Offer: custom tuning for your earphones on supported devices

[Joe Bloggs]

Executive summary: If your DAP has a convolver or a parametric EQ, come here, name your earphones, describe what you are hearing (both high and low points, in terms of tonality or otherwise) and I may be able to craft you a custom preset on a supported device!

Hi all,

You may notice that your average digital audio player is getting ever more sophisticated in terms of digital signal processing abilities, especially your average Android DAP.

Without naming names, for example, there is one particular brand of DAP that now allows all music to go through a systemwide convolver, which is a short name for "completely freeform magnitude AND phase / timing equalization, together with option to crossfeed the channels into each other with a different set of magnitudes and timings for the direct and crossed sounds, allowing for e.g. realistic room / speaker simulation on headphones".

Here, one should keep in mind that equalizers were originally envisioned to correct for linear distortions in a signal / playback chain, and nowadays with minimal processing loss thanks to high precision digital signal processing, this ideal can be realized more and more easily every day. The days of EQ as a distortion box are long gone.

Before today, I had spent several years in the Android underground modding community, offering configuration presets for a few lucky members each month, for their particular model of earphones but always keeping in mind also their own description of what they're hearing from those earphones.

The potential of this was first introduced to head-fi years ago, in the Somic MH412 vs UE UERM $49 vs $999 world tour:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rev...the-put-up-or-shut-up-review-and-tour.726569/ . Of course, the cheapness of the challenger was intended purely to shake things up, not to imply that similar improvements cannot be made from a much higher starting point.

Now that the technology of DAPs have advanced I can also offer this interesting service to DAP users. If your DAP has a convolver or a parametric EQ, come here, name your earphones, describe what you are hearing (both high and low points, in terms of tonality or otherwise) and I may be able to craft you a custom preset.

I tend to like giving out convolver presets because they're less of an open book regarding what is being done (which can sometimes be deceptively simple on a parameter list), but again, I'll be open to entries from parametric EQ users as well.

If it's for a convolver, you can also ask for spatialization / speaker/room virtuailzation and I can try to craft those as well--though I will be limited by the tools available, which do not include personal acoustic measurements of your ears.

Policies may change in the future, but for now, the offer is a free one, subject to the spare time I have available.

Let the fun begin!

 

[Alexzander]

Hello, Joe!
Would yo be able to incorporate the convolution plugin made for Oriolus Traillii into the actual preset for Hiby RS6?
So that more reference sound could be achieved on the device.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hello, Joe!
Would yo be able to incorporate the convolution plugin made for Oriolus Traillii into the actual preset for Hiby RS6?
So that more reference sound could be achieved on the device.

Hi Alex,

Thanks for your comment! As discussed in our pm, my profiles can be exported as convolution files but not Darwin presets.

By unchecking "bypass other sample rates", you can use the convolution file on all PCM files that are not MQA, and DSD files too, if you choose in the player to play them as PCM.

Unfortunately MQA does not allow DSP of MQA, as long as it is decoded (as it is on the RS6).

By the way, how did you find the sound of the files made for you?

 

[Alexzander]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for your comment! As discussed in our pm, my profiles can be exported as convolution files but not Darwin presets.

By unchecking "bypass other sample rates", you can use the convolution file on all PCM files that are not MQA, and DSD files too, if you choose in the player to play them as PCM.

Unfortunately MQA does not allow DSP of MQA, as long as it is decoded (as it is on the RS6).

By the way, how did you find the sound of the files made for you?

Hello, Joe!

I find the sound to become more reference and layered. It could be perceived as somewhat crisp and more neutral.
I think it’s better suited for critical listening.

It’s a pity it’s not possible to affect MQA though

 

[jlemaster1957]

Executive summary: If your DAP has a convolver or a parametric EQ, come here, name your earphones, describe what you are hearing (both high and low points, in terms of tonality or otherwise) and I may be able to craft you a custom preset on a supported device!

Hi all,

You may notice that your average digital audio player is getting ever more sophisticated in terms of digital signal processing abilities, especially your average Android DAP.

Without naming names, for example, there is one particular brand of DAP that now allows all music to go through a systemwide convolver, which is a short name for "completely freeform magnitude AND phase / timing equalization, together with option to crossfeed the channels into each other with a different set of magnitudes and timings for the direct and crossed sounds, allowing for e.g. realistic room / speaker simulation on headphones".

