[12Bass]

After some listening and careful adjustment of the EQ in foobar2000, I've come up with an EQ setting which may help remedy some of the complaints about this headphone. Of course, it's customized to my rig and preferences (K702 driven by Gina24 with AD8397). The custom EQ lowers the level of the upper midrange and lower treble while adding a slight boost to the lowest and highest ranges (note that the slight bass boost could result in clipping with pure low frequency sine waves when the volume is at 100%).

My goal is a sound which is natural, deep, and detailed, but not harsh. Removing some of the midrange/treble emphasis seems to move in that direction. I'd suggest listening for a little while and see how the EQ sits with your ears, as it will likely sound a bit drastically scooped if you are switching from no EQ at all. This EQ should help warm things up for those who think that the K702x is too bright. However, it may be carved more than necessary, and what works best for you will ultimately depend on the source and your own listening preferences. Perhaps others might post their own custom EQ as well to give even more options.

K70x EQ downloadable here (save and load in foobar EQ).

 

[CDBacklash]

theres a thread about a hardware mod that tries to make it more fun and it cropped up just recently...

 

[12Bass]

Thanks. I've read about modifying the damping material and have considered it. This is another approach which doesn't involve any physical modifications.

 

[12Bass]

Here's another more subtle and somewhat less "scooped" K70x EQ preset. This one dips out the somewhat peaky/edgy 7 kHz area while leaving more of the upper midrange than the previous one, with the bass boost limited to the lowest frequency band.

Link

 

[leeperry]

man, ditch the Gina24 whenever possible...it sounds horrible, well maybe a bit better w/ LM4562...but still.

EQ'ing through a lofi soundcard is like using a riffle blindfolded...at least that's what I've noticed using several soundcards and going STX.

 

[12Bass]

Did you listen to the Gina24's main outputs or just the headphone out? The sound of the headphone out improved considerably with the addition of an AD8397. It uses an AK4393 DAC which was one of the better chips when it came out, though admittedly I've not put it up against any of the latest hi-fi cards. Also, the stock NJM2068s have a sort of veiled/grungy sound. I've compared it with the RME DIGI96/8 PST (uses AD1852), and IMO the Gina24 sounds a little more detailed, though the differences are not that pronounced. Both have LM4562 in the output stage.

 

[leeperry]

good point, I only tried the stock HP out..but anyway -in my country at least- musicians turn crazy when you tell them about the Gina24, it took me 1 day to sell it the price I paid for(100 EUR), so upgrading to the STX wouldn't cost you much anyway...why settle down when the STX exists? if it cost $400 I'd understand, but it costs $160 in the US I think

RME and Echo fail bigtime at using NJM2068 on all their boards IMHO...even Lynx uses 5532.

BTW, you told me about the OPA211....why not OPA2211A ? at least it's dual, less soldering

and I've been confirmed that the lead length doesn't matter for audio works...reason why they have these extensions cords for the AudioGD op-amps I guess.

do you know of any linear/TI op-amps DIP8 op-amps I could ask samples for?

is DIP8 a legacy connector? why don't they make ALL the op-amps in that form? Audio-GD says that the primary use for op-amps is not audio, reason why their discrete IC would yield much better results w/ an oscilloscope.

the lt1358 looks very tempting(or is it lt1357 that we need

), yet again I'm perfectly happy w/ the 49720.

 

[JaZZ]

These are my equalizer settings in Foobar2000.

But i must confess that I barely use the equalizer, I can live with the original sound.
.

 

[12Bass]

Although I spend a fair amount of time listening, recording is also a priority, and for that the Gina24 is more suitable. If listening were my first priority, I might look into a better DAC.

Lynx uses the OP275 on some of their cards as well, another chip I'm not too fond of.

AFAIK, OPA2211A is still not available for purchase.

Not sure if I agree about lead length. Fast op amps will oscillate with long leads/bad layout.

The electronics world is moving more toward SMD, which means that relatively few new parts are being released in DIP. The (SOIC) THS4032 might be worth a try for I/V. TI also makes the Burr Brown parts like the OPA2604, 2132, 2134. The only Linear Technology parts I'm familiar with are LT1057 and LT1358. From what I recall, the LT1358 sounded somewhat similar to the LM6172, in that it was fairly clear, but perhaps a bit thin sounding. Of course, how an op amp sounds may change in another application and with another set of ears.....

 

[12Bass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif These are my equalizer settings in Foobar2000. (snip) But i must confess that I barely use the equalizer, I can live with the original sound.

Interesting to see some cut in mid/upper bass area, considering that many feel the K702 is lean in the lows. Although, those who feel that way may prefer a somewhat accentuated midbass. As a bassist, I like bass too, though I'm not a fan of boomy bass, preferring it clear and deep. Also, I see that you're using the old EQ with the decibel readings. Is that with a recent release of foobar?

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12Bass /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not sure if I agree about lead length. Fast op amps will oscillate with long leads/bad layout. [..] From what I recall, the LT1358 sounded somewhat similar to the LM6172, in that it was fairly clear, but perhaps a bit thin sounding. Of course, how an op amp sounds may change in another application and with another set of ears.....

oh...so whaddayasay about the extensions cords for the Audio-GD op-amps then?

so the LT1358 is required, not the 1357? I didn't know they also made single DIP8 parts..

ok, well I'll try the metal 49720 for sure.

just would like to snatch some DIP8 samples too, from linear/TI

if you select DIP8 on the right side, the 1358 is on top : Linear Technology - Product Category Parametric Table

but you can't sort them by distortion % etc...so which one do you advise? LT1358 DIP8?

for TI, I'm even more confused

Operational Amplifiers Product Home from Texas Instruments

sorry for hijacking the thread BTW! I would advise to try NyquistEq5 as it's the best sounding EQ I've found

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12Bass /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting to see some cut in mid/upper bass area, considering that many feel the K702 is lean in the lows. Although, those who feel that way may prefer a somewhat accentuated midbass. As a bassist, I like bass too, though I'm not a fan of boomy bass, preferring it clear and deep. Also, I see that you're using the old EQ with the decibel readings. Is that with a recent release of foobar?

It's v0.9.4.1. – Coincidentally I'm a bassist, too.

.