1dB is easy to tell the difference, for me 0.5 isn't any prob either. At least with the kX Audio driver's EQ, I often try listen to difference between 0.1 increments. But yea I probably was using a bit different values than this, (maybe -1.5 at 62 - 125Hz for example) but the shape of the curve is more relevant though, it's all about the relevance to each other, I mean you would get similar shape with your suggested settings, it would sound a bit less warm and more laid-back the lower you'd boost the values but that's about it. I usually tend to prefer go the opposite, even keeping the lowest point above 0dB but boosting all other frequencies even more instead to get an even more warmer/aggressive sound which is what I prefer.

its not really 1db then. a true 1db change is very small and will barely be audible.
 
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rpgwizard said:

1dB is easy to tell the difference, for me 0.5 isn't any prob either. At least with the kX Audio driver's EQ, I often try listen to difference between 0.1 increments. But yea I probably was using a bit different values than this, (maybe -1.5 at 62 - 125Hz for example) but the shape of the curve is more relevant though, it's all about the relevance to each other, I mean you would get similar shape with your suggested settings, it would sound a bit less warm and more laid-back the lower you'd boost the values but that's about it.

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Yea I suppose so since it's linked to the windows 7 + kX Audio's master volume so 2 different volume sliders will play a role how much one increment is in actual dB-scale (EDIT: 3 actually since kX Audio also have invidual vol sliders for front/rear etc on top of that). But I still think people should stop staring at the values and look at the shape of the curves instead, that's what matters, not the actual values used, you can get a more warmer or laid-back sound depending how much you boost/decrease the values but the shape of the curve is what defines the balance in sound. I was only suggesting with that profile that it should have the lowest point at 125 - 250Hz or so and highest points at 1kHz, 4kHz and 16kHz etc. If the average point or value for the curve is at -3dB (less warm) or + 3dB (more warm) and the curves are otherwise identical doesn't matter that much unless clipping would become a problem.

i agree with you and i would be doing the same kind of curve as you, just with higher values than your chart shows. you are right to say that numbers are less important than getting it to sound the way you want. a lot of times EQ's lie or are misleading. the EQ on the head unit in my car for example is in 2db steps, not single DB steps, one would never know this until they read the manual.
 
one thing to add though. it's always better to cut than to add. boosting can cause clipping and distortion, cutting will never cause clipping. hence the reason i only mention cutting at two different points instead of cutting some bass and adding some treble. also, too much EQ can be bad, to big of a cut or boost can introduce phasing issues. that's one other reason i never really tried EQing my XB500's. i'm not a total EQ hater though, i just only use it when i really feel i have to. i'd much rather use it as a last resort.
 
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rpgwizard said:

Yea I suppose so since it's linked to the windows 7 + kX Audio's master volume so 2 different volume sliders will play a role how much one increment is in actual dB-scale (EDIT: 3 actually since kX Audio also have invidual vol sliders for front/rear etc on top of that). But I still think people should stop staring at the values and look at the shape of the curves instead, that's what matters, not the actual values used, you can get a more warmer or laid-back sound depending how much you boost/decrease the values but the shape of the curve is what defines the balance in sound. I was only suggesting with that profile that it should have the lowest point at 125 - 250Hz or so and highest points at 1kHz, 4kHz and 16kHz etc.

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Yea sorry I edited my previous post a bit again afterwards and I'm perfectly aware of distortion/clipping and such and this will ofc vary depending on EQ and how the software is setup. Believe it or not but kX Audio driver's 10-band EQ can take even +20 boost as long as Windows 7 volume slider is set reasonably low (I've found Win 7 volume slider is very prominent to adding distortion when it's set too high) and I should use higher volume values in kX Audio's vol sliders instead to avoid distortion while still getting enough volume. I even tried with a insane +36 boost (max possible boost you could add by using 3 EQs with +12 each) at very low volume set on vol sliders and it didn't cause clipping, I don't know any other device/soundcard/software that would allow such insane increase so ofc I had to test it out of interest.
 
Boosting values will cause a more warm/aggressive/forward sound opposed to cutting the values which will provide a more laid-back sound to my ears at least so that's why I personally tend to prefer to boost values on kX Audio drivers as it works so well without adding clipping issues anyway and I personally prefer warmer/aggressive/forward sound and get similar result as adding a colored/warm amp to the system. On another device or soundcard or drivers I might not have that possibility though ofc (such as Creative's own drivers which start clipping almost immediatly when tweaking their EQ ).

whatever works for ya. thats what this hobby is all about, trying things and having fun.

