MAXX Audio best settings

[JJ4884]

Hey!
I am a young amateur trying to understand the audiophile perspective. I have a laptop with MAXX Audio 4 pre-installed. I would like to know what would be the best settings for general audio listening through Monoprice 9927 earbuds. I listen to music and watch videos on occaision. Please help. I want to get the best audio posssible without spending a fortune. I've heard about this forum before on a podcast called "tekzilla" I hope I am in good hands.

 

[jodgey4]

First of all, howdy!... and welcome to Head-Fi! The saying here is, 'Sorry about your wallet!'

 
The only DSP that is audiophile approved (for the most part, with many caveats) is probably EQ. The best way to get better sound is to get better headphones that can provide lower distortion and more detail and a frequency response more in line with your tastes (bass heavy, analytical, warm, flat, etc.). EQ can't add what's not there. Are you trying to improve sound with the earbuds you have, or are you looking for new headphones? If the latter, perhaps providing a tentative budget could help us provide some suggestions.

 

[JJ4884]

I'm just wondering what would be the best settings to put down for the software. Also, the volume gets very loud in the low single digits when i plug my earbuds in, whereas on other computers it it around the teens to lower 20's, any reason behind it?

 

[jodgey4]

Yes, some headphones just are easier to play louder. Looking at the impedance of headphones is usually an okay guideline... your IEM's are probably ~16 ohms, a studio standard is 120 ohms, and some high end cans can be up to 600 ohms. The higher the ohms, the more voltage needed to get a louder sound. Anything above 100 ohms probably needs an amp to sound its best. There are also sensitivity ratings which show the actual level in db produced per some level of input power (usually 1 mW). You can use these two figures together to figure how much power is needed to drive a headphone to a specific level. Some in ear models need only a few milliwatts to reach the highest volumes needed, while some can take a few watts. If you don't understand any of that... don't worry about it. Until you get into the mid-fi cans, you'll probably never need an amp. Most portable options are designed to be run from a smartphone with ease.
 
As far as software settings go, leave everything off, but maybe play with EQ. Just make sure instead of turning certain frequencies up, turn the others down instead. Like I said before, you can't add what's not there, so adding +6 dB to the bass might sound like a good idea, but you'll just get a bloated mess. As a side benefit, it might get you more play with the volume control. According to what I just googled about your earbuds, starting with a mild EQ down of a few db (3 to start would probably be good) at ~4kHz may be a good place to start... or a 'raise' in the bass from about 120 Hz down by + 3 db or so. Try that for ten minutes and see what your brain thinks.
 
Feel free to ask any more questions!

 

[JJ4884]

Link to what i have done so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-20TIB8Y-m_S0pISXQwTF9MQUk/edit?usp=sharing
 
It says in my PM that i need to post more before I get to upload photos directly. Here's what I did so far. unfortunately, the client i found in windows doesn't label the sliders. This is the default setting.

 

[jodgey4]

Ahh, I see. Leave that right window 'off', and in the Graphic EQ window, bring down 250,500,1k,2k,8k,16k down three notches or so to do the EQ I mentioned (as a starting place).