[MayaTlab]

To my ears, APP are too bright above 1khz, that’s why I really loved and appreciated the depressed high mids of the APM. I don’t know why but bright headphones have always been disturbing me, even though I was getting the extra clarity perception, still i could never appreciate them enough. Most probably it has to do with my ears. For me the FR of the APM is just really good.

It's possible but the APPs are also notorious for sound and ANC degradation issues :
https://support.apple.com/airpods-pro-service-program-sound-issues

 

[SparkOnShore]

If you EQ per song, then yes to an extent still. Though EQs have historically be designed to fix an audio system rather than to "fix" a song itself. Think about a normal speaker system. Depending on the room it may amplify and absorb different sound frequencies and at different locations. So if you change the location of the speaker system (IE install it elsewhere) you'll likely want to EQ said speaker system for the room that its in. This really doesn't change the recording of the song as it does change the sound of the speaker system. Normally one would EQ the speaker system to be flat, hence the entire equalizing name of it. Lately, this may not be true as people fix the speakers, or in this case, the headphones to their preference rather than EQing to individual songs or even genres.

If you want to look at EQing from the song's perspective, if you choose one EQ to rule them all (for that pair of headphones), then you're EQing all songs vs individual songs. You could argue that by EQing all songs you're changing all songs from their original "intent." However, each headphone on its own already colors the music hence you change the song's original "intent" by choosing a pair of headphones (or even a DAC/amp for that matter). Normally when we talk about deficiencies of music on Head-Fi using our descriptive words, each word will link to a certain instrument/set of instruments that aren't being reproduced properly. Hence the coloration or loss of information; loss of the original "intent" of the artist.

When I do headphone comparisons I will generally avoid EQing altogether though since 1) not everyone has access to an EQ and 2) that just adds a whole other slew of variables (what EQ do we choose, why do we choose that one, what happens if a headphone objective sounds better when it's not flattened to your preference?). If you begin choosing multiple EQs you run into combinatorial issues which just isn't worth it. The other thing that comes up is that EQing them could bring them further from the engineer's original intent and time spent; their intent if you may. All the time and effort they put into getting the headphones to sound the way they want it to and hearing that has gone away.



Tonality-wise, I actually still prefer the APP; it's a lot more linear to my ears. In terms of technical ability the APM is better.

I guess, I believe that extra coloration via eq will bring the whole thing further away from the original intent, knowing that there has already been a first step coloration of the headphone itself. On the other hand there is also the part of different variations among humans, ears, anatomy etc, which are well analyzed by MayaTlab here, and they certainly contribute to the opposite direction of a certain eq requirement.

 

[tinyman392]

I guess, I believe that extra coloration via eq will bring the whole thing further away from the original intent, knowing that there has already been a first step coloration of the headphone itself. On the other hand there is also the part of different variations among humans, ears, anatomy etc, which are well analyzed by MayaTlab here, and they certainly contribute to the opposite direction of a certain eq requirement.

What happens if the coloration done by the EQ removes some of the coloration done by the headphones?

It's possible but the APPs are also notorious for sound and ANC degradation issues :
https://support.apple.com/airpods-pro-service-program-sound-issues

Man, I still need to send my APP in (again) for this.

 

[SparkOnShore]

No idea for IEMs, I don't really care for them so don't read much about it. But while they bypass the outer ear, they may have additional issues related to insertion depth (see points 6, "measuring systems" and 7, "coupler resonance") :
https://crinacle.com/2020/04/08/graphs-101-how-to-read-headphone-measurements/
The introduction of a newer test rig, the B&K 5128, presumably a better representation of the average human ear, also introduced some debate in regard to the FR curve of IEMs :
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/headphone-measurements-the-new-standard-part-1.937301/

I asked you before because of this sentence of yours, I thought you prefer the sound of over ears than iems. But then why you said you don’t care about iems? Is their ear insertion way disturbing to you? It’s true that part of why APP are unique is that they do not go deep inside the ear canal, thus they are the most comfortable iems I ever used.

