Step 1:
Personal Preference: The first thing to do is to listen. Pop in a CD or movie. If you have a good ear, you may be able to determine the specific range that needs adjustment. If not, can you hear the lyrics to the song or movie clearly over the background music? If not, you need more high-end (The sliders go from low to high, from left to right). If there is static, you may have too much high-end. Maybe you want the bass to rattle the ground. If so, add more low-end. These are just a few examples of ways to determine the sound you are looking for. Other things to consider are the size of the room and acoustics. You want to cater the sound to the areas that people will most likely gather.

Step 2:
Peeking: If you max out a section of the EQ, it will peek or distort. If you are increasing a range, decrease that range on the opposite side of the scale. Example: If you raise the third slider from the left, then lower the third slider from the right the same amount as seen in this example. This will help to maintain a balanced, more natural sound, as well as prevent distortion or peeking.

Step 3:
Tone Balance: If your intent is only to raise or lower one end of the filter or the other, it’s best to maintain a linear pattern as seen in the diagram. Keep all sliders in a row, keeping the center one in the middle. This method will help to maintain a natural sound as the producers of the movie or music intended it to be while still allowing you to customize it to best fit your system and surroundings.

Step 4:
Patterns: As discussed above, patterns can be used to prevent distortion but they do much more. The patterns make sure that you are adjusting opposite frequencies so that only minor adjustments need to be made. It’s important to maintain balance so you don’t compromise the intended sound of the music or movie. The patterns that tend to work the best are like the one in the diagram. You can do strait lines (shown) or curves in either direction. Try different ways and see what you like the best.