[shotgunshane]

 
Everyone should always avoid presets, unless you know for a fact exactly what EQ curve is for the preset, and it just happens to match the deficiencies of your particular headphone's frequency response. Apple sucks donkey XXX for not having a customizable EQ native in the iPod app, but fortunately, with cheap apps like Equalizer and EQu, you can pretty much achieve anything you set out to do, unless you don't know what you're doing and create a distorted mess.
 
 
I have both Equalizer and EQu, and I have NEVER heard any distortion with them, and this is mainly because I know the do's and don'ts of EQ'ing. The key is knowing WHAT to do with parametric EQ's. If you don't really understand the relationship between the frequencies you're tweaking and the limitations of the drivers of your headphones, or how to precisely cater to that headphones inherent frequency response, then you will cause distortions. I suggest buying a good book on professional audio mixing and mastering techniques, and critical listening skills for pro audio engineers--they will make a world of difference on what you can do with EQ's. There are specific do's and don'ts when it comes to EQ'ing, and if you don't know them, you would be doing more harm than good. I suppose in this regard, for those who don't have the time or the interest to learn, ZO would be a quick fix, even if it's not ideal.
 
 

If you raise the gain to match pre-EQ volume levels it will distort. Fine, I get it, you don't like amps with bass boost. Noted.

Edit: This will be my last comment on this as Internet/forum arguing is pointless and self serving; and this one is full of condescension. EQ'ing isn't rocket science.

EQ'ing has it place. I used it successfully to fix the mid bass bleeding of the W3, as it was something that pervaded every song. The ZO has its place as well. When you are mobile and want varying levels of bass boost for different songs, due to the way they were recorded or mastered, the ZO is unbeatable. It is impractical to EQ for each song but it is easy and convenient to amp your phones current sound signature, adding just a bit more bass as you want it, when you want it.

I had wanted to add my own review and impressions with the ZO to this thread but I have no desire to continue arguing over the benefits of parametric EQ vs harware boost.

 

[treal512]

Shane, how does the ZO do with your W4's sub-base? The remainder of the frequencies? And on what level do you keep it?

 

[shotgunshane]

Quote:

Shane, how does the ZO do with your W4's sub-base? The remainder of the frequencies? And on what level do you keep it?

 
For the rest of the frequencies, it's like regular amp providing more gain/power.  The W4 seems to take to amping very well.  Details seem crisper; a little more clarity and separation.
 
The ZO brings out more of the W4's sub bass capabilities and more bass impact in general.  If it is current recordings, I only use 2 to 4 steps and if it is older recordings from the 70's and 80's I may use 4 to 6 steps.  It does not make the music over warmed like some bass boosts can cause.  It is a clean boost.  I can now have the W4's have as much or more bass impact than the W3, if I choose to, without the mid bass bleed that the W3's had.  Not to mention all the extra detail the W4's already have in the bass region.
 
I was just listening to Van Halen's Hot for Teacher and Alex's drums, which already sound great on the W4, sounded so much more fun with about 4 or 5 steps on the ZO.  That's the best I've heard drums sound on any of my IEM's; very natural with the little bit of added bass boost.  Then the next song on the rotation, or my mood, may not need the same amount and I can adjust on the fly.  This is the best part about the ZO for me.
 

 

[pinoyman]

im waiting for my ZO.
i have faith in it even though i havent heard it yet.
 
ill put my trust to the guy who made the review here...
i believe in his findings.
and to shotgunshane.
 
 

 

[dw1narso]

Project86,
 
your explanation and some reading about ZO in this thread, makes me reminded to a kind of theory that I read 10 to 15 years a go...
 
I read about something called "Maxx Bass" (this is the name that I recall in my mind, not sure though) when there is no product using it at that time. The important part is their psycho-acoustic theory that people can percieve to hear a more powerfull bass not necessrily by increasing the whole complete low region spectrum, instead just the the odd-order harmonics of the original related frequency. Say, that to make our ear to percieve to hear strong 20Hz bass sound, what need to be tuned up is the 80Hz harmonic signal (3rd order) of the original frequency. This make the driver that cannot even go into lower than 50Hz, would be heard to have a deep bass information. Also, pushing up signal at 80Hz would be much less stressing to the driver than of pushing the 20Hz signal.
 
