[HiFiHawaii808]

Where is the HD800S by Crinacle, Ears 7-11? I read the github page of autoeq and the only options for HD800S were the original HD800S and the HD800S with dekoni sheepskin presets..

Click on the link in my post and scroll down to the HD800S section. You will find 10 HD800S profiles. Click on the profile of your choice and then click on the parametric preset and copy them into a file for importing into Peace. It couldn't be easier. You can try all 10 profiles in minutes.

Here is the link with all the various EQ settings
jaakkopasanen / AutoEq

Here is the profile I use
crinacle/ears-711_harman_over-ear_2018/Sennheiser HD 800 S/

Copy tthis data into a file like "parametric EQ HD800S Crinacle EARS 711"

Preamp: -5.3 dB
	Filter 1: ON PK Fc 23 Hz Gain 4.0 dB Q 0.53
	Filter 2: ON PK Fc 1705 Hz Gain 4.7 dB Q 1.05
	Filter 3: ON PK Fc 3479 Hz Gain -1.9 dB Q 0.01
	Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3486 Hz Gain 5.4 dB Q 2.79
	Filter 5: ON PK Fc 5913 Hz Gain -3.7 dB Q 3.88
	Filter 6: ON PK Fc 16 Hz Gain 1.3 dB Q 1.43
	Filter 7: ON PK Fc 62 Hz Gain 2.7 dB Q 1.36
	Filter 8: ON PK Fc 532 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 1.16
	Filter 9: ON PK Fc 8164 Hz Gain -1.9 dB Q 8.09
	Filter 10: ON PK Fc 12312 Hz Gain 1.7 dB Q 1.25

and hit the import button in peace at it will quick load them into Equalizer APO. The import button is to the far right near the bottom of the Peace interface next to all of the "filter" buttons.

The last thing I do is add an 11th filter by clicking the filter button and choose "low shelf filter" and setting it for 100hz and this gives me a really nice bass shelf that gives me rumble when I need it. I adjust the gain based on the song, genre and volume level I am listening.

These EQ settings turn my HD800S into the perfect reference headphones for all genres of music. They now sound good with everything. You can clearly hear where the HD800S is strong and where it is not so strong. It is super strong in sound stage, treble response, clarity, detail and resolution. Bass is not as textured or full sounding as other headphones which is why I am purchasing a second set to get a more musical/euphonic flavor which I also enjoy.

 

[ADUHF]

Ok can you post the config.txt form again too because that would be better..

31-band Equalizer APO EQ settings... Again, make sure all the GraphicEQ values are on a single line of text, with no additional returns or spaces inserted or dropped between the different values. The GraphicEQ settings must precisely follow the formatting described here to work correctly. This is with the bass values cut in half, btw, just like my previous 10-band settings, to reduce the potential for distortion in the lower frequencies.

Preamp: -4.2 dB

GraphicEQ: 20.00 4.20; 25.00 3.90; 32.00 3.40; 40.00 2.90; 50.00 2.50; 63.00 2.00; 80.00 1.40; 100.00 0.70; 125.00 0.30; 160.00 -0.20; 200.00 -0.40; 250.00 -0.60; 315.00 -0.80; 400.00 -0.90; 500.00 -0.80; 630.00 -0.60; 800.00 -0.50; 1000.00 0.00; 1250.00 1.50; 1600.00 1.90; 2000.00 1.40; 2500.00 1.20; 3150.00 1.30; 4000.00 -0.60; 5000.00 -2.40; 6300.00 -3.50; 8000.00 -3.60; 10000.00 -3.30; 12500.00 -3.30; 16000.00 -1.30; 20000.00 0.50

 

[ADUHF]

Made one small edit above to the value for 4000 Hz.

 

[ADUHF]

31-band Equalizer APO EQ settings... Again, make sure all the GraphicEQ values are on a single line of text, with no additional returns or spaces inserted or dropped between the different values. The GraphicEQ settings must precisely follow the formatting described here to work correctly. This is with the bass values cut in half, btw, just like my previous 10-band settings, to reduce the potential for distortion in the lower frequencies.

