It would seem that when one is putting a bunch of small drivers together, all of which are not really very expensive individually, that equalization would be a central part of the equation. But I never hear anything about it.

For the NSB/PT2 array {4" midwoofers w/planer tweeters) I'm using an
active setup with the Behringer DCX2496. The first thing I do is
tune everything by ear using common sense. I sweep the active
crossover range and listen to the music to find the sweet spot I
like. I also do individual driver tests where I only listen to
tweeters and then only listen to the midrange so see if I can hear
problems in this range of frequencies that I selected to make sure
there is nothing bad.

After doing all these listening tests, I prefered a PT2 crossover
frequency between 1.5khz - 2khz using the 48dB slope. The steeper
slope filters out midrange crud and improves the image.

For the NSB high pass I found that 65hz using the 48dB slope worked
nice. I just sweeped the range and listened to the bass and noted
cone excursion at high power to make sure I'm within safety range of
the drivers.

I set the EQ depending on mood, genre of music, and per individual
CD as bad recordings need to be fixed. I'll use a simple example.

For jazz/vocals, I cut the ~150hz region on the midrange output
~6dB as ported NSB's are giving me crazy midbass where things falls
off the TV. The Radio Shack meter peaked at 126dB on a bass guitar
listening test.

The tweeter output I boost 6dB @ 8khz shelving high pass. This gives
me that crispy top end I like when listening to cymbals.

To smooth out the midrange sound, I use an input EQ using a Q of 1
and cut the 1khz band about 4.5 to 6dB. 32 midrange drivers is alot
of midrange sound and the room is small so I need to tame this down
a little.

Next, I adjust the output levels because I'm using two different
amplifiers, one a home amp, the other a proamp so I need to adjust
the midrange level in relation to the tweeter level. In my case
I need to adjust the midrange level -6dB to match the PT2.

Last, I added delay to one channel, about 15mS to add 'concert hall'
effect which gives the music depth. Some genres of music do better
with no more than 25mS delay.

For death metal music where headbanging is required, I set the
EQ closer to 'zero'. I turn off the midbass EQ, turn off the tweeter
EQ, adjust the input EQ to -3dB cut, adjust the midrange level
anywhere from zero to -3dB. The midbass boom is appreciated in this
genre of music.

Have you ever bought anything on ebay?

The classic graphic EQ is nice. More bands {sliders} = more
tweakability and it's more of a general purpose EQ. The parametric
EQ is more specialized, usually used to fix specific problem areas.
Both work.

The next issue is whether you buy home audio gear or pro audio
gear. You have to figure out your front end electronics as
pro audio interfaces a little different than home audio. If you have
home audio gear try looking for affordable home audio EQ's. I chose the pro audio route because Behringer is hard to beat from a
price/performance point of view. You just have to design your front
end around pro audio.

>>How much should I pay?
The DCX2496 is a pro audio piece of equipment, it's a digital
crossover with some parametric EQ and other stuff. Cost on
these is $250 shipped. The DEQ2496 is specifically an EQ. I haven't
checked home audio gear recently so I can't point you in a direction
other than maybe http://www.audiocontrol.com

>>Have you ever bought anything on ebay?
Buy from a reputable seller.

justin