Audigy ZS + FBQ6200 Ultra-Musical 31-Band Stereo EQ

Hello people,

I'm heading towards buying a hardware stereo equalizer (31-band per channel) from Behringer and I was wondering if there would be any problem plugging the soundcard (Audigy ZS PCMCIA) directly to the EQ and then plug the EQ directly into my BOSE triport headset. I'm not very good with those specs just yet so I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on input/output limitations, signal quality and the such.

Or is it just not a good idea?

SPECIFICATIONS FOR AUDIGY ZS PCMCIA

* High Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) exceeding 104 dB using high linearity, low distortion 24-bit converters with resolutions of up to 192 kHz
* Playback: 24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of digital sources at 96 kHz to analog 7.1 speaker output, 192kHz for Stereo DVD-A
* Recording: 24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion of stereo analog inputs at 96 kHz sample rate
* Supports Sony/Philips Digital Interface (SPDIF) format of up to 24-bit/96 kHz quality at selectable sampling rate of 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz

Note: SPDIF output is not available during playback of protected digital audio contents authored with Microsoft DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology.

Audio Performance
Signal-to-noise Ratio (AES17, A-Weighted, 20kHz bandwidth) = 104dB (2V Rated Output)
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise @ 1kHz (AES17) = 0.006% (2V Rated Output)
Frequency Response (+/-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input) = <10Hz to 46kHz (2V Rated Output)


There's a pdf version of the Graphics EQ on this website

http://www.behringer.com/02_produc [...] 0&type=310

Many thanks
Khaless2000

**Thank you much for your response!

Generally for the least audio degredation you want to use a digital EQ, and when EQing, limit yourself to just (minus) gain, rather than (plus) gain, which will limit the intermodulation distortion (high frequency ringing) that is introduced whenever you EQ a source.

**I will keep this in mind.

Generally EQing is a compromise used for loudspeakers; for example the room acoustics have dips and peaks at certain frequencies, or a resonance mode, which makes a speaker difficult to listen to (farfield; in nearfield the room interactions are minimal), because of the uneven response it gives. So EQing is done to remove the effects of the room to make it more listenable at the seating/listening area.

*The room dynamics don't apply much in this case since I am using a set
*of "decent" headphones.

EQing isn't free, and the costs include various forms of distortion, but if you keep EQing on the low end the distortion is less audible.

Now, you are talking about EQing speakers (headphone drivers) due to what you might perceive as inaccuracies that the speakers *naturally* produce.

*The idea was mostly flexibility in tunability to expand on the depth of the
*sound rather than to paliate discrepancies in the speakers.

If you can get the Behringer EQ for cheap, then there isn't much to say, but if you could get a much better set of headphones at that price, that would be a better choice.

* I actually bought this headset a little while back for 200$ CAD. I found
*references to the behringer EQ I'm looking at right now for around 179$
*USD

Economics utility 101: For the same money, it makes sense to buy more accurate speakers, than the be forced to EQ less accurate speakers for their weaknesses and have to suffer various distortions.

*This makes sense also. But would you say it would allow for reasonable
*extensibility and tunability of sound or is it just plain not worth it because
*of distortion issues.

Now I personally don't have much experience with Bose, although I do understand the vast majority of Audio enthusiasts dislike Bose for a variety of reasons. I don't need to bring them up because I don't have extense experience with Bose speakers and I don't like to parrot brand hate.

*As far as I'm concerned, the next step is studio grade headphones

Regards
Khaless2000