[Dobrescu George]

it would be good if you would not boost everything in j3 eq, beacause, it can make everything a little harsh....

 

[Typhoon859]

Quote:

it would be good if you would not boost everything in j3 eq, beacause, it can make everything a little harsh....

 
That's your opinion really...  Nothing I do is random/by accident.  There are several reasons why each setting is set as it is which I'd have to say based on my experience testing.  I've tried the same things except -1 each frequency, -2, -3, +1, etc... until I found the perfect balance between the pros and cons.  At some point I remember I decreased by 1 and felt that in fact was more balanced, relative to the harshness it ended up reducing a bit and the sound gains that it maintained.  I then retested from there; normally though I ended up at what was initially that I figured to be best. 
 
For each device, for all software, different EQ applies, meaning, if on another device there's a 5-band equalizer with all the same options, it would be very different even for the same headphones.  One of the big reasons this kind of EQ I feel is unavoidable on the J3 that I made is because it opens up the sound a bit more which otherwise, on the Cowon J3 (possibly other Cowon players), has cold and brittle-like qualities.  It really does have that quality unfortunately and people that have noticed that/felt it, even before I knew how the EQ worked, tended to have similar boosted EQ to get rid of it and recommended this to me when I complained about the issue.  I didn't believe that advice (because I thought it wouldn't really solve the J3's "unavoidable" cold sound) and was right not to by the way.  Boosting in such a way never quite got rid of it but as I personally was tampering with EQ, I noticed my tendency to go there and why; it reduces the magnitude of this characteristic regardless amongst other things... 
 
In the end, this has its advantages although admittedly with certain songs, although it also brings out clarity, sometimes it's not worth it compared to the overall together and softer feeling of the sound that e.g. connecting my headphones to my computer (no EQ) would deliver.  It otherwise outweighs all the cons on the device in my opinion, creates a unique sound for itself which comes in useful, and doesn't simply balance the sound but actually makes it in a league of its own I feel vs. others.  Otherwise, definitely at least partially due to the lack of warmth, I don't feel it has too much, if anything, that makes it sound better than many other devices/players.  I really do know what you mean though; just harshness I don't think would be the most accurate description.  Plus, explanation aside, very simply put, I like it like this.  Again, I compare all the possible variabilities. 

 

[169380]

z

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

i'm finding it difficult to decide which EQ setting i like more: typhoon's version (7,5,6,6,5 - BBE 4, Mach3B 8, MP ON, STE 3) or this one - 0,0,0,0,0 - BBE 10, Mach3B 5, MP ON. its hard to compare them side on as one produces a much louder sound than the other. technically, which should be superior for hip hop and jazz?

We can't answer that for you....we don't have your ears. You just have to make a decision which one you like better, or keep experimenting.

 

[Dobrescu George]

yeah, it is pretty true... everyone hears different... this is why some of us, have class, style and listen to most of music, and some people out there listen to justin bieber.... 
 
back on topic, i can say, that on the j3, if you go too lout with anything, it is harsh, but again, my friend, it is harsh for my style of music,... maybe other things need something like this.... for example, sirenia, haggard, and sonata arctica sound too harsh with that thing... but other things sound very well... sorry, i was just saying, that everyone should make one or two eq's on j3, that should be for other types of music...
because, for me i need the highs loud in holywood undead musc, but with infected mushroom, too much high, can make my ears bleed... you get the poin...
 
 
in other way of idead, i do have bbe at 10, mach3bass at 10, mp on, i have everything at maximum, excepting the equalizer, i mean it,s bands, and the reverb... why would someone ever want reverb?.... whatever........ 

 

[Typhoon859]

Quote:

yeah, it is pretty true... everyone hears different... this is why some of us, have class, style and listen to most of music, and some people out there listen to justin bieber.... 
 
back on topic, i can say, that on the j3, if you go too lout with anything, it is harsh, but again, my friend, it is harsh for my style of music,... maybe other things need something like this.... for example, sirenia, haggard, and sonata arctica sound too harsh with that thing... but other things sound very well... sorry, i was just saying, that everyone should make one or two eq's on j3, that should be for other types of music...
because, for me i need the highs loud in holywood undead musc, but with infected mushroom, too much high, can make my ears bleed... you get the poin...
 
 
in other way of idead, i do have bbe at 10, mach3bass at 10, mp on, i have everything at maximum, excepting the equalizer, i mean it,s bands, and the reverb... why would someone ever want reverb?.... whatever........
 

