[SonyFan121]

In a perfect world, true, but how many headphones out there match your taste absolutely perfectly? For me for eg the resolution of something like the hd800 and it's driver are class leading. Just a shame it was tuned with a treble for 80 year old people.
Also re: digital eq, what difference does it make if it's only changing the sound with dsp if at the end of the day the sound is more pleasing to you? YMMV natch.

For me, the whole point of buying headphones is to find a headphone that does exactly that - matches my tastes perfectly.
People are entitled to do what they want, I did not come here to start a debate. Just to make a point; DSP does not change the sound signature of a headphone.
What you do when you apply EQ, you manipulate certain frequencies, but the default sound of the drivers does not change.

 

[gazzington]

Always eq stuff

 

[329161]

For me, the whole point of buying headphones is to find a headphone that does exactly that - matches my tastes perfectly.
People are entitled to do what they want, I did not come here to start a debate. Just to make a point; DSP does not change the sound signature of a headphone.

DSP changes how we perceive the sound just as much as analogue eqs do, so in all practicality there's no difference. Congratulations on finding the headphone which matches your taste perfectly. For me, it's a hobby where I like to acquire different headphones. The chances that they all suit me sonically perfectly are close to zero.
However, there are instances where a headphone might not normally match my taste, eg the HDJ 8 by Sennheiser. It's bass and mids are boosted, but it's done superbly with fantastic delineation between frequency bands. A guilty pleasure if you will. So I won't eq in examples like this where I like the signature. Otherwise I'll get headphones with great resolution and driver quality which might require small eq changes.
Ironically, the only 3 headphones that I love with "stock" sound are the aforementioned lcdx and 2 dsp personalised headphones being the Aventho Wireless and Nuraphone. These last 2 adapt to my natural hearing really really well. Resolution is a notch below high end cabled headphones, however.

 

[Laurenesi]

I hate EQ, lol. There is allot of misunderstanding regarding EQ, many people think that applying EQ changes the sound signature of their headphones but don't realise that it's just software. They are not changing the actual sound signature of the headphones, they are just altering certain output frequencies of DSP(digital sound program) software. I just don't get it, if people feel then need to EQ their headphones, then they should sell them and/or buy another headphone that they will like the sound of and not want to EQ.

I got your point, however I can imagine that people prefer different settings for different types of music. In those situations it might be cheaper to make use of EQ instead of purchasing different headphones for each type of music.

 

[blackdragon87]

almost never do

 

[franz12]

For me, the whole point of buying headphones is to find a headphone that does exactly that - matches my tastes perfectly.
People are entitled to do what they want, I did not come here to start a debate. Just to make a point; DSP does not change the sound signature of a headphone.
What you do when you apply EQ, you manipulate certain frequencies, but the default sound of the drivers does not change.

Everything in your chain is electronics. Your source is digital. Your DAC/AMP are electronics.
You might confuse that your headphones are some sort of acoustic because you hear acoustic guitars/piano thought them, but it is illusion. They are ELECTRONICS.
Nothing is acoustic in your chain.

Flaws in electronics can be tackled by a high quality electronic gadget, the name of which is EQUALIZATION.

 

[megabigeye]

Everything in your chain is electronics. Your source is digital. Your DAC/AMP are electronics.
You might confuse that your headphones are some sort of acoustic because you hear acoustic guitars/piano thought them, but it is illusion. They are ELECTRONICS.
Nothing is acoustic in your chain.

Flaws in electronics can be tackled by a high quality electronic gadget, the name of which is EQUALIZATION.

From dictionary.com:
acoustic
—adjective Also a·cous·ti·cal.

1. pertaining to the sense or organs of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sound.
2. (of a building material) designed for controlling sound.

3. Music.
a. of, relating to, or being a musical instrument whose sound is not electrically enhanced or modified.
b. arranged for or made up of such instruments:
an acoustic solo; an acoustic group.

 

[SonyFan121]

Everything in your chain is electronics. .

Well there you go - state the obvious!

Flaws in electronics can be tackled by a high quality electronic gadget, the name of which is EQUALIZATION.

Wanna know why I hate EQ? okay, this is why; There is no such thing as "flaws" in electronics. Everything is designed deliberately by the manufacturer. When you apply EQ with digital software, you run the risk of causing harm to the drivers in headphones, this is because they are not designed to sound this way. You are potentially putting the membrane under stress. Whether you can hear it or not, by applying EQ you are literally causing harmful distortion in the drivers.
Furthermore, when you listen to music on your EQ'd headphones, you are not hearing your music the way it was meant to be heard by the recording artist.

So..not only is EQ harmful to headphones but also extremely unrealistic and inaccurate for listening to music as the artist intended. This is the truth!

 

[geniekid]

When you apply EQ with digital software, you run the risk of causing harm to the drivers in headphones, this is because they are not designed to sound this way. You are potentially putting the membrane under stress. Whether you can hear it or not, by applying EQ you are literally causing harmful distortion in the drivers.