Yea exactly. I just like to share my experiences/findings whenever it could be of help for some1 else.
 
I feel like I just have to add something yet about the EQ values exactly why you shouldn't put too much focus on actual values you see provided around here in different people's EQ settings, it's because they will need to be different for every different device or soundcard or software etc you're using to get the same result as the other person because it depends on how the software was coded that you're using. Only when both people have the same equipment/software, one could directly use the exact same values to get same result (minus the small natural variances that is present in every different headphone, soundcard etc), so use what you see here as a guideline and trust your own ears to make the final adjustments.
 
OK time to go sleep, nearly 5 AM here. xD

I read this and I was like "REALLY?" Time to try it out XD though I use optical. I never thought about that though. Windows preamp???
 
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rpgwizard said:

(I've found Win 7 volume slider is very prominent to adding distortion when it's set too high)

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Once again...another XB500 convert
Glad you like them. As far as the XB700 goes, I tried them also and they just couldn't compare to the bass quality that the 500 give. I can honestly say that the only ONLY cans that I am willing to try is the Beats Pro. The bass they gave off in Best Buy was awesome, but the source was really "juiced" up.

I found that with E7 the XB700's mids got even more recessed...Does this happen with XB500s?

I have the E5 with XB700.
I take off the bass boost when using that combination.
I roll off a tiny bit of bass in iTunes EQ as well.
 
Bass Boost is quite useful with my DT880s though.
 
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xymordos said:

I found that with E7 the XB700's mids got even more recessed...Does this happen with XB500s?

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The bass is ridiculous, seriously.  Gave me an headache when I put bass boost on.
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sugarkang said:

I have the E5 with XB700.
I take off the bass boost when using that combination.
I roll off a tiny bit of bass in iTunes EQ as well.
 
Bass Boost is quite useful with my DT880s though.
 
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xymordos said:

I found that with E7 the XB700's mids got even more recessed...Does this happen with XB500s?

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xymordos said:

I found that with E7 the XB700's mids got even more recessed...Does this happen with XB500s?

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XB500 shouldn't be used with FiiO E5,7 or 9 in first place. Like there's really no benefit, possibly providing worse result. Since it's already so warm sounding on it's own, you don't want to add any more warmth to it, that will lead to even less details will be heard. I really hated the result when using E5 with XB500, the details in mids dissappeared from the even smoother sound. With XB700 it provided some improvement though. Don't know about the mids becoming more recessed but I wouldn't say that, it's just results in more unclear mids but without amp the mids are a bit more up-front on XB500 compared to XB700 in first place too.

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rpgwizard said:

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xymordos said:

I found that with E7 the XB700's mids got even more recessed...Does this happen with XB500s?

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XB500 shouldn't be used with FiiO E5,7 or 9 in first place. Like there's really no benefit, possibly providing worse result. Since it's already so warm sounding on it's own, you don't want to add any more warmth to it, that will lead to even less details will be heard. I really hated the result when using E5 with XB500, the details in mids dissappeared from the even smoother sound. With XB700 it provided some improvement though. Don't know about the mids becoming more recessed but I wouldn't say that, it's just results in more unclear mids but without amp the mids are a bit more up-front on XB500 compared to XB700 in first place too.

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Im using E7 as a DAC. As a portable amp, especially when you're moving around, theres no significant sonic differences.
But as a DAC, I found that soundstage and details improved, but the mids just went from weak to weaker...But I'm happy that the bass hits REALLY low now. The highs are more detailed, but positions arent affected. Oh, Layering improved quite a bit
 

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wind016 said:

I read this and I was like "REALLY?" Time to try it out XD though I use optical. I never thought about that though. Windows preamp???
 

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Yep, becomes quickly noticable when using analog out and you use at least 2 different volume sliders so you can either max win 7 slider or the other slider. I've only tested with kX Audio volume sliders versus Win 7 though, not with any MP3 player like Winamp for example. With kX Audio drivers I can like put its "master volume slider" to the max just fine without causing clipping but if win 7 vol slider is set too high it starts clipping immediatly especially at 100%, at Win 7 vol slider set to 50% it can take probably sth along +15 boost to the EQs, with +36 I needed to go down to 25% or so, no matter how kX Audio drivers volume sliders were set. Normally I keep the Windows 7 vol slider around 20 - 35% and adjust the sound card driver's volume sliders as needed for cleaner output. I use a software called "Sound Control" to use hotkeys for volume up and down for the volume slider in kX Audio driver as I'm using a very old keyboard that lacks volume keys.