 
See, in a way we're opposites.  I freakin' LOVE Infected Mushroom with my settings.  The way you have it set for me worsens the cons of the J3's sound even more!  Too much mach3bass just replaces all variability in bass tone to a thump, which further increased the cold/bitter sound I was talking about (which is unfortunately necessary with the ATH-M50's though the other settings rectify that a bit).  BBE at maximum for me is completely crazy because it makes it completely fake sounding.  To some level it's good, but understanding what it does, I feel upping the EQ is a better solution which, again, in the process ends up opening up the sound a well enough amount (warmth).  BBE on max also thins out the sound too much IMO.
 
 
Quote:

i'm finding it difficult to decide which EQ setting i like more: typhoon's version (7,5,6,6,5 - BBE 4, Mach3B 8, MP ON, STE 3) or this one - 0,0,0,0,0 - BBE 10, Mach3B 5, MP ON. its hard to compare them side on as one produces a much louder sound than the other. technically, which should be superior for hip hop and jazz?

Yeah, so in the end man, as you can see, it really does boil down to you.  When comparing the settings, try increasing/decreasing the volume by 5 very quickly.  Obviously though, since the first settings are mine, I feel the second option is completely the wrong thing to do, especially for Jazz.  My EQ settings, whoever I gave them to to listen, agreed with me when I said that Jazz just sounded absolutely incredible vs. anything else.  For Hip Hop, because of the large amount of fake sound to begin with, increasing that factor doesn't change much so my settings can be good while the other one I'm guessing could also sound decent.
 
What you can also try is listening to 10 songs, not paying TOO much mind, with my settings - you know, maybe like 5 Jazz songs of different styles and the 5 Hip Hop songs.  Add them to your favorites to make it sort of like a playlist.  Then, play them again (with louder volume, lol), using the other setting.  You'll get a better feel for each and I think you'll know what experience you enjoyed better.  I think that's the most important thing, less about "which sounds better" while directly trying to compare and more about how you feel listening through.

 

[Dobrescu George]

yes, typhoon... but still, if we would use the same headphones, and have the same ears, we would agree..... this is why there are different opinions.... because we cannot hear the same, as ears are different from person to person.... hearing may vary even based on geographycal location, and even may vary on the fact if you live in the city, or in a non city zone.... everything changes your hearing....
 
anyway, i think that if i would be using ath m50, i would agree with you... i understood that they do have recessed mids.... so you need to bring the mids out a little more..... am i right?... 
i am using at most sennheisers, and they do not have a problem with anything but a hump in upper base part, so i just need to make 100hz region be lower with about 3-4db, on cowon, and they have a much more natural sound..... now, i am pretty sure, that if i would be having your cans, i would have the same opinion as you,.....

 

[Typhoon859]

Quote:

yes, typhoon... but still, if we would use the same headphones, and have the same ears, we would agree..... this is why there are different opinions.... because we cannot hear the same, as ears are different from person to person.... hearing may vary even based on geographycal location, and even may vary on the fact if you live in the city, or in a non city zone.... everything changes your hearing....
 
anyway, i think that if i would be using ath m50, i would agree with you... i understood that they do have recessed mids.... so you need to bring the mids out a little more..... am i right?... 
i am using at most sennheisers, and they do not have a problem with anything but a hump in upper base part, so i just need to make 100hz region be lower with about 3-4db, on cowon, and they have a much more natural sound..... now, i am pretty sure, that if i would be having your cans, i would have the same opinion as you,.....

Nah, not necessarily true.  I don't actually think you'd have the same opinion.  If you notice, a few posts before the ATH-M50 one, I posted settings for Brainwavz M2's.  These headphones' thing by default is already a strong direct sound so the boost in EQ as I've mentioned is actually mostly to correct/improve on the Cowon device itself.  In other words, it's probably the way I'd have my sound for most headphones (unless they can't handle it) with proper changes for individual frequencies, obviously, lol.
 
Also, yeah, there are opinions, but to a point...  There's a fine line between opinion/what simply is right vs. wrong.  Audio Engineers don't improve their design based on nothing/purely technical data alone.  I'm not saying this is one of those cases but I'm just saying that it's a bit extreme what you were saying.  Believe it or not, human hearing is very similar unless impaired, simply differences between perceiving REALLY low ranges (30 Hz-) and really high ranges (20,000 Hz+), and loudness differences - from -5 to +5 dB from average. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

yes, but our mind, is different, and it does understand pleasure, and things that sound good, different..... this is my point... that hearing may be the same, but as i may like spicy things and you salty things, this is from where, it comes the difference.... the difference is not necesarly in hearing, but in  our inner mind and understand of pleasure and pain, of what we like and we do not like.... 
 
and by the way i do fiind rising all the things up to be funny, but it can affect one;s hearing....

