The I.Q & the E.Q.

Or All you ever wanted to know about the IQ and the EQ in walkmans

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Hello everyone,

I always was fascinated with Equalizers, and the Feather touch feature especially Aiwa's HS-G08 MY first Walkman.

In this article I will talk about EQualizers and IQ - Logic control.

There are two necessities in life: Food and Music. People can't live without them.

We all like to eat; some like simple food while others fancy Gourmet food,

But undoubtedly most of us can't eat the food if it is plain and simple, i.e. the natural way. Hence, we all like to season our food. We add a dash of salt here, a pinch of pepper there, for the most enjoyable moment.

Hi-Fidelity is very similar to gourmet food.

One of the factors of Hi-Fi sound is its clarity, but clarity alone is not enough. We also need the heart of sound – the bass! Without the bass, the music will sound flat with no presence, no drama, and no excitement. With the proper bass, the music will come alive and you will feel its presence.

Think of it as having a nice quiet dinner with an excellent bottle of wine or a good beer.

With a Good Hi-Fidelity system you will get the perfect combination of heart and soul.

For most people, when you season your food you will add some salt (the Highs), others like to add pepper (the Bass).

In most Hi-Fi systems you will find a dial for the Highs - "Treble" and a dial for the Lows - "Bass". But some people require more spices to their food ie their music. Hence, they will use a Graphic EQualizer. 

Graphic Equalizers and what they can do for you. http://smayliki.ru/smilie-798591879.html][IMG]http://s10.rimg.info/bd950b75c...bc7834eba4ddf90c.gif

The human ear can hear frequencies from about 20 Hz all the way up to 20,000 Hz.

Our stereo system, to a greater or lesser degree, produces these sounds with some limitations.

There are three ways to manipulate sound in classic stereo systems: Loudness, Bass & treble, and Graphic EQ. 

Loudness

Loudness is usually a single switch, to boost the lows and highs at the same time without the ability to control them individualy.

It boosts the bass and treble indiscriminately from the midrange down or from the midrange up.

Each actually affects about 20~30% of the entire frequency spectrum.

However, the ear does not perceive sound linearly as the volume is increased or decreased.

As volume level decreases, the lowest and some of the higher frequencies appear to drop off sooner than mid frequencies.

Therefore loudness equalization was created to boost the high and low frequencies at lower volume levels, to compansate for that loss.

Bass and Treble

The bass and treble controls are essentially a 2 band equalizer.

The bass control is usually set to vary the level of audio in a band of frequencies centered around 100 Hertz. The treble control acts similarly but its band is centered around 10,000 Hertz. As the level of the control is increased or decreased, the band of affected frequencies generally widens.

Most Low budget players will use the bass (100hz) and treble (10Khz) controls as their main tone control. In most players 100hz are not rich enough to add excitment to your music. In others, distortion may occur. To extend the experience, some players will use Super Bass or Bass Extender (50 Hz).

Essentially, Super Bass is a control which emphasizes very low bass sound, with the effect greatest around the 50Hz point. As a result, Super Bass delivers deep, rich bass with a minimum of distortion or distracting equalization variations.

Graphic Equalizers - "GEQ"

A Graphic equalizer can make your portable stereo sound the best and apart from the rest. The graphic equalizer gets its name simply because its sliders will shape a graphic form of the audio bass or treble output. Equalizer gives you the ability to control different parts of the frequency spectrum. This control lets you adjust the sound to maximize your listening experience. Basic GEQs have low frequencies, mid range frequencies and high frequencies.

A basic 3 Band equalizer gives you the ability to control the bass, mid-range and treble.

Low frequencies are adjusted by the bass (100 Hz) – usually its sliders are on the left.

The Midrange frequencies are adjusted by the mid (1.0 KHz) and high frequencies are adjusted by the treble (10 KHz) – usually its sliders are on the right.

