[Tjj226 Angel]

Hey guys, 
 
I have been using the information on these forums to help other people with headphones/set recommendations and such, but this is my first post on the forum. 
 
Over the years I have been turning my gaming rig into an all around PC. Meaning that it can game, play movies, do heavy video editing, and now I am working on turning it into an audiophile center. 
 
My equipment so far is an AKG Q701 with a asus xonar essence STX. I am using flac files and foobar 2000 to listen to my music. 
 
That is all great and everything, but I feel like it could be better. I don't have a lot of money.....at all to improve my hardware, but I might be able to do something about the software I am using. Right now I am using the equalizer through the asus xonar software, and I will sometimes use audacity to remove some noise from my audio files, but I am too much of a noob to use these tools to the best of their ability. 
 
I would like some guidance on how to utilize software to improve my listening experience. Even if you guys want to link me some websites to read, that would be great. I am asking you guys because every time I search something on how to make my sound better, it always seems to be some 15 year old kid who is trying to make dub step sound better which doesn't help me since I primarily listen to led zeppelin. 
 
So any info you want to give me would be much appreciated. 

 

[Chuck Finnely]

First off, if you want to get the best sound from your audio gear, then you are an audiophile.
And as for software, I don't use equalizers or edit any of my audio files. I like to play them straight from the original. Sounds best that way for me and for a lot of people. If for some reason you are experiencing lots of noise that you don't think should be there, then try listening to that song on youtube.

 

[autumnholy]

Q701 on Led Zeppelin? Forgive me, is Led's songs primarily Rock?

Maybe try different headphones will yield better result (better as in fitting your song genre, AFAIK, Q701 is for classicals).

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

Q701 on Led Zeppelin? Forgive me, is Led's songs primarily Rock?

Maybe try different headphones will yield better result (better as in fitting your song genre, AFAIK, Q701 is for classicals).

 
Rubbish.
 
There are no specific headphones for specific music genres. People may prefer one or the other, but there are no rules. This is just bad advice. If you gave your statement a little thought you would realise that the Q701 is endorse by Quincy Jones. Why would Quincy Jones endorse a headphone designed for classical music??? Has Quincy Jones even done anything professionally with classical music?
 
Think and then post.

 

[autumnholy]

Quote:

 
Rubbish.
 
There are no specific headphones for specific music genres. People may prefer one or the other, but there are no rules. This is just bad advice. If you gave your statement a little thought you would realise that the Q701 is endorse by Quincy Jones. Why would Quincy Jones endorse a headphone designed for classical music??? Has Quincy Jones even done anything professionally with classical music?
 
Think and then post.

 
It's sad to see that things which doesn't suit your taste is regard as rubbish.
Take away your attacks, and then contribute towards the question.
 
So you are telling me that insisting on Q701, and then getting an AMP/DAC/Cable/software to tune the sound to better suit the TS's music genre is a better idea,
than me suggesting another headphone better tune for rock?
 
And since when it's not permitted to post an opinion here? AFAIK, there isn't any technical facts involved. So, please do Head-fi a favor, keep your personal attacks in your mind, and contribute politely.
 
Thanks.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

I think it is possible to get headphones that are better suited for certain types of music.....however the catch is that you are probably looking at sub 200 dollar headphones only. Anything in the higher quality than lets say a Dr. Dre beats will probably be good enough to make most people happy.  
 
For instance if you look at the frequency response graph of the q701s, they seem to struggle keeping a solid bass and the highs are a little harsh. The mids are a little high too, but it isn't like those two factors are going to tarnish the large sound stage or the good sound reproduction. 
 
If I were to have plugged these headphones into a basic MP3 player, then I probably would have suffered with poor sound quality for rock ad roll (and yes, led zeppelin is rock and roll). In that case I could have probably got some higher end AKG or Sennheiser headphones that had better frequency response and possibly lower impedance.
 
Since I am using a computer though I decided to get the essence STX. Which has a headphone amp and all that good stuff. Then I used an equalizer to raise the db on the low frequency, turned treble down to practically zero, and I lowered the highs just a bit.
 
Now, I know using an equalizer is like one of the seven sins of an audiophile, but I actually got fairly decent results. The sound is a lot cleaner, the bass is a lot better, and it just sounds more natural. The problem I am having is that the equalizer(s) I have been using aren't precise. Meaning that if I am to change anything at lets say the 10K frequency, I am changing it by an approximate amount of decibels. So instead of raising the Db level to exactly 18.2, I am changing it to anywhere from 16 to 20Db which does not help to make an exact inverse of the frequency response. So essentially I am losing sound quality. 
 