Here, one should keep in mind that equalizers were originally envisioned to correct for linear distortions in a signal / playback chain, and nowadays with minimal processing loss thanks to high precision digital signal processing, this ideal can be realized more and more easily every day. The days of EQ as a distortion box are long gone.

Before today, I had spent several years in the Android underground modding community, offering configuration presets for a few lucky members each month, for their particular model of earphones but always keeping in mind also their own description of what they're hearing from those earphones.

The potential of this was first introduced to head-fi years ago, in the Somic MH412 vs UE UERM $49 vs $999 world tour:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rev...the-put-up-or-shut-up-review-and-tour.726569/ . Of course, the cheapness of the challenger was intended purely to shake things up, not to imply that similar improvements cannot be made from a much higher starting point.

Now that the technology of DAPs have advanced I can also offer this interesting service to DAP users. If your DAP has a convolver or a parametric EQ, come here, name your earphones, describe what you are hearing (both high and low points, in terms of tonality or otherwise) and I may be able to craft you a custom preset.

I tend to like giving out convolver presets because they're less of an open book regarding what is being done (which can sometimes be deceptively simple on a parameter list), but again, I'll be open to entries from parametric EQ users as well.

If it's for a convolver, you can also ask for spatialization / speaker/room virtuailzation and I can try to craft those as well--though I will be limited by the tools available, which do not include personal acoustic measurements of your ears.

Policies may change in the future, but for now, the offer is a free one, subject to the spare time I have available.

Let the fun begin!

Hi @Joe Bloggs - pls confirm if this service is still available for all current Hiby DAPs that accept convolution ie R8, R6 2020, RS6?

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hi @Joe Bloggs - pls confirm if this service is still available for all current Hiby DAPs that accept convolution ie R8, R6 2020, RS6?

Yep!

 

[jlemaster1957]

Yep!

Ok - pls can you create a file for Legend X- I am seeking increased bass detail retrieval and imaging ie bass impact is good on R8 already, but sometimes boomy and sometimes overwhelms mids/treble. Mids and treble are perfect already though a bit more treble extension/sparkle would be good. I also have Eletech Socrates cable (which helps) and Cayin C9 (in SS Class A mode also helps). Don’t know if this is the information needed — or if I am asking you to do magic!

 

[jlemaster1957]

Hi @Joe Bloggs - pls confirm if this service is still available for all current Hiby DAPs that accept convolution ie R8, R6 2020, RS6?

So @JoeBloggs supplied these files as promised. The convolution files must have .wav extension and cannot be stored in the same folder as the plugins (you have to save them on the RX (where X = R8, RS6 whichever you have). Be sure to add the convolution plugin and then the sample rate plugin to avoid clicks in upsampled files with multiples of 44.1 khz. Joe will give you 3 files, my advice is to go for the most customized one. He designed mine for LX but I’m on vacation and only have UM 3DT with me but tried it anyway.

So what I am experiencing is easiest to describe in terms of sound stage. usually different instruments or voices in an IEM with good image separation on the stage, but there is not a sense of size of the thing it’s just a point on the stage- with convolution the instruments seem to have size, like they are a 3D object in the space, if that makes sense.

Joe has done some extra things that are probably specific to LX that I will report on when I get back and try this on that set. But this is too exciting to sit on- if you have an Rx player you should definitely try it.

Thanks so much Joe!

 

[linux4ever]

@Joe Bloggs, can a similar thing be done to the recently released Hiby RS2?

 

[Joe Bloggs]

@Joe Bloggs, can a similar thing be done to the recently released Hiby RS2?

The RS2 doesn't have a convolution module.

 

[Zaghamkarim]

Hello Joe!

Hope all's going well.

Would you kindly be able to help with a convolution file for the EA Gaea?

I can see why Timmy called these the Jack of All Trades - they are rounded to function in a manner that can work across genres, but equally that means they lack any first up wow factor (do agree on the female vocals, they seem forward, but otherwise in both treble and bass - not anything that blows you off your feet comparitively).

