Post your HD280pro EQ settings

[Senn20]

Originally Posted by waylman

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

Yeah, no kidding. Let them burn in for a while longer.

[familyman]

Originally Posted by prona

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.

280's, harsh highs? my 280's must be from another planet.

[familyman]

whoa grave thread!!!!
anyways, i used to have it something like +3 +2 +1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +1 +2 +3 for the 280's but now i use em flat

[depaulhifi]

Originally Posted by familyman

280's, harsh highs? my 280's must be from another planet.

Same here. I found them quite dull out of the box, and they continue to be so. Their low bass extension has always been exemplary. I have found them to be one of the flattest and most balanced headphones I have come across. They respond quite well to being amped as well.

[threepointone]

Originally Posted by Scrith

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.

I've been trying this eq setting for about two hours now with all my music, and so far all I have to say is whoa.

i wonder how much better it'll sound once i get an amp in there.

[vibin247]

I used to play around the EQ settings in iTunes when I used my HD-280s, but every setting I tried seemed too much for my ears. So I turned off the EQ, and just got used to the natural characteristics of the headphone without any push in certain frequencies. An amplifier would definitely make a difference (which is what I should be getting next, after the iPod, of course ).

[Daishiman]

Seriously, the difference between playing these from a computer source and an amp i staggering. It brings out some serious dynamic range and takes the usual boredom out of these (and you can take advantage of its analytical properties that way).

It's sad that they'll always sound slightly resonating due to them being closed cans. But it's certainly the best compromise for us cubicle-fiers who need the isolation and want some decent sound.

[Senn20]

I just realized how old this thread is.

I'm thinking they're already burned in...

[Screamager]

congrats on getting a great pair of cans. It is *essential* to get a good burn-in with these, the sound will change drasticly.

I dont find harsh highs anywhere in mine, maybe you need to break them in a little more. About the lows, yeah, you need a little eq to bring them up, but they´re there and sound very nice and deep. Just play around with the eq, a good soundcard would also help.

[threepointone]

ooooooh, now that all the hd280 owners are all in one thread, what amp do you find works well with the hd280? if your first recommendation isn't a diy design, which diy design do you think works well with the hd280?

[BodiesOfLight]

Originally Posted by threepointone

ooooooh, now that all the hd280 owners are all in one thread, what amp do you find works well with the hd280? if your first recommendation isn't a diy design, which diy design do you think works well with the hd280?

PA2V2 works great with them, though I sold my amp because I never used it.

[Pibborando]

Originally Posted by Scrith

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

Hey, great EQ. I was using 0 -2 -5 -7 -8 -9 -10 -10 -9 -8 -7 -5 -3 -2 -1 0 0 -1, but yours definately feels more powerful, and vocals are louder. Thanks.

[wakkoyh]

Although a lot of Head-Fiers seem to dislike this headphone, I actually like it. Yes, it was very difficult to listen to out of the box. But after burning them in for EVER (approximately a month) they really have become a solid part of my collection. I have a hornet amp which IMO drives them very well. It's rediculous how low the bass goes on these cans.

[Scrith]

I'm back to using my HD280 headphones at work, and I'm glad I found this thread with my old settings. I still like them.

By the way, I'm using a Headroom Total Bithead with these at work, seems OK. They have a crazy amount of bass with these EQ settings when used with my Dynamight amp at home (I'd have to use different EQ settings, I think).

[Fungi]

What a long lived thread
I have the 280 as well, but I've only had them for a month and I play too much with the EQ to notice effects of burn in.
But my current setup is Silverstone EB01 (USB DAC) -> PA2v2 -> HD280, and I found those EQ settings a bit too high-harsh, so I modified it to my liking :P
Of course it'll be different for different sound systems, but it was a nice base to work off of. I haven't heard any other audiophile class cans yet so I'm pondering getting one so I can compare, but for now I'm pretty satisfied with these.