Preamp: -4.2 dB

GraphicEQ: 20.00 4.20; 25.00 3.90; 32.00 3.40; 40.00 2.90; 50.00 2.50; 63.00 2.00; 80.00 1.40; 100.00 0.70; 125.00 0.30; 160.00 -0.20; 200.00 -0.40; 250.00 -0.60; 315.00 -0.80; 400.00 -0.90; 500.00 -0.80; 630.00 -0.60; 800.00 -0.50; 1000.00 0.00; 1250.00 1.50; 1600.00 1.90; 2000.00 1.40; 2500.00 1.20; 3150.00 1.30; 4000.00 -0.60; 5000.00 -2.40; 6300.00 -3.50; 8000.00 -3.60; 10000.00 -3.30; 12500.00 -3.30; 16000.00 -1.30; 20000.00 0.50

Some variations you might want to try on the above...

Less Upper Midrange
Values between 1.25 and 3.15 kHz are lowered by 1/4, to reduce potential harshness in that area. And values between 630 and 1k Hz are also slightly lower to maintain continuity...

Frequency:	Original Value:	New Value:
630 Hz	-0.60	-0.70
800 Hz	-0.50	-0.60
1000 Hz	0.00	-0.30 or -0.20
1250 Hz	1.50	1.10
1600 Hz	1.90	1.40
2000 Hz	1.40	1.10
2500 Hz	1.20	0.90
3150 Hz	1.30	1.00

Brighter Treble
Corrections between 5 and 16 kHz in the treble are reduced by 1/4...

Frequency:	Original Value:	New Value:
5000 Hz	-2.40	-1.80
6300 Hz	-3.50	-2.60
8000 Hz	-3.60	-2.70
10000 Hz	-3.30	-2.50
12500 Hz	-3.30	-2.50
16000 Hz	-1.30	-1.00

More Bass
Bass values between 20 and 125 Hz are increased by 1/4. FYI, increasing the bass values like this could produce some more noticeable distortion in the bass. The preamp should probably also be changed to -5.2 with these new bass settings...

Preamp: -5.2 dB

Frequency:	Original Value:	New Value:
20 Hz	4.20	5.20
25 Hz	3.90	4.90
32 Hz	3.40	4.20
40 Hz	2.90	3.60
50 Hz	2.50	3.10
63 Hz	2.00	2.50
80 Hz	1.40	1.80
100 Hz	0.70	0.90
125 Hz	0.30	0.40

You can mix and match the above adjustments as well.

If you want a more U-shaped sound, for example, then you could combine the new settings above for More Treble with the new settings for More Bass. And for an even more U or V-shaped sound, you could combine all three of the above adjustments for More Treble, More Bass, and also Less Upper Midrange... So you can do pretty much whatever floats your boat.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Some variations you might want to try on the above...

Less Upper Midrange
Values between 1.25 and 3.15 kHz are lowered by 1/4, to reduce any potential harshness in that area. And values between 630 and 1k Hz are also slightly lower to maintain continuity...

Frequency:	Original Value:	New Value:
630 Hz	-0.60	-0.70
800 Hz	-0.50	-0.60
1000 Hz	0.00	-0.30 or -0.20
1250 Hz	1.50	1.10
1600 Hz	1.90	1.40
2000 Hz	1.40	1.10
2500 Hz	1.20	0.90
3150 Hz	1.30	1.00

Brighter Treble
Corrections between 5 and 16 kHz in the treble are reduced by 1/4...

Frequency:	Original Value:	New Value:
5000 Hz	-2.40	-1.80
6300 Hz	-3.50	-2.60
8000 Hz	-3.60	-2.70
10000 Hz	-3.30	-2.50
12500 Hz	-3.30	-2.50
16000 Hz	-1.30	-1.00

More Bass
Bass values between 20 and 125 Hz are increased by 1/4. FYI, increasing the bass values like this could produce some more noticeable distortion in the bass. The preamp should also be changed to -5.20 with these new bass settings...

Frequency:	Original Value:	New Value:
20 Hz	4.20	5.20
25 Hz	3.90	4.90
32 Hz	3.40	4.20
40 Hz	2.90	3.60
50 Hz	2.50	3.10
63 Hz	2.00	2.50
80 Hz	1.40	1.80
100 Hz	0.70	0.90
125 Hz	0.30	0.40

You can mix and match the above adjustments as well.

If you want a more U-shaped sound, for example, then you could combine the new settings above for More Treble with the new settings for More Bass. And for an even more U or V-shaped sound, you could combine all three of the above adjustments for More Treble, More Bass, and also Less Upper Midrange... So you can do pretty much whatever floats your boat.

