[tolstoy]

Hey all, I've just recently started to get into improving my audio experience, and to that end purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD555s. I'm really satisfied with the sound; in fact I was blown away by how detailed it is compared to my last pair of phones (HD205s).

However, the bass is a little low on the 555s for my taste. I realise this is probably because I'm used to more bass-heavy consumer phones, but either way I've always liked a good dollop of bass in my music.

I find that if I boost the bass frequencies a bit in the iTunes EQ the phones are perfectly capable of providing the bass I like. However, I can also hear a little distortion when I do that, and I'm told that the iTunes EQ is pretty harsh on the audio signal. Is there a better way to EQ on a Mac without using iTunes' poor offering?

 

[moogoob]

I'd be interested in this too, as I sometimes like switching to my 280-pros for a change, and they NEED a slight dip in the mids.

 

[vegaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tolstoy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find that if I boost the bass frequencies a bit in the iTunes EQ the phones are perfectly capable of providing the bass I like. However, I can also hear a little distortion when I do that, and I'm told that the iTunes EQ is pretty harsh on the audio signal. Is there a better way to EQ on a Mac without using iTunes' poor offering?

EQ should be done below 0db, otherwise you are likely to get clipping (especially with modern recordings). So try attenuating everything but the frequencies you want to boost, this way nothing goes over 0db and it should avoid the clipping. The iTunes EQ won't be the best around though of course.

 

[tolstoy]

Hey vegaman, thanks for that tip, it helped a lot with the distortion problem. I also bought Audio Hijack Pro, and now I'm using the Graphical EQ Audio Unit that ships with OS X to do the EQing, which seems to have helped too. The Senns are giving the bass I was hoping for now.

 

[[L]es]

that audio hijack pro is useful. i'm playing with the aulowshelf filter...

 

[JadeEast]

It's a joke that you have to use Hijack pro to get more than a 10 band eq on a mac.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JadeEast /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a joke that you have to use Hijack pro to get more than a 10 band eq on a mac.

Who need EQ anyway...

 

[tolstoy]

Bassheads with an insatiable addiction

 

[wilsynet]

I find using EQ in iTunes pretty much kills sound stage and dynamics. For best sound quality, turn off the equalizer, turn off sound check, turn off cross fade, turn off everything you can think of turning off. =)

 

[bigshot]

I'm looking for an equalizer plugin for itunes that allows me to assign eq settings for specific tracks with more bands than just the built in 10 band. Does such a thing exist?

 

[feds27]

Quote:

I find using EQ in iTunes pretty much kills sound stage and dynamics. For best sound quality, turn off the equalizer, turn off sound check, turn off cross fade, turn off everything you can think of turning off. =)

+1 This is what I do.

 

[bigshot]

Gotta have EQ. Are there any plugins to replace the itunes equalizer?

 

[liamstrain]

Not that still work in iTunes - nor that can be used track by track (that I know of). 
 
If you use a program like Fidelia as a player, you can use a wider range of audio unit plugins and vst plugins. But again, I don't think you can define by track. 

 

[bigshot]

I tried reequalizing the Led Zeppelin box tonight. No go. I can get the balance sort of right, but it turns to mush. It took an 11 dB cut in the mid bass!

 

[liamstrain]

arg - bad remaster? Have you tried using an external plug in eq (parametric or other) to handle it better?