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Sonarworks Headphone Calibration software

Jun 6, 2015 at 2:20 PM Post #61 of 1,377
The problem is that both the MDR-7506 and M50x are colored headphones. When you correct both of these headphones to a neutral curve the change psychoacoustically is very different. The 7506 has that nasty treble peak which isn't euphonic to say the least. With the M50x you have a U curve which is euphonic, so getting rid of it makes it sound dull. At least until your ears have adjusted.
 
If you can - try doing comparisons between corrected 7506 and M50x.
 
Jun 6, 2015 at 2:36 PM Post #62 of 1,377
OK then  it's track > mix > premaster > audition in Sonarworks and mix until it's more suitable.
 
Thanks for the answer.
 
Jun 6, 2015 at 2:48 PM Post #63 of 1,377
rudewolf said:
  The problem is that both the MDR-7506 and M50x are colored headphones. When you correct both of these headphones to a neutral curve the change psychoacoustically is very different. The 7506 has that nasty treble peak which isn't euphonic to say the least. With the M50x you have a U curve which is euphonic, so getting rid of it makes it sound dull. At least until your ears have adjusted.
 
If you can - try doing comparisons between corrected 7506 and M50x.
Click to expand...

 
They sound nothing alike, even with the calibration. This is to be expected.
 
Even with the calibration, the M50x does not sound remotely close to neutral or accurate.
 
Also, there is much debate over which compensation curve is neutral to human ears with headphones. There's the flat speaker curve, the Harman curve, your proprietary curve, the Golden Ears curve, and probably others.
 
Jun 6, 2015 at 3:17 PM Post #64 of 1,377
interpolate said:
  OK then  it's track > mix > premaster > audition in Sonarworks and mix until it's more suitable.
 
Thanks for the answer.
Click to expand...

You can monitor with sonarworks from tracking an onward(set minimum phase for reduced latency) for a fast workflow.
 
music alchemist said:
   
They sound nothing alike, even with the calibration. This is to be expected.
 
Even with the calibration, the M50x does not sound remotely close to neutral or accurate.
 
Also, there is much debate over which compensation curve is neutral to human ears with headphones. There's the flat speaker curve, the Harman curve, your proprietary curve, the Golden Ears curve, and probably others.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind 7506 has additional distortion that can make the bass range richer. What setting are you using under 'calibrate'?
 
Jun 6, 2015 at 3:23 PM Post #65 of 1,377
markanini said:
Keep in mind 7506 has additional distortion that can make the bass range richer. What setting are you using under 'calibrate'?
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The default "flat" preset. I'm mainly interested in high-end headphones, so this is only a backup headphone. Don't care too much about making it sound the best when it's limited in the first place. Just happy I could tame that nasty treble!
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 6:37 AM Post #66 of 1,377
Studio headphones like it or not will make some music sound nasty. More refined recordings will sound fantastic because nothing is being masked or compensated for. Do you really think the recording artists, producers and sound engineers spent all that time on something only for it to be changed by an "inferior" device?
 
My ideal studio headphones would be a AKG K812 or Sennheiser HD800 because the closest I can get not having an expensive studio setup in a portable format would be like Sonic Nirvana (heavenly not the band, although I do like them) to me.
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 9:10 AM Post #67 of 1,377
interpolate said:
  Studio headphones like it or not will make some music sound nasty. More refined recordings will sound fantastic because nothing is being masked or compensated for. Do you really think the recording artists, producers and sound engineers spent all that time on something only for it to be changed by an "inferior" device?
 
My ideal studio headphones would be a AKG K812 or Sennheiser HD800 because the closest I can get not having an expensive studio setup in a portable format would be like Sonic Nirvana (heavenly not the band, although I do like them) to me.
Click to expand...

 
Except those four figure headphones are much higher quality than the affordable studio monitor headphones, some of which have mediocre sound quality no matter how you EQ them. All of the affordable studio monitor headphones add extra nastiness, distortion, and/or imbalanced frequencies that are not in the recording. No amount of studio engineering for a recording can make a bad headphone sound good. The recording and the headphones are separate.
 
Personally, I want the STAX SR-009 more than anything else. Crazy expensive, especially with one of the best amps, but worth it for many. And its distortion levels are ridiculously low.
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 9:24 AM Post #68 of 1,377
Hence which is why it's an ideal rather than a reality....
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 9:27 AM Post #69 of 1,377
interpolate said:
  Hence which is why it's an ideal rather than a reality....
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Exactly. Wish we could have perfect headphones or speakers, but it's just a dream, which we can get closer to, but probably never truly attain.
 
By the way, I'm going to hear the HE1000, Abyss, HD 800, and probably others in a few hours! With my own music too.
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 9:34 AM Post #70 of 1,377
I would not hesitate to buy either of those headphones I mentioned, if the money was more easily attainable. Personally I don't see those a dream alas more a benchmark level of what I am aiming for. Simply because they will don't be getting paired with a FiiO DAP or similar, they will be getting used for monitoring and referencing strictly. As great as my AKG K702 are, I just need something more in the ballpark in terms of headphone to speaker accuracy.
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 11:12 AM Post #71 of 1,377
You'd be surprised how much TOTL headphones deviate from our reference curve. We have calibrated the LCD-2, HD800, K1000...
 
And for the record, I think that nasty sound is not something that denotes a good studio headphone. You could keep a pair of grot box speakers for secondary checks, but you absolutely need to know how they colour the sound and WHY they sound nasty. Primary monitors must be neutral and the majority of neutral speakers actually do sound good (and most of studio headphones are anything but neutral). 
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 11:19 AM Post #72 of 1,377
rudewolf said:
  You'd be surprised how much TOTL headphones deviate from our reference curve. We have calibrated the LCD-2, HD800, K1000...
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You should include presets in your software for them! So many more people would buy it.
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Also: http://cdn.head-fi.org/a/a9/a9650bb7_Sennheiser_HD800_Frequency_Response_HRTF.png
 
My friend mislabeled the graph. The green line is the flat speaker HRTF and the black line is the Harman HRTF. Look how closely it follows the green line, except for that dip in the mids. Do you have an image of your reference curve that could be superimposed on that graph?
 
Jun 10, 2015 at 11:19 AM Post #73 of 1,377
Yes you are definitely correct there. Aren't headphones supposed to be tuned differently from speakers due to their output source and expected target?
 
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