Of course, the theory is not easy to achieve... because we need to extract the harmonic information of the original tune and amplify it.
 
This is what I can only find about Maxx Bass, but I cannot recall whether it is the same with the Maxx Bass that I read may years a go...
http://www.google.com/search?q=maxx+bass

 

[shotgunshane]

im waiting for my ZO.
i have faith in it even though i havent heard it yet.
 
ill put my trust to the guy who made the review here...
i believe in his findings.
and to shotgunshane.
 
 

I haven't used it with a dynamic driver yet. I've been too busy enjoying it with the W4. I'll have to try it with my Panasonic hje900's. I'm not sure when my JVC's will arrive.

 

[shotgunshane]

Project86,
 
your explanation and some reading about ZO in this thread, makes me reminded to a kind of theory that I read 10 to 15 years a go...
 
I read about something called "Maxx Bass" (this is the name that I recall in my mind, not sure though) when there is no product using it at that time. The important part is their psycho-acoustic theory that people can percieve to hear a more powerfull bass not necessrily by increasing the whole complete low region spectrum, instead just the the odd-order harmonics of the original related frequency. Say, that to make our ear to percieve to hear strong 20Hz bass sound, what need to be tuned up is the 80Hz harmonic signal (3rd order) of the original frequency. This make the driver that cannot even go into lower than 50Hz, would be heard to have a deep bass information. Also, pushing up signal at 80Hz would be much less stressing to the driver than of pushing the 20Hz signal.
 
Of course, the theory is not easy to achieve... because we need to extract the harmonic information of the original tune and amplify it.
 
This is what I can only find about Maxx Bass, but I cannot recall whether it is the same with the Maxx Bass that I read may years a go...
http://www.google.com/search?q=maxx+bass

Isn't maxxbass just a software bass exciter? I guess the ZO could be based on analog exciters like they used to make in the 70's; sounds similar in description from what I could find in Wikipedia.

 

[project86]

That's an interesting theory, and could be related to what the ZO is doing. The company obviously is not going to reveal exactly how their product works, but I'm betting it is based on something like that. Psychoacoustics is an extremely powerful thing and we have only scratched the surface of gaining a complete understanding of it.
 
I personally don't really care if the adjustment is being done in the software or hardware realm. Each of those has its own strengths and limitations, but I just want it to work. As I mentioned, the ZO is the only thing that ever gave my little Audio Technica AQ88s a sense of bass impact. Maybe that reproduction really is beyond the capabilities of the driver and the ZO is using some psychoacoustic phenomenon to achieve the illusion of more bass. That would explain why it can do what no other EQ or bass boost feature has ever done with those earphones. 

 

[shotgunshane]

If they could do this well via software without lowering the current gain/volume, I'd be all for it as an app. One less thing to carry.

 

[pinoyman]

im really interested in knowing the MAGIC too.
 

 

[estreeter]

Not so sure about music, but I would definitely like to try this with movies from my laptop. The MSII+P4 into hole-punched Grados already gives me good bass impact for explosions, but nothing approaching 'subwoofer' bass impact.

 

[shotgunshane]

Quote:

im really interested in knowing the MAGIC too.
 

Pinoyman - I tried it with my Panasonic hje900's.  I could only use up to 3 steps with those.  The first step really sounds like it is just amplifying them, then the next 2 or 3 add significant bass to the Panny's.  Anymore than those first 3 steps and it becomes too much.  Definitely felt like the the kick drums were hitting harder.
 
 

 

[pinoyman]

^thanks for sharing bro.
when mine arrived ill put my impression here about pairing it with fx700 then.
 
bro, did it lost the timbre or is it still there on the  pannys when using the zo?

 

[shotgunshane]

It still maintains it's timbre as long as you don't add too much.

 

[pinoyman]

^thanks bro.
im getting really excited with my zo.