I have same concern as kradnfriz on Apr 20, 2009, only my car head unit is a Sony CDXGT74OUI. Answer given krandfriz does me no good since all the presets sound bad -- too much bass. So I need to customize the equalizer settings but I have no idea what all the numbers and options mean. I'm from the old-fashioned simple bass, midrange, treble control generation. So I need step-by-step instructions on how to set the Sony parametric equalizer with guidance on just what the options are for each of the possible settings and what effect the various options will have.

I would not have taken the time of an expert if I hadn't first consulted the owner's manual. The problem with the manual is that it assumes the user understands the meaning and impact of the various options and the interplay between the various settings. I don't. I have absolutely no idea what "Q" settings are, for example, or how I might set them to get the results I want in each range. The sound I've gotten so far, by experimenting as best I could, has tended to be thin and brassy instead of deep, smooth, and rich. I'm sure the equalizer can correct for that. I just don't know how to get there other than by more trial and error. But I'm really flying blind. What I'm looking for is some guidance along the lines of: once you've gotten the controls to where the display shows you can customize the equalizer (and with the manual I can at least get that far) then the first option you'll see is in the display is X; now, for the kind of sound you want, try setting this at Y. To conserve that setting, do Z. Then, by doing XX you'll move on to your next set of options. Your choices here will be AA or BB or CC. Normally, for the sound your looking for, I'd recommend you try BB, which you can save by doing Z, and so on. In other words, what I need is someone who can walk an old-fashioned hi-fi sound lover -- but someone who knows nothing about equalizers -- step by step through the equalizer customization process. Even if your recommendations don't take me exactly where I want to be, once I understand the meaning of the numbers and the settings, I'm sure I'll be able, with a bit more experimenting, to get things just the way I want. Left with only the manual, I'll never get there. I would not have taken the time of an expert if I hadn't first consulted the owner's manual. The problem with the manual is that it assumes the user understands the meaning and impact of the various options and the interplay between the various settings. I don't. I have absolutely no idea what "Q" settings are, for example, or how I might set them to get the results I want in each range. The sound I've gotten so far, by experimenting as best I could, has tended to be thin and brassy instead of deep, smooth, and rich. I'm sure the equalizer can correct for that. I just don't know how to get there other than by more trial and error. But I'm really flying blind. What I'm looking for is some guidance along the lines of: once you've gotten the controls to where the display shows you can customize the equalizer (and with the manual I can at least get that far) then the first option you'll see is in the display is X; now, for the kind of sound you want, try setting this at Y. To conserve that setting, do Z. Then, by doing XX you'll move on to your next set of options. Your choices here will be AA or BB or CC. Normally, for the sound your looking for, I'd recommend you try BB, which you can save by doing Z, and so on. In other words, what I need is someone who can walk an old-fashioned hi-fi sound lover -- but someone who knows nothing about equalizers -- step by step through the equalizer customization process. Even if your recommendations don't take me exactly where I want to be, once I understand the meaning of the numbers and the settings, I'm sure I'll be able, with a bit more experimenting, to get things just the way I want. Left with only the manual, I'll never get there.