[anwaypasible]

these equalizer settings come from a microphone calibrated at a professional sound laboratory.
the only catch is the equalizer used and the differences between them.
 
for my equalizers..
i just used the 'audio creation mode' from the creative x-fi elite pro software.
i used the graphic equalizer and one of the parametric equalizers to get my results.
one way to get the parametric equalizer for the front channel, you need to select 'parametric EQ' from the drop-down list up top where it says which set of speakers you are adjusting.
 
graphic equalizer settings:
31hz ~ 12.0dB
62hz ~ -2.1dB
125hz ~ -7.3dB
250hz ~ -5.0dB
500hz ~ -5.0dB
1k ~ -4.4dB
2k ~ -4.4dB
4k ~ -5.3dB
8k ~ 4.3dB
16k ~ 2.9dB
 
preamp @ 0.0dB
 
 
parametric equalizer settings:
low cutoff ~ unused
mid center 1 ~ 3000.0hz @ -11.2dB (0.50 Q)
mid center 2 ~ 4310.0hz @ 18dB (0.23 Q)
high cutoff ~ 5260.0hz @ -18dB
 
 
frequency response before equalizer:

 
 
frequency response after equalizer:

 
 
 
now with this equalizer calibration.. YOU NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE
why am i mentioning something about it?
because there is a huge dip at 4hz meaning the speaker is sucking on your ear drum obnoxiously at 4hz whenever there is enough bass in the audio to trigger the excitement.

 

[Gwarmi]

Interesting ~ the mids don't sound too recessed in your opinion?

 

[tool462]

Intriguing.  I listen to my woodies with flat EQ, but I'll dabble with your settings in a bit and see what I think.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Why EQ? I've always just bought headphones that had the right response for me...

 

[anwaypasible]

if i went to your equalizer and slid all of the treble knobs down and all of the bass knobs up...
 
what do you think every single song is going to sound like when you play 'em with the equalizer on?
 
you have to make the frequency response flat with a test sound and a calibrated analyzer microphone.
that way.. when you lay the audio on top of those equalizer settings.... the audio mastering is what chooses the final frequency response.
 
 
imagine this..
you live somewhere cold and you know you need to keep the cloth close to your skin to stay warm.
but the problem is..
the cloth needs to be stretchy to allow movement.
you see this really good sweater at the store and you are willing to make it your favorite, but it isnt stretchy at all.
 
what are your options?
1. buy the sweater and ruin it bending your arms and leaning forward/backward
2. buy the sweater and hang it on the wall
3. buy some thermal underwear that is stretchy and wear it under the XXL sweater
 
 
see what i did there?
if i wear a XXL ... i will buy a XXXL sweater because it is big enough that i dont need it to be stretchy.
but
if the sweater is that big.. it wont be close to the skin and it wont keep you warm.
so what did i do?
i put some thermal underwear on underneath.
it is stretchy and holds tight up against the skin to keep you warm.
 
sometimes you can wear two layers of thermal underwear and walk outside with only a t-shirt on in the winter !!
 
 
the frequency response being made flat is critical for one of the three steps towards making a perfect bed that your audio sleeps on.
there are three key parts:
1. frequency response
2. phase response
3. time delay for each frequency
 
 
frequency response is important.
and before people jump on me talking about the size and shape of the ear..
you need to get your speaker's electrical characteristics flat within the frequency spectrum.
 
then.. and only then..
you take a look at the ear size and shape to see how it is manipulating that perfect flat frequency response.
chances are.. you will be adjusting the amperage of electricity per frequency as stated above.
then you adjust the phase of each frequency to compensate for ear size and shape to bring the frequency response back to flat.
 
then.. and only then..
you go grab one of those HTRF audio plugins to compensate for the ear HOLE.
this will get your timing by false definition.
the speaker inside the headphone is not guaranteed to give you the same time delay for each frequency.
and if there is any room left inside the speaker's motor.. you can force it to give your timing delay something more flat across the frequency spectrum.
 
 
honest to goodness..
you can adjust the timing AND the loudness of each frequency by using an equalizer.
sometimes people adjust the equalizer for a flat waterfall.
sometimes they adjust for a flat frequency response (real time analyzer).
and sometimes they mix the two together for an average.
 
 
chances are.. for your money..
you are spending more money for more of something.
could be the ability to change the frequency response with an equalizer
could be the ability to change the phase response with an advanced equalizer
could be the ability to manipulate the timing delay with an advanced digital delay
 
 
chances are NOT.. for your money..
the ability to put the headphones on and plug them in and they sound perfect.
there wont be any department store model number on your headphones if you did pay for a custom build.
they do make custom headphones specifically for your ear.. but you can get kinda almost as close with some putty on your ear and peel it off to get the shape.
you cant get the shape of your ear hole all the way down to the ear drum.
you cant watch the ear drum react to different frequencies.
and you cant ask the person what their brain perceives as softer or louder on a per octave (or per frequency) basis.
 
 
they get downright perfect when they make these custom headphones.
when i say perfect.. i mean you dont remember there are any headphones on and sounds appear to be 100ft away from you getting closer by the second.
 
nowadays we pay more money for a wider soundstage.
and we also still need to pick and choose what headphones are good and which ones need to be returned for a refund.
 
once we are done paying for a wider soundstage..
then we will be paying for less gaps in the distance between ____ ft and up close to you.
 
meanwhile..
virtual surround sound needs firmware updates to get software upgrades that allow more accurate positional audio.
 
we havent been given a full 360 degrees on the horizontal or verticle axis.
and we havent been given many different distances for each of those degrees.
there is 'where it is at' for virtual surround sound.
but
there is also 'how far away is it' for virtual surround sound and stereo alike.

