
filters can be designed for any (reasonable) frequency and Q desired.
As a 1/3 Octave equaliser, the filter Q should be 4.3, but I have
deliberately lowered this to 4 for this design to allow a little
overlap.
While there will always be "that" room which defies all attempts
to make anything sound halfway decent, this EQ will dispose of the
majority of problems likely to be encountered.
Description
The equaliser is 1/3 Octave band, with centre frequencies at 25, 32,
40, 50, 63, 80, 100 and 125 Hz. It can also be used with a starting
frequency of 20Hz if desired (see table below). The circuit itself uses
an opamp as an input buffer (U1A), ensuring a low impedance drive to the
following inverting buffer. All filters are driven by an inverted
signal from U2B, and the maximum amount of boost or cut is determined by
the value of R8.
U1B is a summing amp, and it takes its input from the combination
of the input, and the output signal from the CUT bus - this comes from
the pots used as the level control for each frequency band. The
combined signal is summed again by U2A, this time with the signal from
the BOOST bus added. The signal drive to all filters is performed by
U2B, the gain of which determines the maximum boost and cut allowed. As
shown, The circuit will provide about +/-14dB, and the response is
completely flat with all pots centred. Reduce the range by reducing the
value of R8 (39k) - a value of 10k gives 6dB of boost and cut.
The actual operation of the circuit relies primarily on the
amplitude and phase of the selected frequency, and it is beyond the
scope of this article to cover it in great detail. The inverted signal
drive is compensation for the fact that a standard multiple feedback
filter is inverting at the resonant frequency - I shall leave it to the
reader to work out exactly what happens (assuming you care, of course).
For full details of the circuit topology, see the
reference below.
Figure 1 - Input and Output Circuitry
Although not shown here, there is a bypass cap for each dual opamp.
These should be 100nF multilayer ceramic types for best performance.
This is critical if high speed opamps are used, but still important if
using the recommended TL072 opamps. There is little or nothing to be
gained in using "audiophile" grade opamps for a subwoofer, since the
TL072 has more than sufficient bandwidth for the job. Naturally if it
makes you feel better, then OPA2134s or similar work beautifully.
|
The figure on the left (top view) shows the standard pinouts used for the vast majority or basically all
dual opamps. If the PCB is used for this project (highly recommended,
by the way), then only opamps with this pin configuration may be used.
This is not a limitation :-) Correct insertion is (as always)
essential, or the opamps will die ! |
The filters are repeated - two (the first and last) are shown in
Figure 2, and a multiple feedback (MFB) filter block is used 8 times to
get the eight bands.
Figure 2 - Multiple Feedback Bandpass Filters
The table below shows the designations for all the filter sections.
The output caps (10uF 63V as shown) may also be bipolar electrolytics -
film caps would be nice, but are simply too large to fit on a decent
sized board. The difference in performance is unlikely to be audible
with any system, since the caps are very much bigger than they need to
be at even the lowest frequency. The -3dB frequency for all output
networks in this section is 1.6Hz worst case - well below anything we
can hear.
The frequency selection components are shown in the following table -
these are quite accurate, and will generally be suitable for all
applications. I have included the 20Hz band for those who may want to
move the range down slightly - only eight of the frequencies are used
for the unit. The nomenclature for the various MFB filter components has
been changed to match the markings on the PCB - this makes component
placement a lot easier. In general, the range from 25Hz to 125Hz will be
more than sufficient for all but the most potent subs.
Freq Band | Ri | Re | Rf | Ci, Cf |
20 | 330k | 10k | 680k | 100nF |
25 | 270k | 8k2 | 510k | 100nF |
31 | 270k | 8k2 | 510k | 82nF |
40 | 330k | 10k | 680k | 47nF |
50 | 330k | 10k | 680k | 39nF |
63 | 270k | 8k2 | 510k | 39nF |
80 | 82k | 2k7 | 160k | 100nF |
100 | 82k | 2k7 | 160k | 82nF |
125 | 150k | 4k7 | 330k | 33nF |
Arrrgh! The values are all over the place - this was done to avoid
having to use caps in parallel (there is no room on the board), and I
have tried to maintain at least passably sensible values.
Unfortunately, maintaining the Q and frequency for such closely spaced
filters is not easy, and the table above is the result. Feel free to
use the MFB Filter calculator program to see if you can do any better -
it is available from the
Download page.
