EQing the 009s
DMG Audio EQ (EQuick) plugin for Mac and Windows.
For those already successfully using EQ ignore this post.
I have had the 009s for 2 years and in that time I have also had 2 different DACs and 2 different electrostatic amps (KGSShv and Carbon).
Cut to the chase, I started using the Carbon with the 009s and my Audio Note DAC 5 from September 2016. Compared to the KGSShv it is faster, wider, more 'alive' and has oodles of depth and detail. The bass is a bit less in quantity maybe than the KGSShv (Sanyo off-board) but is tight and textured, so no big deal. The Sanyo KGSShv is the warmest of those amps I am informed, The treble in the Carbon is more pronounced which helps create a wider soundstage and give more clues in the music.
But with extra speed and transparency comes a price, as with everything that is good (in many cases). The 009 sounds a tad bright. It is not a problem, I am talking subtle, the last bit of system tuning, and it is dependent on the effect of the source. It also sounds a bit bright on the BHSE (maybe brighter) IMO.
So, after 3 months of tube rolling my DAC I set about looking at the DMG EQ settings again. I bought this plugin last year and had used it to tweak the signature of my previous amp and also wake up the 007 a bit (detail). There are quite a few EQ versions from DMG. I tried most of them on a free trail basis, and settled on the best one IMO as the EQuick. Oddly it is not the most expensive one, indeed is a stripped down version of their top EQ plugin. Maybe it sounded better as it has less effects and features built into it?
On my speaker setup (same DAC) I run it straight, no EQ required. The sound is perfect for my taste and is realistic and smooth, detail but not hifi sounding or over the top.
Using my perceived 'perfect sound' on the big speakers, straight through to the Carbon and 009s the signature jumps up and has more energy in the mid treble and a colder slightly thinner sound overall.
To tackle this I have set a small treble dip around the 4-7 kHz region going back to almost no reduction up to 20kHz. A standard hi-shelf drop was compared to a dip and it didn't sound right, too much loss in transparency. This got me thinking, the HD800 had an annoying (to some) brightness spot around 6kHz that could give female vocals and guitars an unnatural edge and can be fatiguing. It does appear in my system the 009 has a slight lift around the same region. Or it could be my DAC, though I noticed it was also present in the AMR DP-777 and my other DAC before that as well.
However, I don't hear any issues further up the scale, into the 8kHz to 20kHz range. So that is sorted.
Next the bass. It is super tempting to go large hear, I am a bit of a bass lover. However, even though the 009 can handle more bass quantity, it can lead to muddying the image and reducing the depth and width. Also when the music gets really busy that effect is more apparent. So, as Velodyne say in the manuals, set the bass to blend seamlessly, sounding natural to the rest of the music.
The 2 pics show the same response curves but I have rolled over each to display the setting. The setting I finalised where quite minor in amount, treble dip around 6kHz of -1.1dB, and bass lift of +1.3dB around 100hz. Doesn't look like much adjustment, but the effect on the sound is obvious. Any coldness in the treble region is gone, dead smooth and more organic. The bass also kicks harder and sounds just as tight and fast as set to no boost, i.e. no audible negatives whatsoever to my hearing.
I would say the built in AU Equalisers on a Mac are pretty poor and ruin the sound. Quite possibly the AU filters are using Apple core audio then Audirvana+ is using that modified file after. I am not sure, but the track load takes a tad longer when enabling the DMG filter so the processing is done in RAM first then fed in real time to the DAC.
The other cool thing you can do in this plugin is monitor the digital output level. Any bass boost will inevitably push most modern recordings above 0dB and hideous clipping will occur. This can be totally avoided by reducing the output level a bit and watching the peaks don't hit 0db. Once set this will apply to all recording i.e. no clipping unless the studio recorded it like that in the first place (Metallica 'Death Metallic' for example)
Job done. A superb smooth, fast and detailed setup with zero digital edge or fatigue. Well happy. TBH I believe the difference in many DACs once you get to a decent level is minor. And maybe the search for a DAC that sits better in a certain system can be tweaked just by using a bit of EQ. Cheap and worth a try IMO.
My last thought on this, would we expect a normal speaker to have one voice coil for full range? Almost none are made that work. The ones that look like a single cone invariably have 2 cones on the same mount. Thus we are technically expecting a headphone with s single cone driver / panel to produce a ruler flat response from 20 hz right up to 20 kHz, it is difficult to imagine ANY headphone could do that. But it can (with a bit of help) IMO.
Hope this helps someone.
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