[RushNerd]

Quote:

DT880's, being paired with a tube-amp do not need any EQ. If you don't like this sound, change the headphone. Same goes to HD650's and K701. On this level of fidelity, EQ-ing isn't a good idea. Believe me, I had tones on experience with EQ. It works out during burn-in period, but after 200 hours , when you turn your EQ off, the stock sound makes you happier. 

Except for all headphones need help in the bass department. I'm sure half of the people here are fine with EQ-less music and average bass, but I actually like to push headphones to the limits of what they can do.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Fellow Rush follower here RushNerd, not using an EQ doesn't mean you are limited to average bass response, you are just hearing the least source-attenuated bass response which will generally sound less bloated, but not always of course.

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

Fellow Rush follower here RushNerd, not using an EQ doesn't mean you are limited to average bass response, you are just hearing the least source-attenuated bass response which will generally sound less bloated, but not always of course.

This of course is true. But I have a really hard time understanding why people don't like adjusting the low end levels. Due to the nature of that tiny little driver I think it needs that boost just to get to the level of speakers which don't need any EQ. Or in most cases, just getting the bass to the same volume as the rest of the music, which becomes much more difficult the lower it is. Maybe i'm crazy.

 

[Sonic Defender]

When you use an equalizer, you end up shifting the other frequencies around those frequencies you are trying to adjust, therefore you are making a change of other frequencies at the same time. Not to mention, when you emphasize one aspect of sound, you inadvertently are de-emphasizing something else, which may or may not be a good thing. Another aspect of boosting a frequency is that suppose it is the bass guitar line you most want to boost, however, often another instrument will also have it's line using the same frequency and as you make this frequency louder, you are making the instruments more similar, thus losing distinctiveness.
 
I am not against using an equalizer, but boosting is a very complex, and potentially sound warping process. Here is a link to an interesting article about equalization: http://www.menet.umn.edu/~kgeisler/EQ/primer.htm
 
As a Rush fan I'm sure you'll appreciate this anecdote. I take out Roll The Bones and after not hearing it for quite sometime I realize just how sucked out the bass was on that album. Everything sounded thin and with little weight and impact. So I took the songs into Adobe Audition and used a parametric eq to adjust this. A parametric eq allows you to limit how much your adjustment of a frequency bleeds into other frequencies. It will still change the tonal and timbrel quality of the instruments, but in a much more controlled and localized manner. Similarly with Clockwork Angels (a horrible recording, almost unlistenable) I actually spent hours removing bass noise in an effort to get some detail and balance back into the music. These techniques in general were successful, but I really do not like every doing so. I am going to try this with Presto soon as that album also lacks any weight and depth to the bass frequencies. As I became more aware of what a good recording actually is, I must say I am saddened to realize just how poor most Rush albums are in terms of recording quality. Examples of well recorded rock albums (in my opinion) are Pink Floyd The Wall, Max Webster Universal Juveniles, and Queensryche Empire to name three.

 

[zeinharis]

i never use the EQ because i like it natural, using an EQ sometimes messing the SQ of the dt880/600 ohm, but not always though. an EQ will definitly helps to improve the SQ if you can find the appropriate settings
 
Just my 2cent

 

[liamstrain]

Quote:

i never use the EQ because i like it natural

 
The goal of most people who EQ is not to boost something, but to make corrections, to get the sound as natural as possible (as close to what the recording and mastering engineers and artists intended). 

 

[Sonic Defender]

Not trying to be argumentative here, but in my experience, most people use an EQ to boost signals, but I won't pretend to be an expert on what most people do. Not to mention, how would we know what the engineers intended? The best way to get that sound would be to defeat all your tone controls and make sure the signal has the least amount of processing possible being added to it.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
But that raises the question, how do we know how it was intended to sound in the first place? 
 
Quote:

 
The goal of most people who EQ is not to boost something, but to make corrections, to get the sound as natural as possible (as close to what the recording and mastering engineers and artists intended). 

 

[liamstrain]

Quote:

Hi,
 
But that raises the question, how do we know how it was intended to sound in the first place? 
 

 
We know that the vast majority of mastering studios have their monitors tuned to as flat a response curve as possible. Trying to emulate that response in our headphones and speaker rigs is a good start. 

 

[Painkiller13]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I have finally made the jump and placed the order for the Valhalla tonight. I hope it works ok with my my receiver, not too keen on dropping another $400 on a DAC right now .

 

[Sonic Defender]

I owned a Valhalla for a year and loved it. Which receiver do you have?

 

[bixby]

Quote:

Hi,
 
But that raises the question, how do we know how it was intended to sound in the first place? 
 

That is the question and one that is at the hands of the person mixing and mastering the cd.  What we can only hope for is that we do no harm to their intent, unless we wish.  Here is a very eye opening tutorial in several parts on mixing and mastering a single track.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s590qVm8uc0
 
I want to allow the person mixing to have their time to impress me with their recording, so I prefer a neutral (to my ears) system and let them do their work.  If I do not like it, I am free to make changes or to never play it again.  I prefer not to make changes on my system

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I have finally made the jump and placed the order for the Valhalla tonight. I hope it works ok with my my receiver, not too keen on dropping another $400 on a DAC right now .

 
 
You might have dropped 400$ for no reason already depending on which receiver you have.

 

[Painkiller13]

My receiver is the Denon AVR-590. In worst case, Im thinking Ill just use my Xonar DX straight to the amp 

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

My receiver is the Denon AVR-590. In worst case, Im thinking Ill just use my Xonar DX straight to the amp 

 
 
You will get very little if any improvement when using DX as a DAC instead of the Denons built in DAC circuitry. Same as for the amp. Now I don't have experience with Schiit amps, but I've compared my own <500$ headamps and many more expensive DAC/amp combos against receivers and integrated amps, and they didn't perform as well. High impedance cans, mainly the 600 ohm beyers absolutely LOVE the outputs of integrated and receivers, because they can get virtually limitless power out of them.