[musingclouds]

Bass module? Do you mean Bass eq mode?

Yes

 

[iGarikus]

Guys, does anyone have a custom preset for the Poweramp app equalizer?
There are ready-made presets for both io-4 and 6 models, but not for this one.
I really like the sound, but I want more power in the vocals. Now it seems somehow muffled, like somewhere in the background.
I'm not a tuning specialist, please tell me which frequencies should be adjusted to make the vocals more saturated and protruding?
Probably a lot depends on the device too. My old Sony phone required less “dancing with a tambourine” and was great, but now I have an OPPO and there are periodic strange tricks with the sound settings.
Thanks.

 

[angelom]

Guys, does anyone have a custom preset for the Poweramp app equalizer?
There are ready-made presets for both io-4 and 6 models, but not for this one.
I really like the sound, but I want more power in the vocals. Now it seems somehow muffled, like somewhere in the background.
I'm not a tuning specialist, please tell me which frequencies should be adjusted to make the vocals more saturated and protruding?
Probably a lot depends on the device too. My old Sony phone required less “dancing with a tambourine” and was great, but now I have an OPPO and there are periodic strange tricks with the sound settings.
Thanks.

Good EQing is not easy and you must having patience for doing this correctly so you can finding the sound that is good for you. People have tendency of EQing too much (many dBs up or down).

I think you want experimenting with frequencies starting in 100-200 Hz until maybe 2-4 kHz. If you generally like very much the sound of the iO-12, when you doing modifications in some frequencies, try doing 1-3 dBs up or down maximum, and listen for few minutes after each change and see if you still needing a little more (or less) here or there. Patience is very important, but this patience is beneficial for obtaining the best results that you really want.

 

[musingclouds]

Good EQing is not easy and you must having patience for doing this correctly so you can finding the sound that is good for you. People have tendency of EQing too much (many dBs up or down).

I think you want experimenting with frequencies starting in 100-200 Hz until maybe 2-4 kHz. If you generally like very much the sound of the iO-12, when you doing modifications in some frequencies, try doing 1-3 dBs up or down maximum, and listen for few minutes after each change and see if you still needing a little more (or less) here or there. Patience is very important, but this patience is beneficial for obtaining the best results that you really want.

I think I have similar musical tastes to you from your posted preferences. Do you have sample EQ settings you like to use with your DALIs?

 

[angelom]

I think I have similar musical tastes to you from your posted preferences. Do you have sample EQ settings you like to use with your DALIs?

I don't use EQ with my iO-12. I don't like EQing my headphones or earphones because I want having the factory sound that the manufacturer is intending, maybe this is a silly purist point of view but is my preference. The only exceptions in the past are: the XM3 (I only using this headphone in few times when needing strong ANC) and using the EQ that is coming with the headphone for fixing a factory sound that I don't like at all; the PX8 (that I owning for about 10 days) I using the 2 bands EQ that is coming with the headphone, but even when this EQ is helping obtaining better sound, is still not fixing the tonal balance for my taste so I returning this headphone.

 

[rael67]

@angelom: I understand your point of view, in the past I also did not eq my headphones. But in the last two years I read a lot about this theme and start EQing with my different headphones. In my ears all of my headphones sounded better after EQing. Some of them only need a little bit of EQ others a bit more, but everyone improved. Once started with EQing I don‘t want to go back to factory sound. So maybe you give away potential of the headphone.

 

[angelom]

@angelom: I understand your point of view, in the past I also did not eq my headphones. But in the last two years I read a lot about this theme and start EQing with my different headphones. In my ears all of my headphones sounded better after EQing. Some of them only need a little bit of EQ others a bit more, but everyone improved. Once started with EQing I don‘t want to go back to factory sound. So maybe you give away potential of the headphone.

I understand your comment -- thank you for the suggestion. BUT, like I saying before, maybe I'm little silly snob purist and I don't want using EQ except if is really, really necessary (like with the Sony XM3 and PX8). By the way, I occasionally use the "bass" setting (always with ANC Off) in the iO-12 for some old recordings that don't having a sufficiently good reproduction of low frequencies, and this "bass" setting is, for me, very adequate and tasteful and not exaggerated (with ANC Off).

