Expandable Graphic Equaliser

Rod Elliott (ESP) [1]

More Sharing ServicesShare|Share on facebookShare on myspaceShare on googleShare on twitter Introduction The project described in this article is a constant Q, fully expandable graphic equaliser. Where most "conventional" graphic EQ circuits have a Q that is dependent on the setting of the pot, this one maintains the same Q at all settings. This is achieved by using MFB (Multiple Feedback Bandpass) filters, instead of the more common "gyrator" tuned circuit. As always, there are pros and cons for the approach described here. Phase shifts tend to be a little more radical, and the passband has more ripple than a conventional circuit, but only where a number of sliders are set to boost or cut. On the positive side, specific frequencies are dealt with specifically regardless of the level, and not with a variable Q. The constant Q circuit makes room equalisation and feedback reduction far better behaved. So much better in fact, that a boost or cut of 3dB or less may provide the required effect, where a variable Q equaliser may need considerably more, and will affect the adjacent frequencies to a far greater degree.

Description The filters used are the same as in the Instrument Graphic Equaliser and subwoofer equaliser (see Project 64 and Project 84), and are multiple feedback bandpass types. An example of this filter is shown in Figure 1, and more details are available from the project page for the MFB filter (Project 63). Depending on the configuration you ultimately decide upon, you will need between 10 and 30 of these filters - per channel for stereo!

Figure 1 - Basic Multiple Feedback Bandpass Filter

This circuit is reproduced from the original article for convenience - the actual filter circuits used are slightly different, and are shown in Figure 3. Building 60 of these may sound like an awful chore, which is perfectly reasonable, since it will be just that. With this knowledge at hand, this may go some way to help you make some ... Decisions! Now you have to decide on the frequency resolution. 1/3 octave would be really nice, but the number of sliders can be a nightmare. At the very least, you will need octave band, and the suggested (and industry standard) frequencies are ...
31 63 125 250 500 1k0 2k0 4k0 8k0 16k Octave Band Frequencies 31 44 63 87 125 175 250 350 500 700 1k0 1k4 2k0 2k8 4k0 5k6 8k0 11k 16k 20k 1/2 Octave Band Frequencies 31 40 50 63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k0 1k2 1k6 2k0 2k5 3k2 4k0 5k0 6k3 8k0 10k 12k 16k 1/3 Octave Band Frequencies 31 40 50 63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k0 1k4 2k0 2k8 4k0 5k6 8k0 16k Variable Octave Band Frequencies Freq R1 R2 R3 C1, C2 Freq R1 R2 R3 C1, C2 31 82k 2k7 160k 220nF 500 27k 820 56k 47nF 40 82k 2k7 160k 180nF 630 27k 820 56k 39nF 50 82k 2k7 160k 150nF 800 27k 820 56k 27nF+2n7 63 82k 2k7 160k 120nF 1k0 8k2 510 18k 47nF+4n7 80 82k 2k7 160k 100nF 1k4 8k2 510 18k 39nF 100 82k 2k7 160k 82nF 2k0 8k2 510 18k 27nF 125 82k 2k7 160k 56nF+5n6 2k8 8k2 510 18k 18nF+1n5 160 82k 2k7 160k 47nF 4k0 8k2 510 18k 12nF+1n8

200 250 315 400

82k 2k7 160k 39nF 5k6 8k2 750 18k 8n2 82k 2k7 160k 27nF+4n7 8k0 8k2 1k2 18k 4n7 82k 2k7 160k 22nF+2n7 16k 8k2 1k2 18k 2n2 82k 2k7 160k 18nF+1n5 Frequency & Component Values

Input / Output Stage The heart of the circuit is shown in Figure 2. It is not complex, but care is needed to make sure that the opamps do not oscillate. Supply bypassing is critical, and 100nF ceramic caps must be used between supply pins at each opamp package.

Figure 2 - Input / Output Stage

There is one thing of special note in this circuit. R6 (39k as shown) determines the maximum amount of boost and cut, and if you wanted to, you can make it variable. With the filter circuits shown below, 39k allows a boost and cut of 12dB - which is about right in most installations. A value of 10k will allow a maximum of a little over 5dB. Any value between these limits will provide the optimum for a given environment, and this can be preset. This is a very useful feature, and one that I believe is unique to this circuit.

Filters

Determining the required Q is the first step in the design process. The requirements are shown in the following table. The gain in each case is unity (actually -1, meaning a gain of unity, but the signal is inverted, or 180 degrees out of phase). Bandwidth 1/3 octave 1/2 octave 1 octave Required Q 4 3 2

The filters are all connected in the same way, and I do not intend to draw all 30 of them! Instead, I shall show two complete and two partial filters - you will be able to take it from there. The tables above, and/ or the MFB calculator program can be used to determine the values for each individual filter.

Figure 3 - The Filter Bank (Partial Only)

The slide pots are wired with all the end connections in parallel, and the "Sig" output above must drive all the filter inputs, which are also in parallel. For a 1/3

octave equaliser, this represents a load of around 800 ohms on U2B. The NE5532 was chosen as it is one of the few opamps that will drive such a low impedance. Don't be tempted to use anything that is not rated to drive such a low impedance, or it will distort because of output current limiting. Another suitable opamp is the OPA2134 (dual), which also has a very high drive capability - there are no doubt others, but these are the ones I know about. The maximum rated input voltage is 1V (0dBu), and if you anticipate that the input will be higher than that, I suggest an attenuator at the input. The gain can be restored by increasing the value of R8, so if a 3:1 attenuator were used at the input (10dB), then a 30k (33k would be OK) resistor in place of the 10k will bring the overall gain back to unity. Remember that U2B operates with gain (about 12dB), so the internal overload limit is lower than you might expect. Because of the narrow bandwidth of each filter, these too can be driven into clipping if the input level is too high, and this is unlikely to improve the sound. Overall, this is a very versatile unit, and once the initial shock of construction has passed, can be used for the most demanding of equalisation tasks. It can also be used in an automotive installation, but an artificial earth must be created, and the signal voltage limits will be reduced considerably. I suggest that the maximum input voltage be kept below 0.5V RMS - lower than this will provide a better safety margin, and will ensure that clipping does not occur regardless of slider settings.

Figure 4 - Frequency Response of a Single Filter

Figure 4 shows the boost and cut of a single filter, centred on 100Hz. This clearly shows that the Q remains constant - a conventional graphic EQ would have a very broad peak at lower settings, so broad in fact that it would show some noticeable effect even at several octaves away from the centre frequency. Assuming that the

50% pot setting is flat, these graphs were taken at 35/65%, and 0/100% of the pot travel (cut/boost respectively). This was generated using a 39k resistor for R6 in the input circuit - lower values reduce the maximum boost and cut, but leave the Q unchanged.