I'm not going to argue with you about EQ vs accuracy vs intended sound, but I do have to set one thing straight - EQ isn't going to damage the drivers as long as you're doing anything remotely reasonable. Consider that the majority of music you listen to already has EQ applied to it during the mixing and mastering stages. From the perspective of your headphone, EQ applied during the mastering of the record is no different than EQ applied at your PC/external EQ box. The only danger is if you create too great a boost, but that same danger exists with level control in general and nobody is going to argue that volume controls are bad.

 

[SonyFan121]

I'm not going to argue with you about EQ vs accuracy vs intended sound, but I do have to set one thing straight - EQ isn't going to damage the drivers as long as you're doing anything remotely reasonable. Consider that the majority of music you listen to already has EQ applied to it during the mixing and mastering stages. From the perspective of your headphone, EQ applied during the mastering of the record is no different than EQ applied at your PC/external EQ box. The only danger is if you create too great a boost, but that same danger exists with level control in general and nobody is going to argue that volume controls are bad.

Yes, I am familiar with mixing and mastering music as I do it myself (I am a musician). By the time a record is published, it has already been Equalized to perfection, or in other words,- as the artist intended for the recording to be heard. Playing with EQ after the recording has been finalised and published, is like diluting the original recording. It is not how it is meant to be heard.

 

[MikeZhao]

I use a ifi micro iDSD BL at my office and it's not worth it to me to get a proper amp and dac there. anyway it has a nifty xbass and '3d' feature that pretty much acts as EQ and it's surprisingly well done. doesn't distort the sound in a negative way and makes most of my music more 'fun' -- not very analytical but it gives it a little more energy.

 

[megabigeye]

@SonyFan121
I don't mind if you don't want to EQ your music, nor if you think it's somehow diluting the artists' vision. Those are not my opinions, but whatever.

I realize you're probably not meaning to, but you're insinuating that EQing and people that use EQ are somehow being disrespectful of both recording artists and the electronics designers/engineers. As a person who uses EQ, I find this pretty insulting.
To me, this is akin to going into an art gallery and not being allowed to wear glasses because that's "not the artist's vision."

 

[MikeZhao]

@SonyFan121
I don't mind if you don't want to EQ your music, nor if you think it's somehow diluting the artists' vision. Those are not my opinions, but whatever.

I realize you're probably not meaning to, but you're insinuating that EQing and people that use EQ are somehow being disrespectful of both recording artists and the electronics designers/engineers. As a person who uses EQ, I find this pretty insulting.
To me, this is akin to going into an art gallery and not being allowed to wear glasses because that's "not the artist's vision."

Agree with your sentiment fully but you definitely lost me with your analogy lol. I see it more like dining at some upscale restaurant and when the chef brings out the main dish you decide to add salt to his creation.

 

[megabigeye]

Agree with your sentiment fully but you definitely lost me with your analogy lol. I see it more like dining at some upscale restaurant and when the chef brings out the main dish you decide to add salt to his creation.

Ha! Yeah, maybe your analogy is better.
...But if I had a discerning palate* and went into a restaurant and found that everything is under-seasoned, I don't care how much they charge, what kind of attire is required, or how snooty the patronage and staff, they are not an "upscale" restaurant. And this doesn't begin to speak to all of the piss poor restaurants out there, nor all of the over-seasoning (which, in my experience, is way more common).
I think the same could be said about recording artists and electronics engineers. If everything sounds bright or thin, either their tastes just don't align with my own, or they're not as good as they think they are. Either way, aren't I entitled to adjust it to suit my fancy?

Anyway, in your previous post didn't you basically admit to enjoying an extra dash of salt now and again?

*E.G., being able to discern the difference between subtle and under-seasoned.

 

[catscratch]

EQ will not damage headphones if done correctly. If you add 30db of bass boost, max out the volume and bottom out the drivers, yes, it will do damage. If you use EQ to fix peaks in the highs and stay within the limits of amp headroom and driver excursion it's completely harmless.

If we buy the whole "as the artist intended" argument, then we assume there is a system that the artist intended their music to be heard on. Typically, this will be a neutral system that's flat 20-20 in an acoustically treated room. In this case, the argument is heavily in favor of EQ, because the point of EQ is to fix deficiencies in the frequency response and get your headphones to sound like a neutral system in an acoustically treated room, i.e. closer to the reference system that was the intended target for our recording.

However the argument is fairly meaningless because good recordings aren't made just for a really neutral reference-level system, they're made for a wide variety of systems, and good mixing and mastering engineers will make sure that their recording sounds good on just about everything, at least in as much as that's possible. The sorts of systems consumers will use are usually all over the place in terms of sound signature and FR, and at that point arguing over what was intended or how the artist heard it kinda loses all meaning, IMO.

Anyway there are pros and cons to EQ, and the question isn't To Eq or Not To Eq (cue Shakespearean monologue) but rather how it's used. You don't say "to use a screwdriver or not to use a screwdriver," you use one when you have to. The same thing applies to EQ - it's a tool to fix problems, among other things, and you use it when there are problems that it can fix. At the same time, yes it will degrade sound quality, and as with any tool there's a right and a wrong way to use it.