Hi

I am using the nightly builds of Kubuntu with KDE 4.2 and I am also using Amarok 2.

Excellent work everyone it works really well.

Just one question :-

Where is the graphic equalizer in Amarok 2 ?
Has it been removed ?

In amarok 1.4 there was a drop down menu for this and I could tailor the sound quality so I could get some thumping bass through my headphones.

Now with Amarok 2 I can't seem to enjoy that same experience.

Its a great shame as the rest of Amarok 2 does everything really well.

Regards

RD

Please see markey's blog post on this topic... you can find the URL in nearly every Amarok 2 thread on this forum.

thanks for the reply.

and markey's blog would be where ?

sorry to sound thick...

RD

Mark Kretschmann wrote:Please refer to my blog:

http://amarok.kde.org/blog/archives/809 ... rok-2.html

ahh ok, thanks.

I am glad that the gfx equalizer will make a return at a later date.

RD

I just wish they had projected dates for these missing features. Literally, having no equalizer is what is stopping me from using Amarok 2. It is one of, if not the most critical feature of a music player to me. Right now its a race between Amarok 2 and Songbird, who ever integrates an equalizer first is going to get installed.  I guess its back to using Amarok 1.4...

To be very honest with you, any audio developer worth their salt (including the whole Amarok team) thinks that software equalizers are nothing more than toys. You _cannot_ make a **** recording sound better simply by fumbling with the data.

There are two ways to really get the best out of your music:

1) Buy good speakers and a good amplifier.

2) Buy good music that is well produced and recorded.


I know that many of you will disagree with me, and for those we _will_ implement the equalizer later on, but in reality it is a bit ridiculous to expect miracles from it.

I beg to differ. I have Russian vocal recordings where the basses need a little help in the very low notes. An equalizer has solved the problem nicely, as well in some acoustic guitar recordings.

Mark, I don't disagree with your 2 comments - but I do disagree with the notion that an equalizer is a "toy".  I sadly (and I am sure along with many others) have to listen to my music through my laptop.  Carrying around good speakers and a good amplifier with my laptop, whilst great for sound, is by-and-large, impractical.  They a) do not fit in my laptop bag; b) weigh an awful lot; and, c) tend to be looked down upon when I am studying in the library.

So, given that I do have s**ty speakers and am limited by a very so-so soundcard - I find that an equalizer is not a nice "toy", but rather a necessity.  I cannot listen to music using Amarok, and so am using Banshee. 

Please don't put this on the backburner - Amarok is less a program without a graphic equalizer.

Does anybody know when it's planned to be integrated again now ? . . .

It's really an important feature if you are running a notebook with some amplifier like the z-540 from Logitech where no equalizer is embedded . . . the midtones are really poor . . .  and the bass is much too strong . . . *if you have ever heard a sub like this kind  z-540 -z560 or z-5500 . . . they are really to strong in default configuraton . . . for watching dvd it's really nice but for music it's annoying  . . . .

Greets

David 

dros wrote:Does anybody know when it's planned to be integrated again now ? . . .

This depends on when it will be integrated in Phonon, so it is difficult to give an exact timeline.

I listen to many types of music, classical, opera, jazz, pop and others. Given that I don't have 500€ speakers, it can be very handy to adjust at least the bass for these different types of music.

So I request that the priority of the equalizer be raised.

Btw, the equalizer is no more a "toy" than the silly cover editor. Is there a way to stop displaying that thing?

Thanks for listening. I love Amarok.

Hello,

I would like to notify you that there are chances that equalizer support will be back in one of next releases.
For now we have discussion on how the proposed equalizer is functional and how it should look.
If you would like to help me gather feedback please follow instructions below how to get and compile experimental branch.
But be warned - this is based on current git version and I don't recommend to install it together with your stable distro version.
Also if you have no experience with building apps from source better give up and wait for official release that will include this functionality.

So how to get it:
1) Get a git  clone of my repo that contain Amarok with equalizer:

    git clone git://gitorious.org/~aszymiec/amarok/as ... alizer.git

2) compile it following instructions here:
    http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/2.0_Development_HowTo
    (please skip cloning the git repo as you get my git in the first step)
    Compile it and install. But we're not there yet

3) Get the latest phonon from svn:
    svn co svn://anonsvn.kde.org/home/kde/trunk/kd ... t/phonon/1
  Compile it and install (preferably in custom location ex: "cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:/home/xxx/phonon-svn . && make && make install")

4. Run the new amarok using:
    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=path_to_where_you_installed_phonon/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH;amarok

Enjoy the equalizer and bring the feedback here !!!

With Regards

ASZ


 

Mark Kretschmann wrote:To be very honest with you, any audio developer worth their salt (including the whole Amarok team) thinks that software equalizers are nothing more than toys. You _cannot_ make a **** recording sound better simply by fumbling with the data.

That is an incredibly condescending and elitist statement. It's simply absurd and arrogant thinking.

Let me assure you most users aren't trying to "make a **** recording sound better' - it's about getting a decent or good sound.

More than %99 of speakers colour the sound - All types of speakers except studio monitors which are especially engineered for a flat sound.

There are two ways to really get the best out of your music:

1) Buy good speakers and a good amplifier.

Not everyone can afford good speakers and a good amplifier (both of which require a considerable outlay).

For some users it is impossible - Laptop users aren't going to lug around equipment that is heavier than their laptop and also requires a fixed power source. Having a software EQ for a laptop is far more than a 'toy' - it helps alleviate the tinny speakers that you are stuck with. It is an ingeniously effective and simple fix.

Accept the reality that many people are stuck with the equipment they have. The reason they turned to the original Amarok (and indeed linux itself) was to make the most out of what they had. They turned to the original Amarok because it empowered them.

2) Buy good music that is well produced and recorded.

You can buy music that is both well produced and recorded, but that isn't going to help you in the slightest because tracks can only have but ONE mix, and that one mix cannot cover a multitude of situations and acoustical environments.

For instance, the most popular EQ application for parties (and one of the most popular eq applications of all time) is to drop the freq's that clash with human voice, so people can hear each other talk over the music better.

I don't have several hundreds of dollars to several thousands of dollars to purchase an expensive graphical equaliser and amplifier unit just to do some basic mixing functions.

I know that many of you will disagree with me, and for those we _will_ implement the equalizer later on, but in reality it is a bit ridiculous to expect miracles from it.

We don't expect miracles, we expect the basic tool to be there, which it is not.

We expect an attitude from the devs that the software eq can be a useful tool to people.

You shouldn't write off the Eq function as a toy so easily.

44Ronin wrote:

I know that many of you will disagree with me, and for those we _will_ implement the equalizer later on, but in reality it is a bit ridiculous to expect miracles from it.

We don't expect miracles, we expect the basic tool to be there, which it is not.

We expect an attitude from the devs that the software eq can be a useful tool to people.

You shouldn't write off the Eq function as a toy so easily.

Bravo! I think it is not the developers who should decide what the users want, but the users. The developer may have great speakers and not need an equalizer. He may really love looking at an image of the album cover -- probably for a few seconds. But I and some others need an EQ and don't really care ... very much about album covers.

So PLEASE increase the priority of the EQ. Thanks.