[reifler]

I just bought the beyerdynamic DT250-80 headphones from headroom and I am LOVING them. (I'll write a review sometime) However, I know I am probably not hearing what they are capable of. I work a whole lot on my computer, and I have an SB live! Sound card. I was trying out some audio plugins to enhance the bass, and brighten and widen things up a bit.

I don’t know if you guys are very familiar with the iZotope ozone directx plugin for winamp, or the WOW thing plugin. I’ve never heard these headphones over any kind of amp besides a $50 philips PCDP.

Right as things are, I can EQ the bass right down to a serious level, without any distortion at all. I know EQing is evil, but how evil?

I just don’t have the equipment to compare to. Would the total airhead drive these 250-80s to their full potential? Would they widen the sound? (I am doing that with effects right now, but sometimes it sounds awfully fake).

Is the bass going to change in texture a whole lot? I am probably going to buy the amp just to hear what it would sound like, but is there any way you all could speak from experience?

I really appreciate you guys.

 

[M Rael]

Hi. I just got a HeadRoom Little amp today and I was amazed that using the Little's crossfeed allowed me to comfortably get rid of the EQ I was using. I dont know why. Maybe its because the crossfeed 'makes sense' to my brain- more sense than the EQ was I guess. Whatever it was, it seems better not to use an EQ now that I use the crossfeed than before. The Airhead has that crossfeed thing too.
Read what you can about crossfeed. Its kind of interesting. Its not a fake snake-oil idea at all. Its based on research into how people decode and process sound when it comes out through headphones compared to say, floorspeakers. In a sense, you cant argue with the facts behind crossfeed; but some people dont like it regardless of the science.

Theres actually a science behind using EQ for headphones also. In other words, theres a way to set an EQ curve thats supposed to help your brain decode headphone sound more naturally. But I suggest working out the amp thing before going into EQ, especially one of the HeadRoom amps. You can return it after all. No risk. Hope that helps.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Amp vs EQ?

You need both.

 

[Gluegun]

First step is to upgrade your source.

If you play games with headphones and listen to music with headphones, the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is the best sound card out there for you. Check it out! Higher sound quality than the SBLive, and better headphone algorithms, too!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Amp before EQ, although I also agree with the source comment. An amp will just amplify the "bad" in "bad source". An amp does not do the same thing as EQ. A not-so-good amp (such as the one built into a sound card) will compress the sound a bit, and do all sorts of weird things at the impedance dips and peaks. A good amp will fix those problems.

 

[reifler]

I agree that my source needs upgrading. Turtle beach looks good, but what about the new Audigy sound cards? Is the turtle more powerful? It says right on the site that it's internal amp is low noise, but I don't know about the new live card.

Anyone?

 

[aeberbach]

EQ isn't evil at all.

It might detract from the sound just because it requires more electronics in the signal path - wires, switches, connectors and components can approach perfection but all have some undesired effect, be it inductance in resistors or capacitance in wire or resistance in connectors. Probably this is why it is so ostentatiously avoided by so many.

However, your equipment is almost certainly not the same as the stuff used by the recording engineer. He mixed it (using his own EQ) so it would sound good through his monitors. There is nothing wrong with mixing it so that it wounds good on yours. Music is what sounds good, not what a bunch of audiophiles deem worthy of their respect.

 

[Gluegun]

They are all line level....

your 250-80's should work VERY well with this sound card! Check www.newegg.com for prices and shopping.yahoo.com for prices!! you can upgrade to an amp later.

what is MOST important is that the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz's headphone-based EAX algorithms whoop that of the Audigy, and the Sound QUALITY whoops that of the audigy!!

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by aeberbach ostentatiously avoided

No comment other than that I love that phrase.

 

[Audio-Me]

You guys are making me want to cry. Please visit here for some enlightenment. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...&threadid=7348

I don't think EQ is practical for regular use, rather for special purposes, like tuning for classical albums, or bass reduction on live recordings.

 

[gloco]

I agree with A&M, it's just not practical to play with EQ on every single cd and record. For me, i am enjoying what i hear out of my cmoy and Altoids. Although i do have the treble set to 10 and the bass set to 0 on my Receiver when i listen directly out of the jack, if thats EQ'ing, oh well.

 

[fredpb]

Just a mention about the WOW device, you get for $20 with free postage. It is BAD. Good for some games with headphones, but really, really bad. Not worth even the $20. Words cannot describe the irritation at my purchase of this item.

 

[cajunchrist]

Should one EQ the amp, or should one amp the EQ? This a signal flow question.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I would choose to EQ the source.

Digital processing -> no wires, switches and components to degrade the signal path -> perfect

 

[reifler]

Interesting comments... From what I hear, and have learned from reading through these forums, EQing your music does change the way it was meant to be heard, but it can also be making up for some lack in either the music or the equipment.

Until I get the amp, my cdplayer and my soundcard just don't drive the headphones enough to allow them to open up, the bass is less then I would like, so one would have to bloat the bass with EQ to make it sound "better" so to speak, (which is debatable).

The same (to the degree of EQ) with the rest of the range. However, it is possible to boost frequencies that are hidden due to equipment limitations. But, from what I've learned, EQing also degrades the quality of the sound somewhat. I guess digital has no switches or circuits, so it's the best you could hope for. But unless done right, can REALLY hurt the music.

SO, if you have a good amp, one should not need EQ as much, because the amplification takes care of bringing out the detail, and enhancing the bass. Right?