How to equalize your headphones: A Tutorial

[hybris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oqvist /img/forum/go_quote.gif I quote myself... Learned that software eq is a bad thing and I noticed there is actually relatively cheap equalisers out there.. The ones I seen before has all been like 1000$ ones

Why exactly is software eq a bad thing? you should have enough cpu to use software eqs today? a hardware eq is basically a software eq with a dedicated cpu? (if we're still talking digital eqs)

 

[zantetsuken]

whats the difference between analogue/digial and analogue/digital economy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hybris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why exactly is software eq a bad thing? you should have enough cpu to use software eqs today? a hardware eq is basically a software eq with a dedicated cpu? (if we're still talking digital eqs)

I think, alot of Eqs in standard programs dont have sufficient bands to control as many frequencies as you would like (not the case with the parametric EQ). but overall i know eq's use algorithms to work out which frequencies to boost and stuff and i heard they dont do that too well, not as well as their hardware counterparts anyway. but dont take my word for it, im just guessing here.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Electri-Q should have come with a large PDF manual. I recommend that anyone who downloaded Electri-Q read it immediately, as it is quite informative.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eraser_svk sounds less fatiguing, more balanced and detailed. my setting is far from final though. headphone : HD 555 with foams removed (so theoretically HD 595)

Funny you should mention detailed, because I too feel that my headphones are actually more detailed after removing the excess treble. This probably seems counter intuitive and goes against what is normally accepted as fact here at Head-Fi, but allow me to explain: I believe it is due to the louder peak frequencies masking the quieter frequencies around them, making them more difficult to hear and obscuring detail. I also feel that transients are more defined now that there isn't extra hiss around them. When I hear the drum stick come down on a tom drum, the impact is now clear and defined, whereas before there was a strong hissy coloration muddying the sound.

 

[slypher]

this looks neet I will have to give it a try this weekend

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Electri-Q should have come with a large PDF manual. I recommend that anyone who downloaded Electri-Q read it immediately, as it is quite informative.

I see you recommend this :
Mode: Linear Phase
Peak type: S-plane type II

but I was kinda enjoying Digital, coz it doesn't add any harmonics and sounds transparent....and if I use "S-plane type II" in "Linear Phase" mode then it doesn't make a spike anymore, just one dot and that's it

anyway I don't want it to sound analog....I think I like the digital mode better

PS: darn I got some nasty resonance on the singer's voice on \Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In\05 - Red Right Hand.flac...can't locate it

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

PS: darn I got some nasty resonance on the singer's voice on \Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In\05 - Red Right Hand.flac...can't locate it

Resonances are user/headphone specific, not song specific. You shouldn't actually use music to determine how to equalize. (Unless the problem was in fact caused by an actual headphone anomaly, then it's OK.)

Also, I was wondering. If I can get the tutorial to a high enough level of quality and comprehensiveness, could a mod sticky it?

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Resonances are user/headphone specific, not song specific. You shouldn't actually use music to determine how to equalize. (Unless the problem was in fact caused by an actual headphone anomaly, then it's OK.)

yeah I know, need to read your tutorial again I guess

so SineGen is the only way? sine.wav is nice but you never know what freq is playing..

 

[PiccoloNamek]

SineGen is the best way, because you know exactly what frequency you are making.

With the sine wave file, the only way to know which frequency you are hearing is to use an audio editor with an option to display the waveform as a spectrogram.

 

[hybris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, I was wondering. If I can get the tutorial to a high enough level of quality and comprehensiveness, could a mod sticky it?

Making it sticky sounds like a good idea. While you're into an eq tutorial you should also include information about house curves, as most people would probably enjoy trying out that, especially since many people here are using high end cans which have quite neutral/lean sound.

Read more about it here House curve: What it is, why you need it, how to do it! - Home Theater Systems - Electronics and Forum - HomeTheaterShack

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by That guy Simply put, a house curve is perceived flat response as opposed to measured flat response.

Well, if people are following my instructions and equalizing with the goal of having a uniform response to sine waves, their house curve should make itself.

 

[hybris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif [/FONT] Well, if people are following my instructions and equalizing with the goal of having a uniform response to sine waves, their house curve should make itself.

That is correct, but I noticed that you didn't have one in the graph you posted, that's why I mentioned it.

 

[eraser_svk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif I believe it is due to the louder peak frequencies masking the quieter frequencies around them, making them more difficult to hear and obscuring detail. I also feel that transients are more defined now that there isn't extra hiss around them. When I hear the drum stick come down on a tom drum, the impact is now clear and defined, whereas before there was a strong hissy coloration muddying the sound.

Exactly my thoughts.


I was playing with generator again and got a new preset >

I dont know whether its me or my headphones (HD 555/595), but I hear a notable dip between 4000-4500 Hz. 5000-6000 Hz or 3000-3500 Hz is much much louder.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif SineGen is the best way, because you know exactly what frequency you are making. With the sine wave file, the only way to know which frequency you are hearing is to use an audio editor with an option to display the waveform as a spectrogram.

alright, Papa's got brand new ears...it's a new day so let a man come in and do the

so using SineGen, 2 points seem to brighten up :
7000<6000 to 8000>
9850<8700 to 11000>

so I've tried to do this :

actually using sine.wav you can easily know where your correction points are, just set them to the max gain and see where they are on your media player transport bar

thing is, even if I kill these 2 bands to the max I still can hear pretty bad resonance w/ sine.wav.....are they supposed to vanish altogether

but the before/after is nothing less than astonishing, when it's off it sounds as if you had some nasty VST resonating filter turned on

PS: this fixes Nick Cave's resonating voice & the Kill Bill OST intro hiss, I'm a happy camper!

 

[Bengt77]

This is all very interesting for sure. But please, guys, do yourselves a favour. Just listen to and enjoy your headphones.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bengt77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif please, guys, do yourselves a favour. Just listen to and enjoy your headphones.

well they sure sound even sweeter now that the upper spectrum doesn't sound like a chemical brothers track