European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On the other hand if you re trying to cure problems of room acoustics or overcome your speakers limitations the More controls the equalizer has the better. Complex  longer to set up. If you tried to fix a Booty record with some of them the song would be Over by the time you had finished. But if you re using them to fix inherent problems you wont need to readjust them unless you redecorate the room of change speakers. Ivan Berger the new York times Nee found Only in recording studios stereo equalizers Are becoming More and More popular in Home audio systems its easy to see Why. An equalizer a a set of controls that each affect a narrower band of tones than the usual Bass and treble knobs a can improve the sound of bad recordings and compensate for  by speaker limitations or room acoustics from hollowness and shrillness to weak or Booty Bass. Many stereo systems come with equalizers for those that done to manufacturers offer separate equalizers that Hook into existing systems. The problem is setting one so it does More Good than harm. A. A a retuning the sound of a record tape or compact disk to suit your taste is easy. A simple equalizer with five to seven bands usually built into the stereo system will provide finer control than Ordinary Bass and treble knobs. Whatever setting gives the sound you like i right provided it does no to overload the amplifier or speakers trying to get More Bass or treble than your system can give makes Clear sound fuzzy. Carried to extremes it May even damage your amplifier or speakers although the Onset of Muddy sound will warn you before that happens sound advice since the equalizers with the most controls up to 30 per Channel arc Likely to Cost More than $500, most people buy 10-band models at $125 and up. These can help with major acoustic problems  simple enough to be used As More selective tone controls. A equalizers can Deal with acoustical and speaker resonances that overemphasize some tones and under emphasize others. Equalizers Cut Back the overemphasized tones and heighten tones that arc hard to hear.  the correction can never be perfect you cannot completely fix the tonal problems without cutting some adjacent tones that done to need correction. The More and narrower an equalizer s control bands the More closely its corrections match the ones your system needs. But you la still have to Compromise a bit. Equalizers can also help speakers handle the very highest and lowest frequencies. But they can to fully Correct for weaknesses without Over stressing the speakers. Most people Start equalizing by strengthening the areas that seem weak especially the Bass. But experts recommend the opposite. A a a Quot. A a. / a a work on taming Strong sounds rather than trying to bring up weak sounds too far a said Tom Walker of audio control a leading manufacturer of equalizers. A you hear what a obnoxiously present More than what a absent. And if you Knock off the peaks you May riot need to fill the  Start with All your equalizers controls set to their Middle positions. Play a Good recording of the kind of music you normally listen to. Slide each equalizer control Down to its Bottom setting then Back to its midpoint. Turning Down some controls will make the sound seem More unnatural and unpleasant. Turning Down others will improve the sound to a Point then make it worse again a  v Quot. A a Quot l a a go Back to the controls that did bring some improvement. Slowly adjust them one at a time to the settings that seem to give you the Best sound. The ear can be fooled so after each adjustment use your equalizers bypass control which temporarily cancels your changes to compare the equalized sound with the unequal Zed original and make sure your changes really Are improvements. Next replay the recording and try raising each control that s still at its midpoint. Then put that control Back at its Middle setting before trying the next. A a a a. To guarantee that the sound really has improved use the bypass control after each adjustment. Whatever you do Walker said a a done to Over equalizer know when to Stop at Gerald Gold. The new York times idea discs have been around for a Long time As time is measured in the restless consumer electronics Busi. Ness. First in the Early 1980s, they were Needle played relatives of the Long playing record then they were laser rela Tive Sof the compact disc. But for various reasons some economic they. Hav e never caught on. Now Consumers Are recognizing the advantages of a format that combines Sharp pictures with sound of compact disc  particular a classical music enthusiasts have responded to the new medium because of the High Quality of sound and picture a says Doug Pratt publisher of the laser disc newsletter. Pursuing the classical music Market the major companies Are trotting out Many of their biggest stars to make As big a splash As possible. One new entry Bic cd to Sicalo orca Label started issuing laser discs simultaneously with cd and v videocassettes for its historic Toscanini reissues about a year ago coming from Ria later this year w ill be discs trom the Van Cliburn piano Competition the Tchaikovsky gala in Leningrad and a new years eve concert featuring Mstislav u.s.s.r., Rostro Harold m. Fein vice president and general manager of Sony classical acknowledges that classical music on video disc is for a a limited Market at this  but he says a we Are encouraged about the future and Feci we Are seeding the soil for the  what will make the difference he says is wider Sale of video disc players. That will happen when the hardware manufacturers drop the Price to under $500 for a combination laser disc com pact disc machine. Most such machines now self Lor $700 to $1,000 it fein says he believes that if More video discs were available for rental More people would Sample the medium. Few stores rent video discs. Classical laser discs typically Cost slightly Jess than comparable videocassettes but they Are about twice As expensive As compact discs. A a a a by some newer laser disc players Tike this one from Pioneer include a compact disc player. A b sunday april 2u1991