[luizffgarcia]

Not sure if those stats base the amount on what comes out of the headphone, or what gets in the ear. Because Sean Olive often mentions how a lot of the preference variations for bass can be explained by placement and quality of seal. Where basically, some people want more bass because they're not getting as much as the other guy from of a poorer seal based on how they wear the headphone/IEM.
I doubt that would turn out to be why you want +15dB, though.

Yep not sure either, it is tricky when it comes to headphones and specially IEMs. For IEMs without a proper seal you get like zero bass.

But yeah not my case because i also add a few dBs when using speakers as well, hahaha

 

[sander99]

Maybe it is just a combination of several factors:
-a few dB lost due to imperfect seal
-a few dB lost due to hearing loss from all the concerts and active music making
-a few dB to compensate for the lack of "bass bloom" from speakers in a room
-a few dB to compensate for the lack of tactile feeling
-and finally a few dB really subjective preference
The first three would not cause masking problems as they are just compensation for pure audibly lost bass levels (compared to listening with healthy ears to speakers in a room).
The few dB's from the last two together are maybe not enough to cause really significant masking problems.
?

 

[bigshot]

The second one would mask better than masking!

 

[sander99]

The second one would mask better than masking!

In general yes, but I was assuming hearing loss in the bass range only (or relatively more in the bass range).

 

[luizffgarcia]

Maybe it is just a combination of several factors:
-a few dB lost due to imperfect seal
-a few dB lost due to hearing loss from all the concerts and active music making
-a few dB to compensate for the lack of "bass bloom" from speakers in a room
-a few dB to compensate for the lack of tactile feeling
-and finally a few dB really subjective preference
The first three would not cause masking problems as they are just compensation for pure audibly lost bass levels (compared to listening with healthy ears to speakers in a room).
The few dB's from the last two together are maybe not enough to cause really significant masking problems.
?

This all makes perfect sense to me.

And yeah your question is exactly what i am trying to find out and so far the answer is no, not enough to create a problem. But i am still looking for songs that will help me find this issue.

EDIT: One thing that just occurred to me is that, in the same way some headphones (even most headphones) can't handle a big bass boost without distorting, maybe the Sundaras and the LCD2Cs are just able to handle it without creating a masking issue. That would explain why i can't hear it. I sure can hear both the bass distortion and the masking and loss of detail if i attempt this EQ in a DT770 which i used to have. If one of you who think masking will happen for sure could test in one of these 2 we would know.

 

[bigshot]

Masking wouldn't depend on the headphone model. It depends on frequency and amplitude of the boost. If you're boosting below 50, and there is a little bit of spill in your equalizer, the frequencies that might be masked would be between 80 and 120 Hz. The middle of the bass- the stuff that gives it fullness, not the low end thump or the high end pluck on the strings.

 

[sander99]

One thing that just occurred to me is that, in the same way some headphones (even most headphones) can't handle a big bass boost without distorting, maybe the Sundaras and the LCD2Cs are just able to handle it without creating a masking issue. That would explain why i can't hear it. I sure can hear both the bass distortion and the masking and loss of detail if i attempt this EQ in a DT770 which i used to have. If one of you who think masking will happen for sure could test in one of these 2 we would know.

Masking is about human hearing perception. Of course audible distortion can also mask something, but that doesn't mean any undistorted bass boost can not mask something. So the DT770 distortion is just an additional factor.