Post your HD280pro EQ settings - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

prona · #1 (**permalink**) 01-09-2005, 07:08 PM

Hi, I just got my HD280s and listened for about half an hour or so. Oh man..the harsh highs hurt my ears

. I guess I wait after the 300+ hr burn in to really finalize my opinion. But right of the start, the low bass is incredible! Okay, now i need some EQ settings! I mainly listen to techno/dance and punk rock.

setSuna · #2 (**permalink**) 01-09-2005, 10:26 PM

I would reccomend just playing around until you get something you like. I personally have not tried those cans, but I have to say this is the best way to go about any EQ setting, set it for your own ears as they are more than likely unique in someway from someone who has the same cans.

unkoman · #3 (**permalink**) 01-10-2005, 08:32 PM

I use my Yamaha reciever as my amp for HD280 and I turn the bass nob to almost max and -1 on the treble. The bass is totally amazing tho!

prona · #4 (**permalink**) 01-10-2005, 08:50 PM

Well, being a poor college student and all, I don't yet have an amp

. But, I'll probably build a MINT sometime when i get the right equipment and when I have time. I use foobar2000 with KS, I'm just trying to get a suggestion of a good foobar EQ setting.

waylman · #5 (**permalink**) 01-10-2005, 09:13 PM

hd280's take FOREVER to burn in.......just keep burning and burning and burning.....those headache inducing highs will eventually soften

sp1N · #6 (**permalink**) 01-10-2005, 09:45 PM

They do take a while to burn in. I had to burn mine in for about 200-300 hours before they really settled. I personally like the bright highs, but that's just me. That low bass is pretty killer though eh? What I would do is just mess with the EQ until it sounds good to you. You can't forget that the whole reason why we all like headphones is because we love our music, so find something that suits you best.

UserNotFound · #7 (**permalink**) 01-11-2005, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prona

Well, being a poor college student and all, I don't yet have an amp

. But, I'll probably build a MINT sometime when i get the right equipment and when I have time. I use foobar2000 with KS, I'm just trying to get a suggestion of a good foobar EQ setting.

I just adjust the mids and lows to emphasize the type of music i'm listening to, but tend not to mess with the high end, as invariably what i set to sound good on one song will make the next song sound bad, and i end up playing with teh eq more than will let me enjoy the music.

A lot of it will depend on your soundcard/amp, too. My Kenwood reciever has a MUCH fuller sound from the optical soundcard than the analog output directly to the phones, or even through my PC speaker's headphone port.

It's all preference, but do a lot of comparing: pick out what instrument/sound you want to change, and push the sliders up and down far enough that you can tell exactly what's changing, and when you find the right sliders for what you want, move them in single incremements in that range until your happy.

prona · #8 (**permalink**) 01-11-2005, 04:24 PM

Umm...Okay so I've given it about 50 hours of burn in (looping bassy techno) or so...and the low bass is gone!!! I mean..it's not gone completely but I don't get the garbage truck idling effect anymore...is it just my ears today or is it the burn in?

alea35 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-11-2005, 08:04 PM

i love these headphones after using them for a long time. sharp highs = gone

unkoman · #10 (**permalink**) 01-11-2005, 08:43 PM

The bass will come back again after it reaches certain amount of burn-in time. Similar thing happened to me too and it was wierd but after around 120hours, the bass response got gradually louder. You can also try the Blu-tak mod to recess the high treble and bring out the mid-bass, the THUMP-THUMP sound of the bass.

prona · #11 (**permalink**) 01-11-2005, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unkoman

The bass will come back again after it reaches certain amount of burn-in time. Similar thing happened to me too and it was wierd but after around 120hours, the bass response got gradually louder. You can also try the Blu-tak mod to recess the high treble and bring out the mid-bass, the THUMP-THUMP sound of the bass.

well that's good..that makes me feel a bit relieved.

also, there's something small that's rattles in the left cup whenever i move it. is that normal? or should i see if something's loose?

Logistic · #12 (**permalink**) 01-16-2005, 08:37 AM

Nothing should rattle, check that nothing is loose and that the headphones are placed securely on your head. I've had these phone for about a month and have liked them from the start. However, they've definitely grown on me as well, whether to my getting used to them or burn in or both. The base is pretty good now imo with burn in and the blue tack mod. In addition to being great for music, these cans provide great sound positions for fps games like counterstrike source. Of course I haven't tried other higher end headphones so I can't compare to those, but they position better than my old cheap headphones.

Edit: I just noticed your setup is very similar to mine. I had a Zen Xtra that I sold and I bought the muvo2 instead. The Zen Xtra was awesome, I kind of miss it, as the controls on the Zen Xtra was superior to the muvo2.

Scrith · #13 (**permalink**) 01-20-2005, 11:48 PM

After a lot of tweaking at work (and hundreds of hours of burn in) I am currently happy with these in Foobar2000 for my HD280 Pro headphones:

0 -1 -2 -4 -5 -6 -7 -6 -6 -5 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 0 -1

In my opinion these settings make a HUGE difference with these headphones, making them sound quite good (and comparable to more expensive headphones) compared to the sound of unequalized HD280s.

I think digital equalization like this can be used to make many headphones sound a lot better than they do without equalization (and potentially move past some much more expensive headphones that normally would sound better). The other plus is that it lets you tune the headphones to your liking easily, rather than requiring you to go out and try various combinations of interconnects, amps, sources, etc. to achieve a good balance.

threepointone · #14 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 02:20 AM

I know i'm bumping up a REALLY old thread, but I've heard some references to EQing the HD280s. I've tried the settings above, and I was just wondering what settings others have used (and what equalizer you use; other than the ones on my daps, i've only got the one in foobar at my disposal).

BodiesOfLight · #15 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unkoman

I use my Yamaha reciever as my amp for HD280 and I turn the bass nob to almost max and -1 on the treble. The bass is totally amazing tho!

I use a Yamaha receiver as well (5540) with mine and they give them so much more life as well as BASS, so I think it's what's really making these headphones shine. It gives them a more darker sound, kind of bypassing the harsh highs.