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Auto EQ Adjustment - Does it help?


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So I have the 4000NEX and I was reading about the Auto EQ feature.  I don't have the mic, so I looked it up on Amazon.  Some of the reviews said it was worthwhile, but quite a few said it made it worse.  Not sure if they got some bad mic's or what.

 

What has been your experience, and did you use the standard Pioneer mic, or another brand?

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I got the Pioneer mic and it made a noticeable difference for me. I have a Honda CRV with a factory amp and component speakers (tweeters/mids/sub). My Pioneer now makes much better use of the tweeters and sub using Auto EQ. When I change the listening position to Left Front (Driver), I get perfectly balanced stereo sound.

 

Some tips:

1. You need to do the calibration somewhere COMPLETELY quiet. Engine off, no talking, no cars passing, no planes overhead, no birds chirping.

2. Put the mic as close to where your ears are when you sit and face the mic forward (usually the front of the driver's headrest).

3. The calibration takes time, wait patiently outside your car for a solid 5 minutes.

4. If you have a system with an external amp, disable LPF/HPF and set the crossover as high a possible on your sub so the Pioneer can calibrate the proper crossover freqs.

 

My suggestion is to get the mic and try it. If you don't notice a difference or it seems worse, you might be able to return it depending on the store, or just sell it on eBay for the same price you bought it for. If you like what you hear, keep it since the Auto-EQ settings get deleted if you disconnect the battery (so annoying).

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In my experience I think it improves the sound. It brought more clarity to the midrange and helped to bring it out front more. It provided a more studio monitor-like sound quality that is balanced across the frequency spectrum. Some people may perceive it as "flat" sounding. I consider it to sound natural. It works for everything from talk radio to rock, hip hop, and electronic and it doesn't fatigue my ears like heavy treble/bass can do. If you're a fan of high treble & bass, with subdued midrange, then Auto EQ may not be for you. 

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My brother (lifetime friend) gave me a set of TS-A6969's.  My truck comes with 6 speakers (2 in dash and one in each of the 4 doors).  I understand & believe in "less is more" when it comes to other endeavours and in this case, it's true, too.  

 

On his advice, I defeated 4 of the 6 speakers, utilizing only the 6x9 TS-A6969's in the front doors.  He asked me to install it and listen to various music, then perform the auto EQ.  He didn't let on of what to expect, but knew I wasn't knowledgeable enough to tune it. However, I know what I like & the difference was truly exceptional.  

 

I tuned it in the garage, at night, following the instructions and I hung the mic on the driver's headrest. Once it starts, it gives you 10 seconds to get out of the vehicle and shut the door.  I even made sure there was nothing in the rear passenger area that might throw off the adjustment. It goes through a couple different series of white noise and solid repeating "taps".  Once it's done, IMHO, it made a distinctive difference in all around sound quality.

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I'm getting a 6100 installed very soon and I'd like to give this a try myself.  Anyone happen to know where you plug this in on a 6100?  I'm hoping somewhere on the front. Looking at images of it, I can't tell if there's a place for it. If it's on the back, would it be okay to just leave it plugged in at all times if I have the installers just plug it in and leave it?  I won't bother with it if I have to take the head unit out to plug it in and use it.  Thanks in adv.

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IIRC the mic plugs into either the A/V input or the Aux input in the rear of the head unit (double check the manual). If you were planning to extend those inputs to your dash or center console then you're good to go (just plug the mic in when you need it). If you weren't planning to use those inputs then have your installer run the appropriate cable to a place the input into more accessible location where you wouldn't have to remove the head unit.

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The AutoEQ makes a lot of difference in my case.

I'm using a Component Speakers in the front, a Sub under the drivers seat and Coaxial at the back on a Honda Fit 2015.

 

After the AutoEQ procedure you can notice that the soundstage it's better and you can't notice the location of the sub directly. (Only if you put high volume on it). The voices and sounds are balanced and well distributed.

Remembering that AutoEQ also measures the timing/delay difference between speakers.

 

Just one tip if you have a Sub, don't leave it with full gain when using AutoEQ. Use something like 1/3 of the gain so you can adjust it after the AutoEQ procedure.

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In my truck... the TA was way off, so was the phase of the sub. While I loved what MCACC did for my HT, there are too many boundaries and speaker directions in my truck for this thing to succeed. Maybe better than nothing, but I got much better results using a tape measure (for the TA) and my ears.

Tape measure worked great for my RSX till I get my Helix Dsp installed.

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