I think I red that Oratory's target curve is mostly based on Harman curve. Which I think is currently based partially on speakers in a room and the test about how average people prefer their headphones. Generally people preferred more bass, and more treble on expense of midrange. Ad that consumer preference to need for bass if you want to simulate speakers, you get one bass heavy target curve. Again, correct if I'm wrong but it is my understanding that Rtings uses similar curve. It leads to ridiculous claims, such as Audeze's LCD headphones needing a bass boost and so on. I'm not saying they're wrong though. It is a matter of taste. Personally I prefer boosted bass, especially in low subbass region. Because of my speaker background I'm always after that visceral impact and some added subbass makes headphones just a tad closer to speakers(IMO).
Overall I however find Oratorys eq's most suitable for low volume listening. It's at low listening levels when some bass boost and extra treble comes in handy. I think they should somehow add in Fletcher-Munson curve because as it is I think Oratory/Rtings/Harman is just a V-style/Low volume listening kind of thing.
Thanks for the clarification.
Plugging in some arbitrary room effect plus adding average listeners for bass - are both arbitrary and ridiculous. I have a vast amount of time with speakers (some exceedingly good) in rooms for 48 years. There is no one size fits all room or speakers and more to the point speakers IN rooms setting or formula. I've instrumented dozens of set-ups and *never* have I seen any of the bass curves they've offered up in the 5 cans I used Oratory to set.
If Oratory wants people to run through a set of tests to ID what the issues might be and then recommend a setting - great - I see no such function. As far what the average listener wants? What do I care what they like? It's not a popularity contest complete with bass heads and fans of artificial bass, IT'S AN ACCURACY CONTEST.
I think over ~150 Hz Oratory really seems to be quite on - besides the fact that they do NOTHING for cans that ring but don't show any obvious signs where frequency measures are not notably off. Ringing is like 3rd order harmonics - very irritating.
I use 4 of the 6 settings in my parametric to basically use the 4 most dramatic Oratory settings, one to deal with the worst ringing (my planars all ring - (and existing CSD charts have them identified quite well)), and one to do the bass shelf which I have set from +1.8 to 2.8 db (because they are open backs, several w/o the screen).
It's great to find sources of correct objective measurement in this subjective hobby, but when you overstep your well founded objectivity to promote a one sized fits all room and the arbitrary bass leanings of people that - let's face it - don't listen to much classical.. Go ahead and set your EQ of your favorite set of headphones to Oratory 1990 - and listen to your best and cleanest recordings and tell me the bass doesn't sound like a wallowing whale.
As for preferences I find the common taste is for a bright treble. So why doesn't Oratory throw in a few more db over 4kHz for that?
Most very serious audiophiles with speaker systems and room issues try to mitigate them by use of things like Sonex foam, ASC traps, scatter rugs as opposed to wall to wall, or have rooms constructed with non parallel surfaces, concrete floor, equipment closets (it kills me how people display their equipment proudly between their speakers on a shelf) not caring or not knowing the damage that does to the back stage, even more bizarre is having a turntable in use in the same situation).
So why on earth do I want to add the frequency distortion of a room that is say 20' x 10' x 10' with tower speakers with considerable bass (with a Q over 1.0) on the floor (w/o spikes) and tucked into the corner? I'm sure that is not Oratory's model room, but, its just as arbitrary and just as pernicious to bass "flatness" under 240 Hz as whatever they have (or given the lack of ripples in the curves supplied it's likely that there is NO room, just something imagined to be correct, then polluted with a ridiculous popularity contest.
It's simple to avoid, somewhere in the mid 150 to 100 Hz range their suggested EQ curve takes a large jump, try that, then try flat, then tune to your cans. So indeed what they have (outside of ringing issues) over 150 Hz is quite useful, use that, ignore the wrong turns, find CSD graphs elsewhere (esp for planars) and try cutting the worst area of ringing. -4-5 db is the range I find that works in a very narrow band.