 

[SparkOnShore]

It's possible but the APPs are also notorious for sound and ANC degradation issues :
https://support.apple.com/airpods-pro-service-program-sound-issues

I have already replaced mine 3 times!! The current one is my third pair which seems to be working perfectly for the time being! It’s the one with the recessed microphone grilles, which is said to be the last attempt of Apple to resolve the APP issues. In any case, as usual, Apple has a high level of consumer support, so hopefully they are replacing my APP fast, reliably and without any hassle.

But it has nothing to do with the brightness of their sound. All 3 pairs have the same bright and too edgy treble to my ears. I prefer much more the depressed but still quite detailed low treble of the APM.

 

[tinyman392]

I have already replaced mine 3 times!! The current one is my third pair which seems to be working perfectly for the time being! It’s the one with the recessed microphone grilles, which is said to be the last attempt of Apple to resolve the APP issues. In any case, as usual, Apple has a high level of consumer support, so hopefully they are replacing my APP fast, reliably and without any hassle.

But it has nothing to do with the brightness of their sound. All 3 pairs have the same bright and too edgy treble to my ears. I prefer much more the depressed but still quite detailed low treble of the APM.

All APP produced after October 2020 (or was it 2019) are safe from the issue as Apple has apparently addressed it. So thankfully this next one will be my last one too (3rd replacement) The treble is a little edgy and peaky on the APP.

 

[MayaTlab]

Is their ear insertion way disturbing to you? It’s true that part of why APP are unique is that they do not go deep inside the ear canal, thus they are the most comfortable iems I ever used.

Indeed. The APP were the first I tried I could tolerate long term. I also don't really like cables outside of my home, and therefore prefer wireless headphones the out and about, in which case I have a pretty strong preference for on-ear / over ears for various practical reasons.

 

[SparkOnShore]

What happens if the coloration done by the EQ removes some of the coloration done by the headphones?

Man, I still need to send my APP in (again) for this.

To be honest, I guess I may trust more the coloration added by a computational audio attempt of Apple’s algorithms, than my judgment which may change wildly and possibly wrongly, according to my sentimental condition of some strange day and its resulting obscured brain absorption of sound.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Indeed. The APP were the first I tried I could tolerate long term. I also don't really like cables outside of my home, and therefore prefer wireless headphones the out and about, in which case I have a pretty strong preference for on-ear / over ears for various practical reasons.

Same case for me. I was always getting disturbed by iems after around 1 hour of continuous usage. APP was and is the first comfy set of iems for me. But I also can’t tolerate most on ears because they give some kind of pain to my outer left ear, due to the pressure they apply. As much as I loved the sound of beats solo pro, i sold them 3 months after buying, because I could not wear for more than an hour. So mostly over ears for me, and now APM only!!

 

[tinyman392]

These covers I ordered from Spigen over a month ago finally got to me today. They match very well with the design aesthetic of the headphones

 

[rael67]

These covers I ordered from Spigen over a month ago finally got to me today. They match very well with the design aesthetic of the headphones

can you please Post a picture of the Covers and the Volume Button? They Look very thin, so the volume Button can be easily reached without disturbing By the Covers.

 

[tinyman392]

can you please Post a picture of the Covers and the Volume Button? They Look very thin, so the volume Button can be easily reached without disturbing By the Covers.

Images of volume/ANC control and Lightning connector access. The covers are open on the top and bottom. Much of the sides actually remain exposed as well. But it does stop the clacking sound that the APM make when the housings hit each other.

 

[tinyman392]

I should probably note that Spigen’s other covers are’s as open on the top and bottom of the housings as they look to cover more of it. So your mileage may vary if you use their other covers. I’m also not sure how well they others work. Their other covers are also quite pricey too being 55 bucks per pair (the ones I got were 30).

 

[rcoranje]

Images of volume/ANC control and Lightning connector access. The covers are open on the top and bottom. Much of the sides actually remain exposed as well. But it does stop the clacking sound that the APM make when the housings hit each other.

I don't understand why people should be bothered by the clacking sound because the clacking can't do any harm. The aluminium cups can stand much more than some clacking, which is a rather sympathetic sound to my ears.

 

[Gamerlingual]

I don't understand why people should be bothered by the clacking sound because the clacking can't do any harm. The aluminium cups can stand much more than some clacking, which is a rather sympathetic sound to my ears.

They're not scratch resistant. They WILL become a problem over time