Joe Bloggs
Sponsor: HiByMember of the Trade: EFO Technologies Co, YanYin TechnologyHis Porta Corda walked the Green Mile
Quote:
In general you want to start with headphones that are close to your ideal signature so that you can at least stand listening to them without EQ when necessary (youtube, podcasts, Spotify and whatnot; although there are ways to EQ just about any source if you try hard enough--e.g. VAC+VSTHost will EQ anything coming out of a computer and Rockbox will EQ anything out of a portable short of FM radio.) But
1. You may not know what sound sig you want starting out and descriptions of sound sig online aren't very reliable, so if what you buy doesn't end up aligning with your tastes, it's better to EQ it than to let it be a doorstop (and an ineffective one at that)
2. After EQing, you can post your EQ results and ask around for a phone that differs from the set you bought in the way shown by the EQ. That's a pretty precise description of the sound you want and can get you much closer to your goal
3. I still use my SHE3580 as beater go-everywhere phones with great sound quality. With a full parametric EQ I am indeed hearing better sound than even stock etys. Using EQ this way can get you sound quality and "beatability" (ability to financially withstand bumps and knocks that would put phones out of commission) in a combo that can't even be bought anywhere.
4. Done expertly, EQ (especially precise parametric EQ) can correct for sound aberrations that can't practically be corrected mechanically for a specific listener. The most obvious example is half-wave resonance of the ear canal plugged by the IEM--the length of this plugged canal varies by listener and creates an unwanted response peak of frequency inversely proportional to the length of the plugged canal. It can only be corrected by custom parametric EQ.
I write more about how to EQ in this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress
2 Questions:
1) Top 5 BA IEM's arond $400 price mark
2) How effective are EQ's? For example, the Panasonic SHE 3580 is said to rival the Ety ER4P by user Joe Bloggs. Could you essentially do the same thing with a lush/colored headphone e.g. Miles Davis Tribute or something really bass heavy like Sennheiser IE8?
In general you want to start with headphones that are close to your ideal signature so that you can at least stand listening to them without EQ when necessary (youtube, podcasts, Spotify and whatnot; although there are ways to EQ just about any source if you try hard enough--e.g. VAC+VSTHost will EQ anything coming out of a computer and Rockbox will EQ anything out of a portable short of FM radio.) But
1. You may not know what sound sig you want starting out and descriptions of sound sig online aren't very reliable, so if what you buy doesn't end up aligning with your tastes, it's better to EQ it than to let it be a doorstop (and an ineffective one at that)
2. After EQing, you can post your EQ results and ask around for a phone that differs from the set you bought in the way shown by the EQ. That's a pretty precise description of the sound you want and can get you much closer to your goal
3. I still use my SHE3580 as beater go-everywhere phones with great sound quality. With a full parametric EQ I am indeed hearing better sound than even stock etys. Using EQ this way can get you sound quality and "beatability" (ability to financially withstand bumps and knocks that would put phones out of commission) in a combo that can't even be bought anywhere.
4. Done expertly, EQ (especially precise parametric EQ) can correct for sound aberrations that can't practically be corrected mechanically for a specific listener. The most obvious example is half-wave resonance of the ear canal plugged by the IEM--the length of this plugged canal varies by listener and creates an unwanted response peak of frequency inversely proportional to the length of the plugged canal. It can only be corrected by custom parametric EQ.
I write more about how to EQ in this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress
Stay updated on HiBy at their facebook, website or email (icons below).
Stay updated on HiBy at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
|