What is the "Q Factor" adjustment?

[ckunke002 10+ year member]

I recently got a new headunit and it has 2 features that I can't seem to figure out. It has an EQ which lets you adjust the level, center frequency, and "Q" of bass mids and highs. The Q setting is variable under the mid and bass sections and goes from 1.0 to 2.0 I believe. The bass section also has a "Bass Extend" feature which can either be activated or deactivated.

The manual doesn't really explain what either the Q or Bass Extend features do, so any help would be great. Thanks!

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[PaulD 10+ year member]

Q is the width of frequencies that the particular band effects

all you wanted to know about equalizers but was afraid to ask ... Constant-Q Graphic Equalizers

a quote from the page .. The Quality Factor, or "Q", of a filter is a close relative to bandwidth. It is defined to be the center frequency divided by the bandwidth in Hertz. For example, a filter centered at 1000 Hz that is 1/3-octave wide has -3dB frequencies located at 891 Hz and 1123 Hz respectively, yielding a bandwidth of 232 Hz. Q, therefore, is 1000 Hz divided by 232 Hz, or 4.31.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]