Joe Bloggs
Sponsor: HiByMember of the Trade: EFO Technologies Co, YanYin TechnologyHis Porta Corda walked the Green Mile
This mod is only for those who listen to music on their computers and don't think EQ is the most evil thing since Bose!
Well you see, the reason why I call myself the resident EQ pagan (or something like that
) is because I take EQ seriously and take the time to make the best adjustments. The way I used to do this was
(if you want to see the EX70 to HD580 mod quickly, scroll down...)
1. Listen to tone sweeps on the computer using the headphones to be calibrated, adjust EQ until all frequencies sound as loud as each other *at one volume*. (this can only be done for one volume--after setting the EQ just so, if you turn the volume up or down the tones will not sound equal in loudness anymore. This should be easy to understand if you understand human hearing.) I default to 70dB.
2. Look up the Fletcher-Munson curve to make the necessary adjustments from what *sounds* equal in loudness at, say, 70dB to what *is* equal in loudness--you get flat frequency response!
So what's the catch?
My ears were the catch. Obviously my ears deviated quite a bit from the ears that the F-M curve represented, for my ears perceive loudness quite differently. Among other things, it perceived midbass up to lower midrange as much weaker than the F-M standard ear would, and treble ~7500Hz to be much stronger. (all this is in retrospect, as you will understand later) So when I tried to normalize the EQ setting using the F-M curves, I ended up getting bloated midbass up to lower midrange and treble cut way too much.
(...scroll down to here)
But my technique is just fine for, um, say, EQing one phone to make it sound exactly like another phone, in terms of frequency response, at least
Here's what I did:
1. Same as step 1 above, calibrating the HD580s in this case
2. Write down the EQ pattern.
3. Do step 1 with the EX70s (as I had already done before)
4. Instead of looking up the F-M curve, just apply the inverse of the EQ pattern in step 2. (Let's call this inverse EQ X from now on.)
The rationale here is that the frequency response of the HD580s through the EQ in step 1 is the same as that of the EX70s through the EQ in step 2--all frequencies sounding equally loud to me at 70dB. Applying X to the EQ made in step 1 with the HD580s would give you a flat EQ--the original frequency response of the HD580s. Applying X to the EQ made in step 3 with the EX70s would again give you the frequency response of the HD580s, but [size=small]this time coming out of the EX70s[/size].
I include the end product as a file for download. To use this file you have to first install Naoki's Winamp EQ plugin. It can be found here: Naoki's EQ plugin
After installing the plugin, load the EQ file that you downloaded here. The file here has to be renamed with extension .eq because the forum does not allow the .eq extension.
Note: The EX70 to HD580 mod only addresses frequencies 220Hz and above accurately. This was because I was unable to (or afraid to) drive the HD580s hard enough to play tones 200Hz and below at 70phons perceived loudness. Feel free to experiment with the sliders for 156Hz and below. General opinion has it that the EX70 has little low bass and a lot of midbass so you may want to adjust the sliders accordingly.
Disclaimer: This mod will not work if the fit of the EX70 in your ears are significantly different from mine, or if the drivers are significantly different. (e.g. old crap production runs vs new ones) However you can replicate my results for yourself by following the instructions above. You may of course post enquiries about my methodology here
And of course I'm not claiming that the EX70s now sound identical to the HD580s, even to me
It's just that the frequency responses now roughly match, and that's *all* I'm claiming...
Well you see, the reason why I call myself the resident EQ pagan (or something like that
(if you want to see the EX70 to HD580 mod quickly, scroll down...)
1. Listen to tone sweeps on the computer using the headphones to be calibrated, adjust EQ until all frequencies sound as loud as each other *at one volume*. (this can only be done for one volume--after setting the EQ just so, if you turn the volume up or down the tones will not sound equal in loudness anymore. This should be easy to understand if you understand human hearing.) I default to 70dB.
2. Look up the Fletcher-Munson curve to make the necessary adjustments from what *sounds* equal in loudness at, say, 70dB to what *is* equal in loudness--you get flat frequency response!
So what's the catch?
My ears were the catch. Obviously my ears deviated quite a bit from the ears that the F-M curve represented, for my ears perceive loudness quite differently. Among other things, it perceived midbass up to lower midrange as much weaker than the F-M standard ear would, and treble ~7500Hz to be much stronger. (all this is in retrospect, as you will understand later) So when I tried to normalize the EQ setting using the F-M curves, I ended up getting bloated midbass up to lower midrange and treble cut way too much.
(...scroll down to here)
But my technique is just fine for, um, say, EQing one phone to make it sound exactly like another phone, in terms of frequency response, at least
1. Same as step 1 above, calibrating the HD580s in this case
2. Write down the EQ pattern.
3. Do step 1 with the EX70s (as I had already done before)
4. Instead of looking up the F-M curve, just apply the inverse of the EQ pattern in step 2. (Let's call this inverse EQ X from now on.)
The rationale here is that the frequency response of the HD580s through the EQ in step 1 is the same as that of the EX70s through the EQ in step 2--all frequencies sounding equally loud to me at 70dB. Applying X to the EQ made in step 1 with the HD580s would give you a flat EQ--the original frequency response of the HD580s. Applying X to the EQ made in step 3 with the EX70s would again give you the frequency response of the HD580s, but [size=small]this time coming out of the EX70s[/size].
I include the end product as a file for download. To use this file you have to first install Naoki's Winamp EQ plugin. It can be found here: Naoki's EQ plugin
After installing the plugin, load the EQ file that you downloaded here. The file here has to be renamed with extension .eq because the forum does not allow the .eq extension.
Note: The EX70 to HD580 mod only addresses frequencies 220Hz and above accurately. This was because I was unable to (or afraid to) drive the HD580s hard enough to play tones 200Hz and below at 70phons perceived loudness. Feel free to experiment with the sliders for 156Hz and below. General opinion has it that the EX70 has little low bass and a lot of midbass so you may want to adjust the sliders accordingly.
Disclaimer: This mod will not work if the fit of the EX70 in your ears are significantly different from mine, or if the drivers are significantly different. (e.g. old crap production runs vs new ones) However you can replicate my results for yourself by following the instructions above. You may of course post enquiries about my methodology here
And of course I'm not claiming that the EX70s now sound identical to the HD580s, even to me
