[Achmedisdead]

 
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I'll preface this by saying that my setup is far from high end, but I don't think that statement sounds reasonable. Every headphone has a particular frequency response, and every headphone has some sort of imbalance somewhere in that response. Additionally, every human ear is a little different and exerts its own "natural" equalization on the sound. Then you get into the murky realm of sound signature preferences. What this amounts to, in my book, is that every headphone, no matter how "good" or "high end" can benefit from equalization. It doesn't have to necessarily be alot - maybe your sound preferences just match up really well with what you have - but for all practical purposes I feel that all headphones benefit from equalization, even if it is very modest.
 
Edit: I'll add that when you become older and start losing high frequency perception, an EQ is no longer a tweak to make something sound better, it becomes absolutely essential in order to properly hear your music.

Highlighted sections make total sense to me. I like to hear everything in the music, highs, mids and lows....without any of them drowning out the rest. Taking into account the fact that my different headphones do not sound the same, and that I have lost some of that high frequency perception, and an EQ is very useful for me, used sparingly.
 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

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In my addiction to high-end IEMs, I found out that the better audio equipment you got, the less EQ you use in order to... appreciate your setup? Does that sound reasonable to a lot of you guys here?

Totally. I used EQ all the time on my ipod (jazz is my preferred setting) before I got a FiiO amp to use with the ipod. With proper amplification the need for EQ was removed, if anything it got in the way.
 
I am sure the removal of EQ from hifi equipment in the 1990s was because manufacturers saw it as meaning their kit gained a 'high end' image and it also saved them money. The best resolution has always been choice with a bypass mode.

 

[ajkda]

My tries to Eq the bass and trebles always distorts the sound ....
 
How do you guys do it?

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Ajkda, it sounds like you have too much on both bass and treble. That is why many EQ curves are smiles or frowns as the bass and treble is towards the middle or flat part of the settings.

 

[xnor]

EQs are also used in conjunction with very high end audio systems, to achieve something like this:
 

 
(Note: The lower end is boosted a bit on purpose.)

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

In my addiction to high-end IEMs, I found out that the better audio equipment you got, the less EQ you use in order to... appreciate your setup? Does that sound reasonable to a lot of you guys here?

This has been my personal experience, yes.
 
Quote:

I'll preface this by saying that my setup is far from high end, but I don't think that statement sounds reasonable. Every headphone has a particular frequency response, and every headphone has some sort of imbalance somewhere in that response. Additionally, every human ear is a little different and exerts its own "natural" equalization on the sound. Then you get into the murky realm of sound signature preferences. What this amounts to, in my book, is that every headphone, no matter how "good" or "high end" can benefit from equalization. It doesn't have to necessarily be alot - maybe your sound preferences just match up really well with what you have - but for all practical purposes I feel that all headphones benefit from equalization, even if it is very modest.
 
Edit: I'll add that when you become older and start losing high frequency perception, an EQ is no longer a tweak to make something sound better, it becomes absolutely essential in order to properly hear your music.

If you have a single pair of cans or you have hearing issues, then I'd agree with this fully.  It's just that each of my cans are balanced differently and I much prefer listening to their natural balance, rather than one headphone that's EQ'd into different balances.  The effect is different and difficult to explain.  I usually choose a particular can based on the balance that I'm in the mood for, or the particular balance that gives me the most enjoyment while listening to particular recordings or genres.

 

[Hcjung10]

Well, I guess everyone should listen to music the way they want to, EQ or not =)

 

[Young Spade]

Of course, that's what I think a lot of people here believe. Some people like it natural, some like it tweaked a bit and some like it tweaked a lot. 
For me, I only listen to "natural" music (Classical, Acoustic, Jazz) on my "rig" (in signature) and the unnatural stuff like Rap/Hip hop/Pop/Rock, etc on either the computer with my speakers (nothing fancy but with a nice sub woofer ) and my clip with the UM3Xs and the EQ working hard. 

 

[Danneq]

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Why? I don't see a problem with proper application of an EQ if needed. But it's misused quite often, which is why I'd suggest newbies to keep their hands off of it.

Hehe... That is how I used to EQ before I got decent headphones. Now I just push up lows and highs a bit.

 

[oqvist]

The only illeffect of using a hardware equalizer like the DEQ2496 is that it can be a bit addicting. Some headphones doesn´t really need it that much as others. But those that needs it more it get even more rewarding so it´s not really a draw back. It´s not as fun finding a new EQ setup that fixes that treble roll off, mid bass boost or whatever instead of buying a new source/amp/cable/headphone. I suspect it´s mainly gear heads that don´t enjoy equalizers for that reason. But I may be wrong of course.
 

 

[rmouser]

I have had the good fortune to sit behind an engineer during recording at a studio. Their 'accurate' reproduction is based on what speakers they use, which have EQ applied to them (some fairly extreme boost and cut at times) and what particular headphone amp and headphones they use.
 
So, to try to "accurately) reproduce the sound they created at the studio is shooting at a moving target that you can't see. To accurately reproduce their sound would require a studio and equipment identical to what they use. I've heard it played live at the studio, after recording and mixing on tape and the pressed LP (before CDs) and there is no way to match the studio sound exactly :>) 
 
So I EQ my brains out to get what I like

 

[JxK]

I think it's also important to realize that our preferred listening volume can greatly affect the need to equalize. Human hearing is far less sensitive at low volume to both bass and treble. That's just the way our ears are built. The louder you get, the closer to neutral or even your hearing becomes. So people who tend to listen to music very quietly might also tend to have a V shaped EQ curve. Perfectly normal, as it would help the music sound natural.

 

[Young Spade]

@JxK: thanks for posting. I actually have a graph of this if I can find it....

EDIT: Can't find it :/ But if I remember correctly it's a "hump"; an upside down bell curve that would pretty much confirm what JxK stated  

 

[xnor]

equal loudness contours, fletcher-munson
 
However, that's not how a headphone FR should look like, regardless if EQ'd or not.
 
What you could do is to subtract for example the 50 dB curve from the 85 dB curve and use the difference as starting point for your EQ curve.

 

[SP Wild]

I'm getting addicted to EQ and DSP!
 
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Just don't use the iPod EQ.

The bass reduction worked well with my PX100's.
 
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One reason people like tubes is that due to a couple of issues including high output impedance, they can attenuate sound at both ends of the frequency spectrum.

 

Not all tube amps do this.