A 5 Band equalizer gives you more control with added frequencies (330 HZ, 400 Hz, 500 HZ, 3.3 KHz, 4. Khz, 5 KHz)

Graphic Equalizers are really just a series of 5 or 10 volume controls. Each equalizer volume control affects only one area of the whole frequency spectrum. Each of the sliders boosts or cuts a small section of the audio spectrum at a predetermined frequency.

The GEQ is an important tool for audiophiles, generally used for emphasizing or reducing audio sounds, instruments, and/or voices.

The biggest problem with a personal stereo player is usually the headphones. (See my post "is it all in your headphones") If they're cheap, they tend to lack bass or highs. With the aid of an equalizer, you can make your headphones ideal, and you can compensate for a 125 Hz boom, or for a loss of high end. In addition to restoring impact and drama to your music, you can easily adjust all the frequency bands to increase excitement; dramatic intensity and openness this will make you're listening more attractive. If your low bass is down 3 to 6db, you'll miss the excitement, warmth and fullness of a strong bass. By increasing the signal with an equalizer, you're reviving inadequate recording or reproduction. To compensate for poor earphones or headphones, most people will use the famous smiley face curve.

The smiley face curve could give you more bass and treble response from headphones that didn't extend as low or as high as desired, especially in the 1980s' electronic music era. In general, from 1984 to 1987, most 5 band Graphic equalizers were top of the top and were built into player models only. They were intended for music fans or audiophiles who never listen to low-fi source as radio or needed a recording feature. Most 3-band GEQs were built mainly into recorders. However, both 5 band and 3 band GEQs were built into Hi-End models because they were the 80's latest innovation.  By 1988, with the miniaturazion of technology the Super bass was all over the place and most GEQs were omitted for the benfit of basic and classic B & T.

The First maker of walkman GEQ

Not many people know, but the first Company to introduce Graphic EQ in a walkman was Aiwa, not Sony. (Sony however was the pioneer to introduce the first portable Graphic EQ module – a stand alone GEQ device: the SEQ-50 based on a car stereo GEQ. It was a unique and awesome solution but it was not very practical to carry along with another walkman, unless you're a serious audiophile or a full time DJ. Panasonic replied to Sony's SEQ-50 with the RD-EQ5 also a stand alone GEQ but it was made only for the RX-S70)

The year was 1983 and very few people had seen the big brother of the Back to the Future movie model: the HS-P7, with its 5 Band graphic equalizer on the Back. This walkman was Aiwa's first attempt to show Sony who's the boss, and to take the lead of innovation. This model was an exclusive Japanese model and paved the way to the world's most advanced personal stereo in 1985, the Aiwa HS-G08 (G500 in the US). Aiwa and their consumers really liked the GEQ, making this unique feature a standard premium feature. They tagged them as G which is short for Graphic EQ.

By 1986 Aiwa's new generation of headphone stereo the HS-09 (HS-600 in the US) series included more than 6 models with GEQ, range from 5 Bands to 3 bands (J09, T09, G09 – 5 Bands, G55 - 4 Bands, G35 - 3 Bands, the later had a huge success and received 4 revisions/versions over the next 6 years.

The next year they introduced 7 models with GEQ but due to Aiwa's budget costs that year they made only 4 Bands to 3 Bands. (J10, T10, G10 – 4 Bands. T36, G36, G35, G35MkII - 3 Bands. Altogether Aiwa made 16 models - 8 High end players and 8 mid range players.

By 1988 Aiwa was cutting their losses and skipped a year to 1989, where they dropped the GEQ feature altogether in favour of their famous DSL=Dynamic Super Loudness, which debuted in 1987 with the successful PX101. It was an excellent feature up until their PX505 came along (1990) and after that it was a downward spiral.

Although some people will consider the PX1000 to be Aiwa's top player, unfortunately it doesn’t have GEQ but rather sound presets with just a spectrum analyzer.

Sharp and Toshiba

Sharp and Toshiba were the first to jump on the band wagon for a free ride on the success of Aiwa's HS-P07 with their own versions. Unlike Aiwa's metal build, Sharp and Toshiba players were made mostly of plastic-only its lid was covered with a sheet of metal.

