-Objective.

-To design and implement a 10 band audio equalizer by using the FDA tool of MATLAB located in
Simulink package.

-State of the art.

Stereos typically have equalizers that boost bass or treble frequencies. Telephones, DSL lines and
television cables use equalizers to prepare data signals for transmission. Broadcast and recording
studios use highly sophisticated equalizers to eliminate unwanted sounds, make certain
instruments or voices more prominent, and enhance particular aspects of an instrument's tone.

Amplitude is not the only parameter to which equalization is applied. Any frequency dependant
parameter can be subject to equalization, and in particular phase equalization and time delay
equalization can be important in telecommunications, especially lines carrying television signals.

For domestic purposes, equalizers are used to enhance certain band frequencies to
improve the audio equipment response, or to adjust the result according to personal
customization. Equalizers could be analog, digital, active, passive, graphic, parametric or
both.

Historically, the first use of slide controls in an equalizer was in the Langevin Model EQ-
251A which featured two passive equalization sections, a bass shelving filter and a pass
band filter. Each filter had switchable frequencies and used a 15 position slide switch to
adjust cut or boost. The first true graphic equalizer was the type 7080 developed by Art
Davis's Cinema Engineering. It featured 6 bands with a boost or cut range of 8 dB. It used a
slide switch to adjust each band in 1 dB steps. Davis's second graphic equalizer was the
Altec Lansing Model 9062A EQ. In 1967 Davis developed the first 1/3 octave variable notch
filter set, the Altec-Lansing "Acousta-Voice" system. [1]

-Theoretical Background.

Audio equalizers.

There are many kinds of EQ. Each has a different pattern of attenuation or boost. A
peaking equalizer raises or lowers a range of frequencies around a central point in a bell
shape. A peaking equalizer with controls to adjust the level (Gain), bandwidth (Q) and
center frequency (Hz) is called a parametric equalizer. If there is no control for the
bandwidth then it is called a quasi-parametric or semi-parametric equalizer.

Parametric equalizers.
Electronic multi-band variable equalizers used in sound recording and live sound
reinforcement. Parametric equalizers allow audio engineers to control the three primary
parameters of an internal band-pass filter which are amplitude, center frequency and
bandwidth. Bandwidth is typically labeled "Q" on the unit, which stands for Q factor. The
amplitude of each band can be controlled, and the center frequency can be shifted, and
widened or narrowed.

Most channel EQ sections on Mixing Consoles made after the early 1970s are either semi
or fully parametric equalizers. Parametric equalizers are also sold as standalone outboard
gear units.

Applications

Tonal enhancement

Parametric equalization is most often used to enhance frequencies which are not
"speaking" well on a specific instrument. For example, string instruments such as the
double bass may have particular notes which cannot be produced at the same volume as
the other notes on the instrument. A subtle, precise boost of the frequency which does
not respond well may help to resolve this problem.

Resonance reduction

Parametric equalizers can be used to precisely remove (or enhance) excessive resonance,
which can create a "boom" or "ring" sound. In cases where instruments such as acoustic
guitars or double basses have excessive "boom" in some frequencies, a parametric
equalizer can be used to select the frequency band that is overly resonant and reduce its
volume.

Reducing extraneous noises

Parametric equalization can also be used to reduce extraneous noises such as the sound
of a guitar pick or the left-hand fingers for string instruments, or the creaking of a damper
pedal of a piano. These sounds often cannot be fully removed with parametric
equalization due to the harmonic content of many of these sounds, which would require
extensive equalization which would end up drastically altering the tonal characteristic of
the audio signal.

Feedback prevention

An extreme case of excessive resonance is feedback, which is the phenomenon of certain

frequencies looping through an audio system though a microphone close to the speaker it
is being sent to. Parametric equalization for "feedback cancellation" typically uses a notch
filter, which cuts the frequency where feedback is occurring. A notch filter uses an
extremely narrow bandwidth and often attenuates the frequency feeding back 6dB or
more.

Correction

All speakers have peaks and dips in their output at certain frequencies and can interact
with the boundaries of the room in ways that make for uneven response. Parametric
equalization can be used to boost or cut these peaks and dips to flatten the frequency
response.