The treble is not harsh or overly done as per my taste and actually fits tonally well - I can see what they were trying to achieve with the tuning here. I did make a few EQ adjustments to get the fr response to have a more present bass response (I'm not too experienced in this and used squig link to make something that looked ok, not sure if I'm doing anything wrong):

Preamp: -10 dB
Fc 20 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.600
Fc 44 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 0.600
Fc 55 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 1.000
Fc 150 Hz Gain 2.5 dB Q 0.600
Fc 600 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 1.000
Fc 1000 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 2.000

That leads nicely into what I felt was lacking on this set - with the EQ, the bass response became quite nice (it was lacking that oomph initially). The other low points of this set are staging and detail retrieval. The set seems like it's pushing everything along in a straight line - in stereo terms I'd say out of 10 it only expands to a score of 4, whilst I'm looking for a score of 6-7 (both vertically and horizontally). That also hampers the detail retrieval as the details get burried, I can tell they are there but they don't come across, it lacks that bit of layering despite having the potential to deliver more.

Would this be something you would be able to help with? Not sure what the boundaries of convolution filters are - from where I stand it seems like it runs on magic.

Really would appreciate your help on this, thanks!

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hello Joe!

Hope all's going well.

Would you kindly be able to help with a convolution file for the EA Gaea?

I can see why Timmy called these the Jack of All Trades - they are rounded to function in a manner that can work across genres, but equally that means they lack any first up wow factor (do agree on the female vocals, they seem forward, but otherwise in both treble and bass - not anything that blows you off your feet comparitively).

The treble is not harsh or overly done as per my taste and actually fits tonally well - I can see what they were trying to achieve with the tuning here. I did make a few EQ adjustments to get the fr response to have a more present bass response (I'm not too experienced in this and used squig link to make something that looked ok, not sure if I'm doing anything wrong):

Preamp: -10 dB
Fc 20 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.600
Fc 44 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 0.600
Fc 55 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 1.000
Fc 150 Hz Gain 2.5 dB Q 0.600
Fc 600 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 1.000
Fc 1000 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 2.000

That leads nicely into what I felt was lacking on this set - with the EQ, the bass response became quite nice (it was lacking that oomph initially). The other low points of this set are staging and detail retrieval. The set seems like it's pushing everything along in a straight line - in stereo terms I'd say out of 10 it only expands to a score of 4, whilst I'm looking for a score of 6-7 (both vertically and horizontally). That also hampers the detail retrieval as the details get burried, I can tell they are there but they don't come across, it lacks that bit of layering despite having the potential to deliver more.

Would this be something you would be able to help with? Not sure what the boundaries of convolution filters are - from where I stand it seems like it runs on magic.

Really would appreciate your help on this, thanks!

Ok, not sure what I can do but give this a try, (48k version for tracks sampled at 48k and its multiples, 44.1k version for tracks sampled at 44.1k and its multiples)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dj6qj6z71rgk7t5/for Zaghamkarim-44.1k.wav?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sxxkz6qypdoah2g/for Zaghamkarim-48k.wav?dl=0

 

[Zaghamkarim]

Ok, not sure what I can do but give this a try, (48k version for tracks sampled at 48k and its multiples, 44.1k version for tracks sampled at 44.1k and its multiples)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dj6qj6z71rgk7t5/for Zaghamkarim-44.1k.wav?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sxxkz6qypdoah2g/for Zaghamkarim-48k.wav?dl=0

That was quick and wow is it perfect, it really opens up the sound making for a wider soundstage and more perceptible detail retrieval, simply works wonders!
Only caveat - it seems to move sound to the left side (as in to the left iem side, to get balanced back to centre I reduced left side by 13db via software, but somehow that distorted sound) - if you could help tweak that, would be superb! But, definitely makes a bigger impact to sound than I expected - wave of the wand and voila immediate upgrade.

Thanks for taking the time to build this and for helping on this!

 

[Joe Bloggs]

That's really an odd observation that I can't replicate on my HiBy unit. Can I just check with you where you're trying to use this file on?

 

[Zaghamkarim]

That's really an odd observation that I can't replicate on my HiBy unit. Can I just check with you where you're trying to use this file on?

Ah, my unit hasn't arrived yet. I initially burrowed a unit to see if it would be a good fit/ have synergy with the Gaea as I did hear from initial reviews it was a bright DAP and pairing that with a bright set might cause sibilance, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all, at least not from my experience. I'll wait for my unit to arrive and test on that, as I am using my laptop in the meantime - passing through the PA10, which might be what is causing that. My bad, didn't realise that might be a factor to account for. I'll test it out on the R6P2 when it arrives and get back in this case.