Sharp saw the great potential in GEQs and offered 4 Band EQ players as standard.

They first came up with the JC-770 (JC-77) with its separate tuner pack In December of 1984. In 1985, Sharp introduced the JC-790 (JC-R7) Recorder and the JC-786 (JC-N7) player: slick looking with vivid 80s designs and colors.

In 1986, the JC-820 (JC-N8) a 5 band GEQ and in 1987, the JC-850 (JC-849) a 3 Band Player with Corvette-like body and color. Also the similar JC-K10 (JC-10H) with 3 band EQ. The last Sharp player with a 3 band EQ and Dolby C was the Japanese model named "Being Hi-Fi" the JC-50 from 1990.

In June of 1985, Toshiba indroduced two models, the KT-AS7 (note the model #*) (KT-4075/KT-V570) 5 band GEQ player with a Radio ("GA-GA" ;-)), inspired by Aiwa's HS-J07 similar in many aspects, and the KT-RS7 (KT-4085/V580), 3-Band GEQ recorder.  In July of 1987 their EQ line was 3 Band only (RS30, PS30, PS20 and PS10). Unfortunately for Toshiba and us collectors, Toshiba continued with only low-end models and did not stick to Aiwa's direction. Toshiba gradually withdrew from the competition. Apparently for Toshiba it was just a temporary hype in the market.

(*Toshiba was monitoring Aiwa's successful activities as a young spirited fashion brand. It wasn't the only model concept toshiba took from Aiwa: look at HS-J09 = KT-PS9 with triangular design but in opposite direction and the chrome finish).

Kenwood and Akai

On the other hand, Kenwood was following Aiwa's path. For every top of the line model made by Aiwa, Kenwood had its version. However, Kenwood themselves never manufactured any walkmans at all; they were all OEM versions by Aiwa (CP-707 aka HS-J09 - 5 Band from 1986, CP-700 aka HS-J101 – 4 Bands from 1987). The only exception was the "CP-G5" from 1984, a Toshiba based machine.

That same year 1987 AKAI offered two bulky 5 Band GEQ players: the PM-R3 and radio version PM-R5 (aka OEM: Roberts PS150 and Sansui FX-W51R) with a nice classy 80s look. Also two 4 Band GEQ Players with unusual addition of Super Bass: the PM-R8 and the PM-R9 (with radio) although they are plastic budget players, they have excellent sound suitable to a reputable brand like Akai well known for their consumer semi pro

cassette decks.

Panasonic and Sony

Panasonic, Sony's main competitor, introduced a 3 Preset Equalizer in 1984 - the RQ-JA5, but it wasn't "A" Graphic EQ. Two years later in 1986 they introduced 3 players with 5 Band as standard EQ, the RQ-JA2, RQ-SA15 (Radio version) and the RX-SA77. They were no competition for Aiwa's stylish design and advanced technology. Just like the WM-60 by Sony, that had a plastic feel to it, the early J series were mostly made of plastic (Only the lid was metal) and too bulky to carry around in your shirt pocket. But overall they had a pretty good sound to them. In 1987 they introduced two more fashionable players: the RX-SA78 (Radio version) the sucessor of the SA77 and the RQ-JA65 a basic player model, and the RQ-SA79 - a 3 band model.  They continued with many 3 band budget units with the addition of XBS or the more advanced version: S-XBS.

The big surprise came from Sony (not really a surprise, it reflects their corporate and unfriendly attitude toward their customers) who debuted its GEQ player only in late spring of 1986 with the WM-60 (WM-F60/F80). The WM-60 clearly was a poor copy of Aiwa's HS-G08 (In terms of design – the same brushed metal finish, same EQ position, down to the same metal stripe on the left). It wasn't very popular (particularly in Japan) for two reasons: It was too bulky and it had a plastic feel to it. Also consumers liked Aiwa's more advanced and slimmer G08 from 1985 that felt expensive and was made to last (90% made from metal). Six months later In October 1986, Sony learned its lesson and introduced the WM-104 - a slimmer 5 Band Player in both black and white colors only, based on the earlier 1985 WM-100. By then, Aiwa was rocking with the successful HS-J09 in 6 color variations - a true winner. In 1987 Sony introduced another low range walkman to even the equation, the WM-36 with a 5 band GEQ player. In 1992 they introduced the TCP 470, a cassette-corder with 5 Band GEQ that sealed the deal with Sony's GEQ's. After acquiring Aiwa, Sony's making the TCP 470 was its attempt to prove its dominance of the personal stereo world – but it was too late for GEQs in 1992.