Thanks for the details. The issue is that there are just too many adjustments to make using this approach. There was one profile that had 6 parametric settings and allowed the user to change just one filter for each attribute they want, like "more air", "more bass", etc. This is a great approach for a few reasons. 1) it makes EQ more accessible to more people, 2) more devices have 6 parametric including most of the popular DAPs, 3) It's much easier to fine tune the sound to your own preferences.

 

[ADUHF]

Thanks for the details. The issue is that there are just too many adjustments to make using this approach. There was one profile that had 6 parametric settings and allowed the user to change just one filter for each attribute they want, like "more air", "more bass", etc. This is a great approach for a few reasons. 1) it makes EQ more accessible to more people, 2) more devices have 6 parametric including most of the popular DAPs, 3) It's much easier to fine tune the sound to your own preferences.

I agree. The above approach with GraphicEQ settings is rather clunky... But it's the best I've got to offer at the moment.

Hopefully, the OP will try some of your excellent suggestions as well, HiFiHawaii808.

 

[buencamino]

Thanks guys. Tried the peace plugin, when I import the parametricEQ should the results be instantaneous or should I click on something like apply first before the presets get applied?

edit: got it, it's instantaneous and there's an on/off toggle at the upper right..

 

[buencamino]

Can't try ADUHF's graphicEQ settings, after peace was installed it seemed to have changed the config.txt file.. I gave all the HD800S presets from the autoeq link HifiHawaii sent, tbh after all of it I liked the non-eq'd version of the HD800S lol.. though for the crinacle 711 preset the treble seemed to be more prominent..

 

[ADUHF]

It is more work. But if Peace has a 31-band EQ, then you could probably just enter all the values from my config into that manually.

If you like the HD800S's default sound though better than the other EQ'd versions, then it may not be worth the trouble.

 

[ADUHF]

From the examples I've posted above, this 31-band configuration would be the closest to the HD800S's default sound. It will boost the bass a little. And also fill in some missing detail in the upper mids. And tone down the treble a bit. So might be worth a try just for a little different flava...

Preamp: -4.2 dB

20 Hz: 4.20
25 Hz: 3.90
32 Hz: 3.40
40 Hz: 2.90
50 Hz: 2.50
63 Hz: 2.00
80 Hz: 1.40
100 Hz: 0.70
125 Hz: 0.30
160 Hz: -0.20
200 Hz: -0.40
250 Hz: -0.60
315 Hz: -0.80
400 Hz: -0.90
500 Hz: -0.80
630 Hz: -0.70
800 Hz: -0.60
1000 Hz: -0.20
1250 Hz: 1.10
1600 Hz: 1.40
2000 Hz: 1.10
2500 Hz: 0.90
3150 Hz: 1.00
4000 Hz: -0.60
5000 Hz: -1.80
6300 Hz: -2.60
8000 Hz: -2.70
10000 Hz: -2.50
12500 Hz: -2.50
16000 Hz: -1.00
20000 Hz: 0.50

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Can't try ADUHF's graphicEQ settings, after peace was installed it seemed to have changed the config.txt file.. I gave all the HD800S presets from the autoeq link HifiHawaii sent, tbh after all of it I liked the non-eq'd version of the HD800S lol.. though for the crinacle 711 preset the treble seemed to be more prominent..

3 points.

1) Maybe you are one of the people who the HD800S was tuned for. If you love the sound, then keep it as it is without EQ. I love listening to my HD800S without EQ with my Bottlehead crack. I also like listening to my HD800S with my Chord Hugo 2 if I am only listening to Classical music.

2) Make sure that when you listen to a specific EQ that you don't start by listening to the unequalized HD800S. Otherwise, you will encounter the looking into the Sun syndrome. If you are staring at the sun for a while, everything looks dark in comparison. Best thing to do is to set up the EQ and start listening to it the next day. Then, you will be hearing it the way you will in the future.

3) You may just not like the target curve. I am not sure if they are Harman curve or Crinacle preference curve or something else. You need to learn what your own personal perference curve is and tune to that curve. I haven't figured it out, but it should be that hard. You are just creating an error minimizing algorithm with a maximum of 6 or 8 parameters. It shouldn't be that hard to program. Once you have that, you listen to 100 different headphones to find the one that is tuned perfectly to your preferences, then you "morph" the HD800S to have the sound signature of the target headphones. The application "Morphit" which is part of the Tone Boosters app, can do that. Then, find out what those EQ setting are and use them in your Equalizer APO. I will be doing this when I have time.

