Is it even possible to meter headphone quality by specs before purchase?

[BiggerHead]

.. and it's been awhile but specificially as I recall, the ear canal propogation produces a large spike at somewhere around a few khz. Slight measurement error can result in failure to cancel this back out perfectly and so yes I ignore residual trends in their measurements that have the same shape as that spike in their correction function.

 

[Me x3]

Well, yeah... I really don't know why people is using equal loudness curves as reference.
I guess it's easy to misunderstand some concepts (it happens everytime around here).
 
I really like the term 'neutralish' which in my book is sort of a "flat +/- coherent tolerance" across the spectrum.
HD600 -> neutralish
DT880 -> neutralish
HD800 -> neutralish
K702   -> neutralish
 
Fidelio X1 -> not neutralish
DT990 -> not neutralish
 
Things are way easier that way.
 
I can probably draw what would be my ideal frequency response (with a reference such as Tyll's measurements, or my own measurements), but even then I wouldn't pick that FR for every recording I like, so that's why I like having different headphones and even EQing from time to time (not so much lately).
 
Then the idea of defining flat in exact terms doesn't seem so useful.

 

[BiggerHead]

ok.. I did temporarily confuse your comments and audiojun. I agree with everything you've said.  Measurements are a reference point. Combined with experience, they are useful.

 

[Me x3]

  ok.. I did temporarily confuse your comments and audiojun. I agree with everything you've said.  Measurements are a reference point. Combined with experience, they are useful.

No prob. I thought that was the case.

 

[BiggerHead]

I made a much longer post on the subject here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/796791/the-most-reliable-easiest-way-to-eq-headphones-properly-to-achieve-the-most-ideal-sound-for-non-professionals/90#post_12333387
 
... and since I've brushed up on what Tyll Herstens is doing recently, I also have more disagreements as stated in my first asterisk in that post.  I should blame Harmon though it seems.