[AstralStorm]

Oh, that DSP. It does the exact equivalent of basic image sharpening. I wouldn't use it for high fidelity purposes.
This adds overshoot, which sounds pretty bad, especially if it happens at high frequencies.
 
About the only thing it could help with is slow bass - but then it'd have to be frequency limited, which it's not.

 

[n00kie]

Well I use it on purpose after I decreased high peaks of the headphone.

 

[AstralStorm]

How nonlinear the headphones can be and still sound tolerable... Ultrasone Pro 650 equalization follows. Not sure it can even be simplified...

 
Edit: And worn with cups placed more towards the back, better soundstaging:

 

[jerg]

Quote:

How nonlinear the headphones can be and still sound tolerable... Ultrasone Pro 650 equalization follows. Not sure it can even be simplified...

 
Edit: And worn with cups placed more towards the back, better soundstaging:

That's a bit ridiculous. Are there really 20+ dB difference jumps in frequency response in the highs? You might be overkilling by a far stretch here.

 

[AstralStorm]

Yes, there are some 6 dB differences just based on positioning on my head.
Latest eq is but a tweak:

 
Funny thing is that IEMs are far easier to equalize... I'm now spoiled by the clarity pushed out by these Ultrasones 650 after equalization.
I'd love something that sounds like that with a bit of bass extension more and less fiddly placement. Preferably an IEM.
Reference measurement of these headphones is here:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/UltrasonePRO650.pdf
 
From the looks of it, the best fit would be those:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BeyerdynamicDT1350.pdf
Of course, that's if I can stand the fit...

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Doesn't such drastic EQing cause distortion (clipping)? I know from my own testing on Electri-Q it's the "surface area" in total that has to be taken into account and if you let one range go under the zero-level another range can go quite a bit above and there won't result in distortion but if the whole curve is above zero level it would quickly lead to distortion, seeing how large area goes above 0-level that looks a bit worrifying from a clipping standpoint.
 
Care to send me a saved preset so I can have a go? Would be interesting to demo such a rollercoaster to EQ setting. rofl
 
You could use for example http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=86873 to make a saved .fbcp dsp chain preset as I believe using Electri-Q to save/load presets is a bit buggy (in case you're using foobar2000 and a VST host)

 

[AstralStorm]

No, I add -19 dB gain before this equalization, so there should be no clipping.
The file goes there, since attachments here are disabled: http://ompldr.org/vOWs0cg/Ultrasone-Pro-650.e-q
 
Note: I use this eq with BS2B-like passive crossfeed: 1750 Hz, no highboost, 15 dB feeding. (in BS2B that'd be 1.0 dB position)
Without the crossfeed it's quite a bit more inside the head than unequalized.
Of course feel free to try it with binaural recordings and no crossfeed - the result is breathtaking.
Note 2: calibrate volume after all the chain so that typical speech loudness is about the same as normal talk (not recorded).

 

[AstralStorm]

Indeed, Beyerdynamic DT 1350 are closest matching sound signature, followed by Phiaton PS 320, which would need a small bass boost. (fiio e7-style)
However, DT 1350 are pretty expensive and PS 320 are hard to find.
Suprisingly both are supraaural.
Another inferior bet would be Ortofon 2 - but they lack quite a bit bass and high extension.
 
(I could get DT 1350 right now if I return the Ultrasones...)
 
IEMs don't fare nearly as well..
Possible contender would be Jays q-Jays assuming their armature is as bassy as HeadRoom charts suggest.
However, these are rolled off in highs. Etys new HF5/MC5 are also pretty close, but missing some bass and not all that extended either.
Both SA6 and GR07 beat those.

 

[Windsor]

Hey guys, 
 
I'm a Mac user and have already posted on this thread about EQ'ing headphones on the Mac platform.
My music playback software is most often iTunes, and the best software I have found to EQ headphones is Audio HiJack Pro with the Apple Parametric EQ plugins.
Has anyone found more elegant/sophisticated/accurate/user-friendly software to do the process on a Mac?

 

[AudioRook]

Woah, awesome guide. Time to play around with this and see what else I can learn.
Thanks a ton.

 

[godlyatheist]

I just read this thread and started to mess around with EQ. Whenever I run sinegen there are tapping noises in certain frequency regions, is this normal?

 

[newaudiophile84]

I worked around my QC15 and I must admit they sound pretty sweet now. 
Bass are a little bit over exposed and sound kind of sticky but I guess that's a problem with this phones. Mid's are warmer and much more rich. The before and after! WOW what a difference.
Great post!

 

[n00kie]

Quote:

Oh, that DSP. It does the exact equivalent of basic image sharpening. I wouldn't use it for high fidelity purposes.
This adds overshoot, which sounds pretty bad, especially if it happens at high frequencies.
 
About the only thing it could help with is slow bass - but then it'd have to be frequency limited, which it's not.

You're right. Better alternatives for "polished" sound are exciters or the bbe sonic maximizer. Easy to implement in winamp as a vst plugin.

 

[kiteki]

 
Hello, tried to figure this out and it's a bit over my head.
 
What's the significance of the 6400Hz dip in the first graph? and why are you comparing the A2000X and CK3000? Thx!
 
 
Quote:

yes, the HD650 are said to be dark because they try to compensate for middle ear resonances.
 
on the cd3k drivers, I need to kill 2 spikes at 6400 and 9700Hz...and if you check this FR, it's almost spot-on at 6400Hz: http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/ath-a2000x.html

 
and the cd3k has a notch around 9500Hz: http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/mdr-cd3000.html

 

 

[lovleylady]

Quote:

I just read this thread and started to mess around with EQ. Whenever I run sinegen there are tapping noises in certain frequency regions, is this normal?

I had similar problem, solved it by increaseing the Latency and Pre-buffer option in the SineGen setup. (100ms/500ms now)