Graphic equalizer

One common type of equalizer is the graphic equalizer which consists of a bank of sliders
for boosting and cutting different bands of sound. The number and width of filters
depends on application. A simple car audio equalizer might have one bank of filters
controlling two channels for easy adjustment of stereo sound, and contain five to ten filter
bands. A typical equalizer for professional live sound reinforcement has some 25 to 31
bands, necessary for quick control of feedback tones and room modes. Such an equalizer
is called a 1/3-octave equalizer because the center frequency of each filter is spaced one
third of an octave away from its neighbors, resulting three filters to an octave.

Band distribution on graphic equalizers.

The graphic equalizers are divided into frequency bands. Each band is centered at a
frequency determined, belonging to a standard list of frequencies that have been selected
so that the relationship between two consecutive frequency is approximately constant.

This type of distribution of the bands is related to the logarithmic scale of frequencies
perception by ear. In general describes the relative bandwidth expressed in fractional-
octave, as e.g. equalizers of eighth, third of 8th, etc. If we call α the fraction of octave for a
band, then for any band k must be satisfied that

The relative bandwidth of each band is given by

On the other hand, the condition of adjacency between adjacent bands

Implies that

From where (fs,k) and (fi,k) are the upper and lower frequencies of the k band (defined by
means of any appropriate criterion). The central frequency (fo,k) of the band is defined as
the geometric mean between the extremes.

In table 1, Fs/fi, and B values are given for various fractional-octave to appear regularly in
the commercial equalizers are given in table 1. The most common are the eighth, in which
each frequency is twice that of the previous (since that climb an octave equals multiplied
by 2), and the third octave, in which each frequency is approximately 25% higher than the
previous.

Table 1.

The double octave equalizers (α = 2) are in fact 5 bands tone controls and are used for
corrections thick balance tone (as in the input channels of mixing consoles) and not for
solving severe problems of electro-acoustic source.

The equalizers of 1/6 and 1/12 octave are very rare and, indeed, very costly, because they
require extremely tight designs and a superior thermal stability and time electronics.

It is interesting to note that for a given resolution given in octave bands, absolute
bandwidth is greater for larger central frequency bands, so the first bands are very
compressed in a graph with linear frequency scale (Figure 1). Also see the asymmetry of
the bands with respect to the center frequency (as this is a geometric, not arithmetic
average).
Figure 1. Center Frequency octave bands represented on a diagram with linear frequency
axis. The lower 1 kHz frequencies have not been labeled and the lower to 125 Hz directly
have been omitted.

A graph with scale of logarithmic frequency (the typical graph used in the specification of
the responses in frequency), on the other hand, the spacing is uniform, because equal
proportions are represented by equal distances in a logarithmic scale. The bands are also
symmetric with respect to the respective central frequencies (Figure 2).

Figura 2. Center frequency octave bands represented on a diagram with logarithmic

frequency axis.

The Center frequencies for filters of band of eighth and third of eighth such as those which
constitute the equalizers are standardized internationally through the standards IEC 225:
1966, IEC 61260: 1995 and IRAM 4081: 1977). For this has been the value of 1000 Hz as a
starting point, and have been slightly modified values to achieve a scale at the same time
for decades, octaves, and thirds of eighth. A scale is for decades when given any value of
the scale, also appears the upper decade and the lower decade. As well, given that we are
starting from 1000 Hz, should also appear 10 Hz, 100 Hz and 10000 Hz. This is possible
because an increase of 10 octaves is equivalent to a ratio of frequencies of 1024, which is
almost exactly three decades:

References:

[1] Operator Adjustable Equalizers: An Overview. Retrieved March, 10th 2011 from
http://www.rane.com/note122.html
Miyara, Federico. “Acústica y Sistemas de Sonido” (3ra edición). Universidad Nacional de
Rosario. Editora. Rosario, 2004. Retrieved March, 10th 2011 from
http://www.fceia.unr.edu.ar/acustica/audio/ecualizadores.pdf