[farhangleo]

Hello all Q701/K701/K702 owners. Today I'm going to be discussing a very "taboo" topic amongst many head-fi aficionados - Equalizing headphones. If you find your headphones lacking in the bass department, there is something you could do to make your Q's and probably your K's sound like they've got a sub woofer built into them. These headphones are capable of handling bass extremely well if Equalized correctly.  I find the bass more controlled than my HD650's which tend to get a little flabby at times.
Here's what you will need:
 
The Q701/K701/K702's
A decent DAC + headphone amp - I'm using the HRT Musicstreamer 2 + and the m-stage (set to a gain of +20dB)
Jriver Media Center
5-10 minutes
 
Now that you've got everything setup, you will need to make the following changes in Jriver Media Center. I use Foobar 2K as my primary player and i do prefer a flat response. However, i do sometimes like a bit more bass on some songs and find that Foobar's EQ introduces far too much distortion. The JMC EQ is cleaner and more effective if used correctly.
 
I'm going to make this as brief as possible as I'm not a big fan of writing.
First, in JMC, navigate to Tools -> Options
 

 
Next, select DSP & output format....
Highlight Equalizer and set the preamp gain to -7dB. This will prevent distortion caused by clipping.
Leave all other frequencies flat at 0dB.
 

 
The next part is the most important and customizable.
Highlight Parametric equalizer and navigate to add -> Adjust a frequency (equalizer filter)
You will need to do this 6 times to boost 6 different frequencies.
Note: you could experiment with different frequencies that you would like to boost.
 
I find the following settings give my Q's a real kick in the sub frequencies
1. Frequency - 20Hz
    Gain - +6dB
2. Frequency - 30Hz
    Gain - +5dB
3. Frequency - 40Hz
    Gain - +4dB
4. Frequency - 50Hz
    Gain - +3dB
5. Frequency - 60Hz
    Gain - +2dB
6. Frequency - 70Hz
    Gain - +1dB
 

 
By carrying out the above adjustments, you might find that some detail in the higher frequencies are lost. This however is due to the reduction in the preamp gain to -7dB. You will need to increase the gain (or volume) of your amp to restore the most of the detail in the higher frequencies.
 
Let me know how it goes guys.
Remember, you don't have to do this if you don't want to.
Happy EQing.
Cheers.

 

[SpaceInvaders]

Will definitely give this a shot as soon as my phones and amp arrive. Why do you need JRiver? And since you seem like you know this stuff, would you mind helping me... I play this game and want to use background music for it but the in game volume is really low. I can't hear the effects loud enough unless I put my music player (currently AIMP, JRiver doesn't allow me to adjust its own volume) volume to 10%. In game settings are maxed ofc. Could I somehow boost this up. I got Win7.

 

[farhangleo]

I use jriver because its the only player that has an EQ that doesn't cause too much distortion
 

 

[farhangleo]

Hey about your volume dilemma, have you tried changing the volume from the taskbar. In Win7 each application has its own volume control in the taskbar. Once you start your game, minimize it and click on the small speaker icon on the bottom right corner of the taskbar and adjust the volume for your music from there.
 

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

Jesus, +20 gain on your m stage? Why so much?

 

[Remior]

I don't like EQ. But some times to enjoy a Headphone it's necesary. In my case with M Stage I find myfelf enjoying very much K701 bass with no need to eq.
 
I use Gain +18db (It's the best set up with any king of headphones that I have because I'm continuously changing one or another).
 
Anyways good to know that options on JRiver.
 
Thanks!!

 

[Brault]

Restarting this very old thread... I have been using Amara's sQ equalization with my Q701's, and am very pleased both with the results (distortion-free) and the UI. Anyone else comment?

 

[XERO1]

I owned a pair of Q701 and auditioned a pair of K712 and was very disappointed with how quickly the bass and midrange begins to audibly distort at higher volume levels.  I can only imagine how much worse this would become with EQ boosted bass.
 
Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[theveterans]

No distortion on my K712s. I listen at 80 - 100 db and I've never heard them distort. Maybe you pushed the drivers to the limits while burning-in. I let mine burn at approx 80 db for 36 hours with just white noise before listening to them really loud.