Just like minidisc format Vs mp3, Sony didn't foresee the future of Graphic Equalizers as a young spirit and current market demand.

Finally, something fun to help you get the best out of your EQ, A link to a niceQuiztones:

http://www.audio-issues.com/mu...erpowered-eq-skills/ Enjoy.

 http://smayliki.ru/smilie-798510567.html][IMG]http://s10.rimg.info/34b2ad177...8da6dc6a3c529cbf.gif 

A comperhansive list of Graphic EQ Walkman manufacturers:

AIWA

5 Band: HS-P07, G08, J09, T09, G09.

4 Band: G55, J101, T101, G101, J45, T45, G56, G56MkII, G57.

3 Band: G35, G35mkII-III-IV, G36, G39.

DSL: HS-PX101, PX20, RL30, PX303, PL303, JX505, PX505, PL55, PX1000.

AKAI

5 Band: PM-R3, PM-R5.

4 Band: PM-R8, PM-R9.

FISHER

4 Band: PH-S120, PH-S320 1987

3 Band: PH-31

JVC

5 Band: CX-F3K, CX-F30,

3 Band: CX-2K, CX-F101, CX-F200, CX-F303, 1993

KENWOOD

5 Band: CP-G5, G5TV, CP-707

4 Band: CP-700

DSL: CP-9RC

PANASONIC

5 Band: RQ-JA2, RQ-JA15, RX-SA77, RX-SA78, RQ-JA63,

3 Band: RQ-V175, RQ-V158, RQ-V154, RQ-P164, RQ-V165, RQ-P175, RQ-J175, RQ-V162, RQ-V150, RQ-P155, RQ-V152, RX-SA79. RQ-V170, RQ-V320, RQ-V340.

SANSUI

5 Band: FX-W51R

SANYO

4 Band: MG-P600D, JJ-P3.

3 Band: MG-R80, MG-R77, MG-R74, MG-R67, MG-R906D, MG-P28, JJ-P20, MG-P34.

SHARP

4 Band: JC-77, JC750, JC-790 (JC-R7), JC786 (JC-N7), JC-N8, JC-N5

3 Band: JC-50, JC-K10, JC102, JC110, JC196H, JC-213XJC510, JC516, JC518, JC519, JC850.

SONY

5 Band: WM-60, WM-F60/80, WM-36, TCS-470.

3 Band: WM-F18, WM-F28, WM33, WM-F59, WM-69, WM-F47.

TOSHIBA

5 Band: KT-AS7 (KT-4075/KT-V570),

3 Band: KT-RS7, KT-RS30, KT-RS40, KT-PS14, KT-PS12, KT-PS18, KT-4027, (KT-V940).KT-4529, KT-4036 (V630), KT 4038, KT-4047, KT-4066, KT-4568, KT-4058 (KT-V850), KT-V4068 (KT-V860), KT-4085 (V580), KT-4087 (V780), KT-4087MKII (V780 MKII), KT-4067 (KT-V760), KT-4098 (KT-V890), KT-V4094.

The IQ – IC Logic Control

A brief History

In the early days of consumer electronics, early cassette drives manufacturers built mechanical products; the operating keys were used to physically move part of the cassette mechanism. the main concept was mainly mechanical.

Then later on in time came the electronic era. The discovery of the transistor and the development of the integrated circuit both contributed to the process. Since Jack Kilby’s invention of the first integrated circuit (IC) in 1958, there have been unprecedented technological advances. When the walkman was invented at the end of the 70's the mechanism was a simple mechanical push button device. While entering the 80's, the miniaturization of the industry started to develop rapidly.