 

[anwaypasible]

i forgot to mention two things very important..
 
you can add air coefficients that replicate a delay in timing.
because if you zoom in deep enough..
the particles in the air can slow down the soundwaves.
 
 
now consider this..
what do those particles do in a paper towel roll?
you can figure this out by watching smoke in a clear tube.
 
the air touches the walls of the tube and begin to roll.
when you go get your custom headphones made, they look at the shape of the inside of your ear hole.
that way they know how the air is going to roll inside your ear hole.
they can compensate for the movement.. or they can make it stop before it starts.. each one with a different result (and perhaps a different price tag for each one)
 
but in the end..
you are connected to the speaker as if the air in your ear hole was a nerve connected to the speaker.
the sound can go deep inside your brain, or way out dozens of feet from your location.
they can make the sound stop appearing from the sides of your head and make them appear in front of your face if you really want them to.
and if you are in for a trip.. they can make the audio seem to travel down your body until it sounds like it is coming from your kidney or stomach (the inside of your body.. not the sound bleeding from your belly).

 

[willway]

I just got these Grados and this is actually a pretty good EQ preset.
 
After completing my 3rd experimental setup I googled, found this, and it turned out even better than the latest experiment I ran.
 
I see that user 'anwaypasible' is now banned, but he did some good work there.
 
His work was particularly useful, because of the 'Grado Honk' that exists around 2k and 5k and become a little tiresome at times.
 
This is multiplied by the fact that the RS1-style L-Shape Earpads are abit more comfortable than Comfies, HD414s, and less weird than EarZonk's G-Cushions. 
 
-But obviously, this leaves the drivers firing straight at your ear with no foam layer to damp them. -Not always for the faint of heart.
 
I also found that putting a layer of auto-drying chamois and a few layers of Swiffer, cut to a circle 54mm or 2 1/8" in diameter on the face of the driver can help lessen the zing a little bit. -I got this idea from the guys doing the C-Shaped baffle mod on the AKG 701s.
 
Anyway, good job, now-banned member!

 

[willway]

Testing Report:
Note, that the 32hz graphic figure really should be reduced to about +4.5. 
 
This EQ setting turns out to not stand up well to strong-bass-type songs like "Supermassive Black Hole", by Muse.

 

[Tom White]

His work was particularly useful, because of the 'Grado Honk' that exists around 2k and 5k and become a little tiresome at times.

I understand this is an old thread, but I have to ask - Why not just buy headphones without the "Grado honk"?

It seems for as much as many rave about Grado, they are always doing something to them in order to make them sound good. I just don't get the enamorement some have for this brand?

Or, is it more like playing with a new toy? For example, does the changing of ear pads equate to people using different tires on their cars to try to get a better ride, or better handling? Something along those lines?

 

[gaiastar]

  these equalizer settings come from a microphone calibrated at a professional sound laboratory.
the only catch is the equalizer used and the differences between them.
 
for my equalizers..
i just used the 'audio creation mode' from the creative x-fi elite pro software.
i used the graphic equalizer and one of the parametric equalizers to get my results.
one way to get the parametric equalizer for the front channel, you need to select 'parametric EQ' from the drop-down list up top where it says which set of speakers you are adjusting.
 
graphic equalizer settings:
31hz ~ 12.0dB
62hz ~ -2.1dB
125hz ~ -7.3dB
250hz ~ -5.0dB
500hz ~ -5.0dB
1k ~ -4.4dB
2k ~ -4.4dB
4k ~ -5.3dB
8k ~ 4.3dB
16k ~ 2.9dB
 
preamp @ 0.0dB
 
 
parametric equalizer settings:
low cutoff ~ unused
mid center 1 ~ 3000.0hz @ -11.2dB (0.50 Q)
mid center 2 ~ 4310.0hz @ 18dB (0.23 Q)
high cutoff ~ 5260.0hz @ -18dB
 
 
frequency response before equalizer:

 
 
frequency response after equalizer:

 
 
 
now with this equalizer calibration.. YOU NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE
why am i mentioning something about it?
because there is a huge dip at 4hz meaning the speaker is sucking on your ear drum obnoxiously at 4hz whenever there is enough bass in the audio to trigger the excitement.

hi
thanks
do you use foobar ?
i play music with foobar and aimp ,how can i setup ?
thanks

parametric equalizer settings:
low cutoff ~ unused
mid center 1 ~ 3000.0hz @ -11.2dB (0.50 Q)
mid center 2 ~ 4310.0hz @ 18dB (0.23 Q)
high cutoff ~ 5260.0hz @ -18dB