Equalization selectively boosts or cuts frequencies rather than removing them

Evidence

A related and important area of signal processing to filtering is equalization. Unlike filtering, equalization is not interested in removing frequency components but in selectively boosting, cutting or reducing them to achieve a desired effect. The process of equalization can be modeled as a process of adding or subtracting a filtered version of the signal from the signal, as shown in Figure 7.40. Adding the filtered version gives a boost to the frequencies selected by the filter, whereas subtracting the filtered output reduces the frequency component amplitudes in the filter’s frequency range. The filter can be a simple highor low-pass filter, which results in a treble or bass tone control, or it can be a band-pass filter to give a bellshaped response curve. The cutoff frequencies of the filters may be either fixed or variable depending on the implementation. In addition, the bandwidths of the band-pass filters and, less commonly, the slopes of the highand low-pass filters can be varied. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2419

A related, and important, area of signal processing to filtering is equaliza­ tion. Unlike filtering, equalization is not interested in removing frequency components but in selectively boosting, cutting or reducing them to achieve a desired effect. The process of equalization can be modeled as a process of adding or subtracting a filtered version of the signal from the signal, as shown in Figure 7.25. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2401

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the conceptual distinction between filtering (removal) and equalization (selective boost/cut) — a foundational definition for the psychoacoustics field.
• SHARE: A tidy conceptual model of EQ that a specific music-production friend would enjoy.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2419; David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2401
• XREF: connects to: Equalization adjusts sound by perceived timbre, not measured accuracy; Signal processing compensates reproduction deviations through equalization; Equalization only corrects sound at the measured position, not the physical resonance (+6 more)