[johnjen]

As we all know headphones are nowhere near flat.
At all.
In any significant way.
No matter what.

Except now with some magical parametric EQ we can begin to approach flatness.

One of the results of EQ, when aptly applied, is subsonic bass that 'couples' with the rest of the FR.
The results, when tweaked, are quite spectacular.

I'll be posting a writeup about it shortly, over in the DIY'rs Cookbook thread.

And this weekend some will have a chance to experience and perhaps later incorporate the 3 tweaks mentioned in the upcoming post, for themselves in their own systems.

JJ

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Wow that is overkill.

That's nuts.  I don't use an EQ at all, as I believe in getting equipment that sounds correct to begin with.  The only type of EQ I wouldn't hesitate to use are those done for room correction by a high quality measuring system.

The combined correction EQ is where most of the action is at, the rest is mostly there to scare everybody into a blithering mess

The initial efforts were guided by a measuring system, but when I discovered that the measurements disagreed with my ears on such basic facts as the centre frequencies of certain resonances, that's when I realized that measurements can only take me halfway there and my ears will have to take final guidance. :etysmile:

 

[disastermouse]

   
Wow that is overkill.

If you think about it though, Head-Fi is all about overkill. Worthwhile overkill, but yeah - most people won't get it and so it seems funny to say, 'Dude, that's too much' when I'm listening to $700 headphones, a $250 amplifier, and a $600 DAC...and I ain't even lower-middle-class in Head-Fi economics.

 

[tonykaz]

Mr.mouse,
 
The Sennhieser HD600 @ $300  +  Schiit Asgard 2 @ $250 +  an ODAC @ $150  puts you in the Top 0.0001% of the Headphone World!
 
Owning a Cavalli Liquid (xxxxx) puts you in the top 6,000 Billionaires group that own the world. 
 
Head-Fi is our Davos, Switzerland
 
Tony in Michigan

 

[disastermouse]

 
Mr.mouse,
 
The Sennhieser HD600 @ $300  +  Schiit Asgard 2 @ $250 +  an ODAC @ $150  puts you in the Top 0.0001% of the Headphone World!
 
Owning a Cavalli Liquid (xxxxx) puts you in the top 6,000 Billionaires group that own the world. 
 
Head-Fi is our Davos, Switzerland
 
Tony in Michigan

So I'm doing okay, is what you're saying? It didn't happen overnight. I started in 2010 with an HD650 and a FiiO E7/E10 combo.
 
I'm writing, though. I needs mah soundtrack. That's how I justify the expense as this lower-working class Joe tries to elevate himself into a world where he gets paid for his creativity and not for his ability to lift heavy things.

 

[AudioMan612]

The combined correction EQ is where most of the action is at, the rest is mostly there to scare everybody into a blithering mess

The initial efforts were guided by a measuring system, but when I discovered that the measurements disagreed with my ears on such basic facts as the centre frequencies of certain resonances, that's when I realized that measurements can only take me halfway there and my ears will have to take final guidance.

Yeah, it's been hit and miss for me.  I have heard some systems that worked quite well, such as the products from DEQX DSPeaker.  One thing to keep in mind is that a system like this will highly depend on a good microphone.  Without a reference-grade calibration microphone (such as something from Brüel & Kjær or Earthworks), a system like this won't be very useful.

 
If you think about it though, Head-Fi is all about overkill. Worthwhile overkill, but yeah - most people won't get it and so it seems funny to say, 'Dude, that's too much' when I'm listening to $700 headphones, a $250 amplifier, and a $600 DAC...and I ain't even lower-middle-class in Head-Fi economics.

 
Very true, but this is not only true in Head-Fi, but Hi-Fi in general.  Summit-Fi headphone setups (including the Orpheus 2) barely touch the cost of many Summit-Fi loudspeakers.  The most expensive 2 channel setup that I have listened to to-date cost about $700,000, which is absolutely insane (it was the mbl demo at T.H.E. Show Newport 2014).

 

[disastermouse]

 
This is where I'm coming from.

 

[artur9]

but when I discovered that the measurements disagreed with my ears on such basic facts as the centre frequencies of certain resonances, that's when I realized that measurements can only take me halfway there and my ears will have to take final guidance.

OMG!  You used your EARS?!  How dare you when you have repeatable, objectively verifiable highly accurate scientific devices at your disposal.  
 
I also assumed you DBT'd that to make sure that the results before and after DSPing were statistically significant.
 
 
 
Sorry folks, couldn't resist the snark.

 

[beemerphile]

 
Sorry folks, couldn't resist the snark.

 
Funny snark.  After a certain point, you might as well just have the measuring equipment listen to the music and send you a written report.

 

[GearMe]

The ongoing discussions about EQ intrigue me. I saw the need for it when I was younger with a nice 2.1 channel setup and some room acoustics issues.

That said, headphones control their own 'room acoustics' until the sound reaches....

The ear. So, I'm sure everybody that preaches on this topic either has
A. Perfectly Flat Hearing or
B. Has gone to effort to get a hearing exam with an audiologist (like Tony did) then EQ'd their headphone system accordingly.

Otherwise, chasing the Holy Grail of Flat is a pile of horse hockey. Quick question, do all Mastering Engineers have perfectly flat hearing? Do we need to EQ to adjust for their hearing anomalies? Wait a minute, different studios have different gear (i.e. speakers). Do I need a separate EQ curve for Genelec, B&W, PMC, etc to truly achieve Flatness Nirvana?

Bottom line is that God didn't lay down the tracks and each person's hearing is different than the next. Measurements and reviews are helpful but...Trust. Your. Ears.

More importantly, enjoy the music!

BTW, I change headphones (akg, beyer, denon, grado, hifiman, senn, etc.) based on music, mood, comfort and sometimes just to bring a set of cans back into the rotation; not enjoying them?...off they go and on goes a new set!

 

[wink]

You know, of course, that when you change the volume, you need to change the bass and treble eq...?
 
Check out the Fletcher-Munson curves for the different spl's.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher%E2%80%93Munson_curves

 

[GearMe]

Oh...they fixed that. Just hit the loudness button!

 

[mithrandir38]

So I'm doing okay, is what you're saying? It didn't happen overnight. I started in 2010 with an HD650 and a FiiO E7/E10 combo.

I'm writing, though. I needs mah soundtrack. That's how I justify the expense as this lower-working class Joe tries to elevate himself into a world where he gets paid for his creativity and not for his ability to lift heavy things.

Funny enough, my head fi journey began with Beats. I bought into the hype, was instantly disappointed with the muddy sound, and started looking at reviews for better headphones. Then came the hardware: Grant fidelity, Schiit, bottlehead, Oppo, Audeze etc. It really is a wonderful disease, this hobby

 

[FrivolsListener]

Funny enough, my head fi journey began with Beats. I bought into the hype, was instantly disappointed with the muddy sound, and started looking at reviews for better headphones. Then came the hardware: Grant fidelity, Schiit, bottlehead, Oppo, Audeze etc. It really is a wonderful disease, this hobby

 
I my first really high end headphones were HD-600s.  I just started noticing that while my old Rotel RX-403 and 80s vintage CD player had no trouble driving them, nothing contemporary could.  Thus began my journey into headphone amps, and DACs soon followed.

 

[madwolfa]

  I my first really high end headphones were HD-600s.  I just started noticing that while my old Rotel RX-403 and 80s vintage CD player had no trouble driving them, nothing contemporary could.  Thus began my journey into headphone amps, and DACs soon followed.

 
My first cans were also HD600 powered by $300 TEAC CD player deck. It sounded great. I haven't got into DACs/amps for quite a while.