[Br777]

UPDATE: this thread was orignally posted as a discussion on different equalisers, but has turned into a debate about what it means to be an audio purest -Specifically regarding where the equalizer fits into this equation (when listening with headphones)....

 

[Br777]

So far i have spent a very long time with elictri-q in order to get my closest conception to a flat sine/pink noise output. I was thrilled with my sound, and then someone who is crazy for eq's suggested the sonnox eq basically saying it was superior.

I tried it of course, and have since spent quite a bit of time trying to match it exactly with my electri-q pattern in order to evaluate its quality

Im now satisfied with the settings match, and surprisingly enough.. i cant tell the difference between the two. Maybe others can, but not I.

This makes me happy b/c i find electri-q has a much more user friendly interface, and only takes one running instance to match my intended output. With sonnox i have to run 4 instances due to its limitations in adjustment points and frequency response....

thoughts? opinions? suggestions?

thanks

 

[FallenAngel]

Purist here, equalizers are evil!

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Purist here, equalizers are evil!

so by purist you mean troll?

I'm honestly quite amazed that anyone would be against equalizing their headphones. I admit i was very skeptical at first, but now that i am informed of the principal behind the process, I equalize them because it delivers a truly pure sound.

...and now back to our thread comparing equalizers...

 

[Hybrys]

Theoretically, a purist would be someone that has limited to ZERO signal processing anywhere along the line. EQing to match your headphones nearly factors out the headphones themselves, and some people buy specific headphones for a specific experience.

From my point of view, I'd rather hear the music without an EQ. The quirks of the headphones I have is what makes me love them. And with zero digital processing, I feel much better about hearing the music the way it was intended, even if an EQ could offer a 'flatter', more precise experience.

 

[leeperry]

the thing is that it's like frameless glasses, your brain will work its magic and make the screws disappear after a while...the same way your brain will smooth out any nasty EQ spike due to middle ear resonances..

I personally tend to like avoiding digital EQ and use opamps w/ slightly rolled off trebles to more or less remedy the issue...in a smoother way

PS: OTOH, my trickiest test song is "The Stranglers - Golden Brown.flac", and its harpsichord sounds a like techno lead synth on headphones w/o EQ..

 

[Br777]

well... so much for comparing equalizers... even the equalizer king had nothin to ad...

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrys /img/forum/go_quote.gif Theoretically, a purist would be someone that has limited to ZERO signal processing anywhere along the line. EQing to match your headphones nearly factors out the headphones themselves, and some people buy specific headphones for a specific experience. From my point of view, I'd rather hear the music without an EQ. The quirks of the headphones I have is what makes me love them. And with zero digital processing, I feel much better about hearing the music the way it was intended, even if an EQ could offer a 'flatter', more precise experience.

bottom line to me is - whatever floats your boat - but for the sake of a healthy argument, which we all love so much here at head-fi, i'll digress...

i dont agree that you are hearing the music the way it was intended by leaving your headphones "pure". You are hearing the music the way your ear drum resonance interacts with the headphones thus causing or adding to already present frequency imbalances inherent in the headphones, that subsequently cause you to hear the music other than the way it was recorded, and often far from it. Properly eq-ing your headphones for what is truly a "flat and more precise response", is what brings the sound back to its "purely the way it was recorded" state.

you are not "flattening" the sound, flattening is a misleading term. You are balancing the sound - bringing it as close to its original and intended state as possible, in relation to imbalances created by the existance of headphones - this process is likened to removing distortion.

but again.. whatever floats your boat...

 

[leeperry]

lol! well, you know what my fav EQ is...nothing compares to it IMO, you'd have to dig into some TDM plugins like Focusrite to match it. These days I like opamps w/ rolled off trebles, but nothing's black or white in audio.

maybe you can try apEQ, it's not too bad if you need zillion bands...but nothing like Sonnox anyhow.

the SSL serie from Waves is not bad, very funny to use...but I've never really liked its sound tbh, and you'd also need to stack several instances.

 

[leeperry]

there's also this one: Refined Audiometrics Laboratory

if you search hard enough, there's a freeware version floating around w/ 3 or 5 bands...don't remember.

it upsamples, I find it terrible...but many ppl find it amazing

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif lol! well, you know what my fav EQ is...nothing compares to it IMO, you'd have to dig into some TDM plugins like Focusrite to match it. These days I like opamps w/ rolled off trebles, but nothing's black or white in audio. maybe you can try apEQ, it's not too bad if you need zillion bands...but nothing like Sonnox anyhow. the SSL serie from Waves is not bad, very funny to use...but I've never really liked its sound tbh, and you'd also need to stack several instances.

He's Back folks! oh shuks, but now ive even changed the name of the thread and everything...

well anyway, im still sticking to the good ol' electri-q call me deaf, call me silly, but IMO it sounds identical to sonnox, its freer than sonnox, and its super easy to use, and besides, ive "perfectly" balanced my sine wave, so i wont be making any more adjustments any time soon.. unless of course this "burn-in" myth turns out to be true...

OH dear! now ive done it! this thread is going to get doubly hijacked now

besides - it takes me 4 sonnox eq's to do the job of one electri-q -

 

[leeperry]

the main issue w/ electri-q is that the best sounding modes add latency(linear phase mode?)...and it's constantly glitching up when you seek, vastly annoying.

this one is terrible too: http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/geq-7.php

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif the main issue w/ electri-q is that the best sounding modes add latency(linear phase mode?)...and it's constantly glitching up when you seek, vastly annoying.

i just use plain vanilla mode ( i use the free version) and i have never had an issue... i also dont seek, i mostly just listen

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif so by purist you mean troll?

That's a little uncalled for considering our positions on the forum.

As for equalizers in general, I avoid using them as I don't measure the frequency response graphs of the headphones while using frequency sweeps on specific equalizers and their settings to get an actual "flat" response. If you have the equipment and actually make the headphones completely flat with an equalizer, by all means; I don't.

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's a little uncalled for considering our positions on the forum. As for equalizers in general, I avoid using them as I don't measure the frequency response graphs of the headphones while using frequency sweeps on specific equalizers and their settings to get an actual "flat" response. If you have the equipment and actually make the headphones completely flat with an equalizer, by all means; I don't.

thats why i added one of these..

.. im a playful guy, what can i say... and you have to admit.. that was classic trolling.. not that theres anything wrong with that...

i dont use graphs to equalize headphones, you have to custom equalise to your hearing, which means by ear... the equalizing thread explains it all..

It sounds like most of the people who swear off equalizing.. and i used to be one of them, have never actually read the how to equalize thread... it seems likes its not what most people expect that it is.. it certainly wasn't for me... it was a real eye.. i mean...ear opener... (see what i did there... that's me being playful again)