 
So in short, can you get better headphones for what you want to listen too: yes. But it really isn't going to make a huge bit of difference because anything "better" would have probably blown my budget out of the water. 
 
Ford GT lover also has a point that the q701s aren't bad for listening to rock either though. While I do have to make some minor adjustments, they are still quite good, so going on a headphone hunt to probably only get a 3 percent difference is going to probably equate to a giant waste of time. 

 

[hipster2010]

Why not try some Grados to see if you like their sound since they are known to be great for rock?

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

Quote:

Why not try some Grados to see if you like their sound since they are known to be great for rock?

I apologize for my grammar, but in my first post I tried to say that I have no money. I have exactly 6.24 bucks in my bank account. I am living at home, so please don't worry, but I obviously can't spend money. Otherwise I would comply with your advice. 
 
To be more clear about want kind of advice I am looking for. I was trying to be sly and not upset the community, but I am basically looking for software advice. 
 
I need to find an equalizer or other software ticks that raise the bass and make the highs less harsh. If I use a soft rock preset on the equalizer that I already have, the sound is SOOO much better.....but it isn't perfect.
 
I am hoping that the community might have some tricks of the trade that would let me improve the quality of the sound without loosing anything.  

 

[fordgtlover]

Quote:

 
It's sad to see that things which doesn't suit your taste is regard as rubbish.
Take away your attacks, and then contribute towards the question.
 
So you are telling me that insisting on Q701, and then getting an AMP/DAC/Cable/software to tune the sound to better suit the TS's music genre is a better idea,
than me suggesting another headphone better tune for rock?
 
And since when it's not permitted to post an opinion here? AFAIK, there isn't any technical facts involved. So, please do Head-fi a favor, keep your personal attacks in your mind, and contribute politely.
 
Thanks.

I'm saying your comment "AFAIK, Q701 is for classicals" is wrong, and it's misleading information for a new member.
 
Please note that I addressed the content of your post so you can stop with the histrionics about personal attacks.

 

[autumnholy]

Quote:

I'm saying your comment "AFAIK, Q701 is for classicals" is wrong, and it's misleading information for a new member.
 
Please note that I addressed the content of your post so you can stop with the histrionics about personal attacks.

 
That's my perception on Q701, and another thing is, I believe in changing headphone to suit the music genre because headphones tuning greatly affects sound quality, besides the source (mastering) and also environment.
And then, TS already has one, so he/she knows best if it suits him or not. 
 
And to you, it's rude to call other people rubbish for not agreeing on your opinion. Even your word "misleading" means you are right and others is wrong, where in fact, is your perception and not a fact. Everyone is entitled to voice their own opinion and back up with their reasoning. Didn't you notice your aggressiveness already?
 
By the way, I must apologize to TS and to you, fordgtlover, if what I said offended any of you. This is still a civilized place, and I hope it will always be. We are just here to share opinion, not comparing who has the bigger ego.

 

[adamlr]

Quote:

 
To be more clear about want kind of advice I am looking for. I was trying to be sly and not upset the community, but I am basically looking for software advice. 
 
I need to find an equalizer or other software ticks that raise the bass and make the highs less harsh. If I use a soft rock preset on the equalizer that I already have, the sound is SOOO much better.....but it isn't perfect.
 

there was a thread about eq not long ago. http://www.head-fi.org/t/607331/eq-sound-quality/45
 
on page 4 xnor explains to me how to install electri-q on foobar 2000. and the whole thread is full of useful eq advise, id recommend reading the whole thread.
 
also, here are a couple of other links about eq. i admit i havnt read all of them, but none the less.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587703/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial-part-2
 
http://www.ethanwiner.com/equalizers.html
 
 
good luck

 

[autumnholy]

Thanks adamlr. That's a good read.
It's great to learn.

 

[adamlr]

Quote:

Thanks adamlr. That's a good read.
It's great to learn.

cheers! good luck.

 

[micrors4]

Quote:

Q701 on Led Zeppelin? Forgive me, is Led's songs primarily Rock?

Maybe try different headphones will yield better result (better as in fitting your song genre, AFAIK, Q701 is for classicals).

Are you serious, how could you be on a forum based around music and never heard of Led Zeppelin, someone needs to get this person a Zeppelin CD ASAP!

 

[bigshot]

All music benefits from the same thing... Flat frequency response, good dynamics and low distortion. The best method of getting good sound with software is to pick up a really good digital equalizer app. Work with it and even out your response, and it doesn't matter if you have a cheap system or an expensive one, it will sound MUCH better.

P.S. EQ presets are a total waste of time. You have to adjust to your own rig.