 

[ADUHF]

^ Some good tips, HiFiHawaii808.

I'm workin on a couple new HD800S configs, btw, which will hopefully be even a little more accurate than the ones already posted above. More when I know more.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi guys, just thought if anyone knows how to EQ a headphone, mine specifically the HD800S. I use EqualizerAPO and I used autoeq's presets for the HD800S and found them a little weird sounding so I wanted to try Oratory1990's settings for EQ, but when I searched for his presets it only led me to a pdf file with graphs and not settings for EqualizerAPO. How do you use Oratory's EQ settings? Or if there are any better eq settings out there can you lead me to it and how to use it? Thanks.

Try this

20hz : +2dB
35hz : +3dB
50hz : +3dB
65hz : +2dB
90hz : +2dB
6500hz : -6dB
8000hz : -4dB

 

[ishmaelk]

3 points.

1) Maybe you are one of the people who the HD800S was tuned for. If you love the sound, then keep it as it is without EQ. I love listening to my HD800S without EQ with my Bottlehead crack. I also like listening to my HD800S with my Chord Hugo 2 if I am only listening to Classical music.

I may be also one of the people they were tuned for.
I've been trying many of these eq recommendations. After each one I wondered: does this person really like the HD800S?
To me it seems they change the tonality too much.
I've been using Sonarworks too but... I have the same problem. It feels like another headphone I wouldn't have bought.
I don't know, I sometimes use a low shelf with +5db at 70 Hz (and -3db gain) and that does it for me when I need it.

 

[ADUHF]

Fwiw, my thinking on what really constitutes a neutral, transparent sound has evolved somewhat since my original EQ recommendations here. And the EQ adjustments that I use with my own HP's (Beyer DT-770) have started to make its response look a bit more like the HD800S, particularly in the mids.

Based on a fresh look at the graphs, it appears that the HD800S may be a little bright from about 5k upwards. The peak at around 5-6k in particular still looks a bit sharp. But the overall levels look maybe just a bit on the higher side from about 5k upwards. They probably aren't as forward in that range though as my DT-770's. So I wouldn't be surprised if they sound ok, without much in the way of attenuation, especially when listening to the headphones at a lower volume.

The HD800S could also be just a tad depressed or withdrawn in the upper mids, between about 1.5 and 3.5k. (Perhaps especially around ~1.5 and ~3.2k?). This could be more a matter of personal taste though, and how much brightness/clarity vs. harshness you prefer (or can tolerate) in that particular range. Otherwise the mids look pretty ok. The bass also starts to roll off below about 150 to 200 Hz. So a little boost in the bass and sub-bass below that range probably would not hurt.

I am not really surprised though that all you think these need is a bass boost, especially if you like to listen at lower volumes. Because just boosting the bass alone will probably give these headphone a rather nice U-shaped, Fletcher-Munson curve, which would likely be quite good for that.

I don't know if these graphs will help at all, but with the assistance of Oratory's excellent graphing tool, I've put the HD800S on the same graphs as several other headphones that I think, as a combined group, are probably in the general vicinity of a neutral response. Some of these other headphones could also be just a tad bright in the 5-7k range as well. But I'm not 100% sure about that.

The HD800S is the orange curve on these...

DIFFUSE FIELD COMPENSATED:

RAW / NO COMPENSATION:

The deep notches at around 9.5k and 15k in the treble are a normal feature on these graphs btw, and should be left as is. And there should also be a noticeable dip or depression centered somewhere in the vicinity of 2 to 2.5 kHz in the upper mids on the Diffuse Field graph. So that's also a normal feature for these sort of plots.

How much of a depression you will want or like in the 2 to 2.5k range will probably be somewhat listener and content-dependent though (as previously stated above). Younger people, with less hearing loss, may prefer a bit more of a depression there. While older folks, with more upper midrange hearing loss, may prefer to have that area a bit louder and more forward-sounding.

Some of the peakiness in the 5 to 7k range on the above headphones, which is particularly noticeable on the first Diffuse Field graph, could also be related to the artificial pinna that Oratory uses on his measurement rig. So that's why I'm not precisely sure how much emphasis there should be in that area for a neutral sound signature. The HD800S looks like it could be just a little aggressive in that area (and in the treble generally), especially when listening at higher volumes. The emphasis there could be less noticeable, and less an issue though at lower listening volumes.