What is logic control?

Many people mistakenly equate Logic Control with Soft Touch (Feather touch). They are 2 different concepts.

1. Feather Touch: Aka Soft touch refers to a part of the mechanism only, sensitive flat buttons which send an electrical pulse to operate the device. Soft touch, has electronic control buttons that make cassette operation easier, it also alows remote control capability. However, it is only at the hardware level.

1. Logic control: Basic LC operation is a feature that prevents the activation of the "wrong button". Any faulty operation is prevented. The logic control circuit remembers which buttons have been pushed but permits only the correct sequence of machine operations to occur, thus eliminating any chance of operator-control error (damage to the unit itself). With this important feature of LC, any button can be pressed at any time without going first to the STOP mode therefore without damaging the tape or the machine.

1. IC Logic control: Aka Full Logic Control is an advanced LC version it is more like The Software who "thinks" i.e. the system's brain. IC LC remembers a vast array of commands and their Statuses. It has more room in a small chip to remember (aka as ROM - Read Only Memory). The "Logic" system ensures that when you press "forward", the deck will always move forward, regardless of which side of the tape is currently playing. One more thing a full logic control does is that when you press the play button on a player with full logic control, it quietly whirs while taking any slack in the tape, and then it engages the play mechanism.

The First Logic control walkman

In October 1982 Sony came up with the first feather touch buttons walkman: the WM-7. It was a breakthrough technology concept but it wasn't Logic Control. It was mainly a basic feather touch buttons with no logic or sophistication whatsoever. The WM-7 was more like stylish design than any real function. Rather, it was a pioneering of a remote control concept in a portable player but it was a simple two button remote (Play & stop.) Later on in 1983 they developed an upgraded version: the TCM-7 (and TCS-7/370), It was more advanced than the WM-7 but it was still a very basic Logic control - they called it LCM – Logic Control Mechanism.

SANYO MR-JJ11 Touch

Two years later in the summer of 1984 Sanyo introduced the "JJ Touch" aka the MR-JJ11 - the first feather touch logic control. This prototype model wasn't really manufactured by Sanyo! Rather Aiwa manufactured OEM to test the market with it (it was the HS-08 series' predecessor). The JJ Touch was a bit similar in design to the Aiwa G08 with its corner triangle. This unique and very rare personal stereo was unknown to be available on the market in Japan at all and its introductory price was pretty expensive for a personal stereo ￥33,000 Yen=$500US (in comparison, Sony's TPS-L2 price in 1979 was ￥33,000 Yen & the WM-7 was ￥36,000 Yen).

AIWA Feather touch Full Logic Control

One year later Aiwa introduced the world successful HS 08 line (J08/T08/G08/P08) and there Aiwa came with the models of Feather touch and IC Full Logic concept all in one player for the first time. Furthermore, they extended it to a first full Remote control in a walkman. Aiwa's HS-08 stylish series unlike any predecessor brand are very sophisticated and more advanced, the Aiwa chip ROM memory "remember" a vast array of commands, it memorizes the type of signals and takes the initial state into consideration with the position of the logic mode at present. In other words, it's quite advanced for its time; it took Sony almost 2 more years to build a similar unit like that, the WM-109.

The 8th series (500 in US/ 08 Europe) had a huge success worldwide, but it was quite expensive to manufacture, hence leaving Aiwa financially unbalanced. The IC chip was quite new and expensive technology in miniature devices, therefore it was implemented only into Hi-End models; it was ahead of it's time. Therefore the next set of players was lacking this new technology. But nevertheless Aiwa's efforts to succeed and to take great risks gained them another world success with the HS09 players. These players were quite amazing and fully packed with features. That wasn't enough for Aiwa, and they came with the birth of the new 10 series including the PX101; it was the top of the top for Aiwa.

Cheers,

Be well :-)

Sincerely,

TheLion