Figure 3 - Optional On-Board Power Supply
Finally, the DC power supply section. This allows the P84 board to be
run as a stand-alone unit, requiring only an AC power input. While the
P05 Power Supply
is recommended for this unit, although in many cases it will be easier
to use the on-board supply. Because of size constraints, the main filter
caps are the smallest value that will work, so the supply is only
capable of relatively low current (I suggest about 30mA maximum). This
is sufficient to run the equaliser, as well as a P48 or P71 circuit for
speaker correction. The AC section is completely optional - it can be
omitted (delete the two diodes, C2, C3, C6-C9, U7 and U8). ±15V is then
connected to the DC input from an external supply. Depending on your
supplier, it may be possible to fit larger caps than shown - I used
2,200uF 25V electros on the prototype, and they just fit (12.7mm
diameter).
There is one bypass cap for each opamp. While most commonly used
devices don't need this level of bypassing, it doesn't hurt and allows
"better" opamps to be used if it makes you feel better. In most cases,
the suggested TL072 opamps are more than good enough for the application
and any upgrade is unlikely to be audible.
Note
The PCB for this project is
designed to use miniature (9mm square, with or without PCB mounting
frame) rotary pots, so the term "graphic" equaliser is something of a
misnomer. If desired, slide pots may be used, but will have to be wired
to the board. This is not as arduous as may first be thought, since
there are only 10 wires needed.
Measurements & Observations
The prototype unit pictured above was measured, using 15V AC input
and no housing (or shielding) of any kind. Noise was measured at less
than 1mV unweighted (3Hz-300kHz bandwidth). The DC offset of the
prototype was 8mV at the output, so you need a coupling cap for the
subwoofer amp.
With a 15V AC supply, total current draw was 92mA. This will be
higher if you use opamps that draw more quiescent current, but even
worst case will be less than 250mA. Unregulated ripple voltage was 65mV
RMS with the 2,200uF filter caps installed. If you use smaller caps, it
will be higher. Note that ripple is 50Hz (or 60Hz), and not 100/120Hz as
you might expect. This is because the power supply is a simple voltage
doubler for maximum flexibility.
The absolute maximum input or output voltage is just under 10V
RMS. With maximum boost, there is a gain of 14dB (5 times), so a 1V
signal becomes 5V (which will clip any known power amplifier). In
general, it is advisable to use a level control between the P84 output
and the amplifier input so that the system becomes more controllable.
The input level must be kept below 2V RMS at all times if maximum boost
is being applied at any frequency.
Maximum boost (or cut) is unlikely for most installations, and
should be avoided if at all possible. The need for such aggressive
equalisation indicates that there are other problems that should be
addressed. It may be necessary to change the location of the sub, use a
pair of subs in different places in the room, or apply room treatment.
Using The Equaliser
Connect the equaliser into the signal path (usually between the
source and the subwoofer equalisation and/or power amplifier). Make
sure that all pots are centred for an initial flat response. Verify
that the sub sounds the same as before, then preferably with a test CD
(known music will work too, but is not as predictable), run a frequency
sweep (or burst signals) and adjust the equaliser for the smoothest
response in the low frequencies. You should be in your normal listening
position for this - the sound quality will be different in different
parts of the room, and this is part of the problem in the first place.
Make adjustments sparingly - over use of an equaliser is a
guaranteed way to ruin the sound, so make adjustments in small
increments, one band at a time. It may take a while before you are
completely happy, but careful listening and perseverance are the key to
getting ot right. Generally, you are more likely to need a reasonable
amount of cut than boost, and although possible, it is not really
practical to make the circuit asymmetrical.
Once set, the EQ settings will not need to be changed, so the unit should be placed where it is not readily accessible - you
know what will happen if others know that it's there, and what it does.
The settings will need to be changed if the subwoofer is moved,
or if furniture is moved, added or removed from the listening area.
Large soft furnishings will make the biggest difference, while small
(open) shelves will usually make little or no change at all. Book cases
are highly unpredictable animals, and only careful evaluation will
determine if the settings remain accurate if a bookcase is added or
removed.
Reference
The design presented here is based on a paper (Constant Q Graphic
Equalisers), written by Dennis A. Bohn of Rane Corporation. The
original work can be downloaded from the Rane site ...
http://rane.com/pdf/constanq.pdf
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