I don't like using third party EQ apps either except very occasionally only with the EQ of the Apple Music app in my MacBook Pro with others headphones. And this possible 'no-EQ' silly purist snobbery is the reason I'm always chasing the best sounding (ANC) headphone with factory sound, and is the reason that I think the iO-12 and Solitaire T are the best 'not-necessary-EQ' headphones in the market today.

 

[madFloyd]

I am a week into ownership of the Dali-IO-12. I have been using Bathys since they were released and they immediately became my headphones of choice as they sound great with all genres (and do justice to older rock music that sounds somewhat anemic on my 2 channel non-headphones system).

I am very impressed with the IO-12. The clarity reminds me of electrostatic speakers and while it has a very different tonal balance and presentation from the Bathys I can still enjoy rock on them and other genres (e.g. chamber music) sound incredible - very refined, elegant etc.

I have not heard any other recent competitors, but from what I've read I expect that between the Bathys and IO-12 I don't need anything else.

 

[iGarikus]

I am a week into ownership of the Dali-IO-12. I have been using Bathys since they were released and they immediately became my headphones of choice as they sound great with all genres (and do justice to older rock music that sounds somewhat anemic on my 2 channel non-headphones system).

I am very impressed with the IO-12. The clarity reminds me of electrostatic speakers and while it has a very different tonal balance and presentation from the Bathys I can still enjoy rock on them and other genres (e.g. chamber music) sound incredible - very refined, elegant etc.

I have not heard any other recent competitors, but from what I've read I expect that between the Bathys and IO-12 I don't need anything else.

As for Bathys, is there any advantage when compared with IO-12? Thanks.

 

[madFloyd]

As for Bathys, is there any advantage when compared with IO-12? Thanks.

Other than price? No. The Bathys is voiced differently - more midrange (and lower midrange) but the quality of the sound is not as good. The Bathys sound 'cheap' by comparison.

 

[musingclouds]

Other than price? No. The Bathys is voiced differently - more midrange (and lower midrange) but the quality of the sound is not as good. The Bathys sound 'cheap' by comparison.

I thought the same.

If I had to rank.
Dali IO-12
Solitaire T
ML 5909 and Bathys
PX8 / B&O H95

 

[angelom]

Comparison of the iO-12 and ML 5909 by Major Hi-Fi: https://majorhifi.com/mark-levinson...inson-no-5909-vs-dali-io-12-comparison-review

 

[hutzelmeier]

I love my IO-12, but I don’t understand the comparisons with electrostats... When I want to really try and grasp what happens in the music, I still feel the need to switch from the IO-12 to the HD800S. And last weekend I listened to the Stax SR-X9000 for some hours. I’m afraid the difference between HD800S and X9000 is about as large as between IO-12 and HD800S. But it seems to me that all three share a similar tonality, and the width of the soundstage is at least comparable. But, well, sadly one can hear so much more with the Stax flagship electrostat.

 

[zolkis]

I love my IO-12, but I don’t understand the comparisons with electrostats... When I want to really try and grasp what happens in the music, I still feel the need to switch from the IO-12 to the HD800S. And last weekend I listened to the Stax SR-X9000 for some hours. I’m afraid the difference between HD800S and X9000 is about as large as between IO-12 and HD800S. But it seems to me that all three share a similar tonality, and the width of the soundstage is at least comparable. But, well, sadly one can hear so much more with the Stax flagship electrostat.

Now that I "fixed" my own IO-12, I get that the resolution is good, I like it as well, but even though sound stage size might be comparable, the space defined within that sound stage is filled so much more beautifully with my e-stats, I just wonder why do I spend more hours with the IO-12 at all... and that's the difference between dedicated listening and casual/background/work-time listening. This is how much the convenience of connectivity and free movement matter (when speakers don't work because of my or other's privacy).

 

[Dalmonegrig]

But, well, sadly one can hear so much more with the Stax flagship electrostat.

Everything is correct, but:
Stax SR-X9000 - 7 200 €
Stax SRM-T8000 - 6 500 €
Streamer / Dac EverSolo DMP-A6 ME - 1 300 €
Total - 15 000 €

Dali IO-12 - 1 000 €

14 times the difference in price.
Does the Stax system sound 14 times better than the Dali IO-12?
The law of diminishing returns clearly works here.