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Message: [QUOTE="Bombastus, post: 91810, member: 2178"] Traditional dynamic EQ changes the gain of an EQ band according to the level of the incoming signal, usually around a user-set threshold. It is essentially frequency-selective dynamics processing, with the band becoming more or less active as its detector responds. The EQ curve itself is being moved by a control process. A nonlinear analog-style EQ can respond to level for a completely different reason. Its filter settings may stay fixed while tubes, transformers, diodes, magnetic parts, or other nonlinear elements change how the waveform passes through the circuit. Louder input can therefore alter distortion, harmonic balance, headroom, or other behavior without the plugin ever behaving like a conventional dynamic EQ. Confusion starts because both processors can be described as reactive or program-dependent. The [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/rocksolid-audio-introduced-the-circuit-modeled-teq-6p.77153/']circuit-modeled TEQ-6P signal path[/URL][/B] is presented as calculating modeled component behavior while audio runs, but such language does not mean its six bands are automatically riding gain from thresholds in the way a dynamic EQ does. Similar vocabulary can hide very different signal-processing mechanisms. [HEADING=2]Dynamic EQ changes gain through a detector[/HEADING] A typical dynamic EQ watches the level around a selected frequency range and compares it with a threshold. Once the detector meets the chosen condition, the processor changes the gain of that EQ band according to controls such as range, ratio, attack, or release. Some designs simplify the control set, but the central idea remains controlled gain movement. You can see the consequence on a harsh vocal. A static cut at 4 kHz removes energy there throughout the performance, while a dynamic cut can stay near zero until that region becomes aggressive. The detector decides when the correction happens, and the user sets how far and how quickly it moves. Sidechains extend the same architecture rather than changing its identity. A bass track can trigger a dynamic low-frequency cut on another instrument, for example, because one signal is driving the detector that controls gain somewhere else. Even spectral dynamic systems still revolve around selective gain adjustment, although they may act on smaller frequency regions inside a broader band. Nothing in this mechanism requires analog-style distortion. A dynamic EQ can be designed to remain very clean because its defining feature is controlled gain movement, not harmonic generation. Saturation may be added as a separate character choice, but it is not what makes the processor dynamic. [HEADING=2]Nonlinear EQ can react without moving the band[/HEADING] A nonlinear circuit does not need a threshold knob to behave differently at different levels. Semiconductor junctions, valves, magnetic components, and other nonlinear elements have input-output relationships that change as signal conditions change. Harder drive can produce a different harmonic pattern even when every visible EQ control remains untouched. Academic [B][URL='https://dafx.de/paper-archive/2021/proceedings/papers/DAFx20in21_paper_16.pdf']research on a nonlinear passive peaking EQ[/URL][/B] demonstrates why the distinction matters. Researchers modeled a nonlinear peaking circuit while retaining the physical properties of its interconnected components, rather than treating the device as a detector moving an EQ gain control. The model can exhibit nonlinear behavior because the circuit itself is nonlinear. Harmonics are only part of the story. Nonlinear systems can also create intermodulation products when multiple frequencies interact, while components with memory can make present output depend partly on earlier signal conditions. A visible EQ curve measured at one level may therefore tell you very little about how a modeled circuit behaves when a dense mix or transient pushes it harder. Input gain becomes especially important here. Raising the level before a nonlinear EQ can change what reaches saturation or another nonlinear region, while pulling the output down afterward only restores loudness. Two settings with matched output level can still sound different because the circuitry was driven differently before the level was corrected. [HEADING=2]Level matching exposes what each processor is doing[/HEADING] A simple test separates the two ideas quickly. Feed the processor the same material at several input levels, compensate the output so louder is not automatically preferred, and watch whether the EQ band itself moves. A dynamic EQ should reveal gain changes tied to its detector behavior when the relevant threshold conditions are met. For a nonlinear EQ, keep the visible filter settings fixed and look for changes in harmonic content, intermodulation, waveform shape, or other level-dependent behavior instead. A spectrum analyzer can show added harmonics from a sine test, while two-tone material is more useful for exposing intermodulation products. Repeated tests at different levels tell you whether the character changes as the circuit is driven. The distinction also stops a common mixing mistake. If you want a resonant frequency reduced only when it gets loud, a dynamic EQ gives you explicit control over when and how much the band moves. If you want an EQ whose coloration changes with drive, a nonlinear model may provide that behavior, but it is solving a different problem. Marketing language often collapses both ideas into words such as responsive, analog, or dynamic. Ignore the adjective and inspect the mechanism. Gain being automatically moved by a detector is dynamic EQ, while level-dependent circuit behavior can occur with a completely stationary EQ setting. [/QUOTE]

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