 

[Typhoon859]

Quote:

yes, but our mind, is different, and it does understand pleasure, and things that sound good, different..... this is my point... that hearing may be the same, but as i may like spicy things and you salty things, this is from where, it comes the difference.... the difference is not necesarly in hearing, but in  our inner mind and understand of pleasure and pain, of what we like and we do not like.... 
 
and by the way i do fiind rising all the things up to be funny, but it can affect one;s hearing....

Well yeah, that's the actual opinion part.  Some people might like a little more bass vs. a little less bass, warmer vs. more neutral-ish, louder vs. quieter, less attack vs. more attack, etc...  You just went a bit beyond that.  I mean, yeah, that's pretty much what I was saying. 
 
Not sure what you mean by it affecting someone's hearing but all you do is just make the volume lower if you mean it's too loud.  If you mean because of "harshness" then that's just false, especially since it isn't; that's just a characterization evoked from your taste. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

no, really, i was using somtehing like that, but with high volume, (sennheiser ie8, i need high volumes to block street sound).... and after, i had some problems, like not hearing really well for 3 days.... but it is funny to boos everything... ok excepting the 100hz region.. i have seen that if you lower that region all of ie8, hd380pro from senn, and xb700 from sony do sound better.......

 

[Typhoon859]

Quote:

no, really, i was using somtehing like that, but with high volume, (sennheiser ie8, i need high volumes to block street sound).... and after, i had some problems, like not hearing really well for 3 days.... but it is funny to boos everything... ok excepting the 100hz region.. i have seen that if you lower that region all of ie8, hd380pro from senn, and xb700 from sony do sound better.......

Don't know what you mean by funny to be honest...  But anyway, you mentioned high volume..  Yeah, so it's because of the high volume - has nothing to do with the EQ.  And regardless, that's not really a testament to anything because I never have problems because of it.  As a matter of fact, every time my hearing gets tested, it's consistently far above average.  In other words, that's a whole separate issue that you have...

 

[169380]

whilst you two were arguing, i settled on an EQ setting:
80Hz - +2
500Hz - -1
780Hz - +3
4.1kHz - +2
6.9kHz - +2
 
BBE - 6
Mach3Bass - 6-8
MP - On
STE - 1/2
 
to be honest typhoon's settings for the ath m50 did cause there to be slightly harsh trebles, however at low volumes it is a decent setting. i think it would be exaggerating to say that it would damage my hearing at a volume above 20, but there is definitely some distortion

 

[Typhoon859]

Quote:

whilst you two were arguing, i settled on an EQ setting:
80Hz - +2
500Hz - -1
780Hz - +3
4.1kHz - +2
6.9kHz - +2
 
BBE - 6
Mach3Bass - 6-8
MP - On
STE - 1/2
 
to be honest typhoon's settings for the ath m50 did cause there to be slightly harsh trebles, however at low volumes it is a decent setting. i think it would be exaggerating to say that it would damage my hearing at a volume above 20, but there is definitely some distortion

We weren't arguing at all - just discussing.  It's funny that you mention the treble, as I thought you would.  My friend, that is the nature of these headphones.  I settled for the treble sound I got because regardless, it was less harsh (at the very least, no more harsh) than it is normally connected to a computer or whatever.  The treble is always what I disliked about these headphones.  I'm not willing to hamper the overall sound (everything else) just to correct treble.  It's less a problem with my settings than it is something I find less important/something that's a consequence of the headphones which shouldn't be prioritized with EQ.  The pros of fixing that do not outweigh the cons as a result. 

 

[Optimus Praim]

Check these settings with your m50's and see if they do the trick for you..
For my ears m50's sound much more clearer than any other i have tried before.
Because i use a bass boost cmoy you may find bass not so powerful without amping.
In that case just raise the level on 80Hz band or the Mach3Bass...

 
80Hz - +5
220Hz - +3
1.4Hz - +7
4.1kHz - +5
6.9kHz - +10
 
BBE - +10
Mach3Bass - 1
3d -1
MP - On
STE - 1/2
 
If anyone has any recomendation for better improvement of these settings he can make a suggestion..