[imacaverage]

after a month of alternating use of the monarch 2 and ie600, the sennheisers forced out the monarchs, in ie600 the timbre is still perceived more naturally

 

[DarginMahkum]

Alarming trend of releasing new MK almost every year, Dunu SA6 OG, SA6 Ultra, SA6 MK2, Monarch MK1, MK2, MK3, Moondrop Blessing 1, 2, 3, etc.
HD650 lasted for how long before Sennheiser decided to introduce inferior to original HD660, still keeps original in production and sells at a hefty premium.

This is what the audiophile community is demanding and the companies are responding to that. $3-4K IEMs are being sold like candies even when their differences are very slight. I don't understand the mentality. If you have a base tuning you like and you are happy with everything else (sensitivity, fit etc.), just use EQ to tweak small things and you are done. Especially considering the production / mixing differences between the recordings.

I saw a post some time ago, saying he didn't like base tuning of the very expensive HP that he bought. He tried to "everything" to fix it, where everything is HP cables, USB cables, amps, DACs etc. and nothing helped, but not EQ which is basically what EQ is exactly for in a deterministic way, the way you want it to be. All others, assuming that they make a change, are not in your control other than the money you spend on them.

Anyway, This is not a hobby, this is a shopping therapy, and the companies are feeding it.

 

[andjar]

Exactly! Eq-phobia in the flac/lossless sound era is just bonkers.
Back in the 128 kbps mp3 times i could see a theoretical point against eq....but even then things could be greatly improved.
I personally eq everything!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I do not see benefits of EQ for myself, only associated disadvantages as find much more pleasure in appreciating different headphones flavors.
My position that they should sound as creator intended, just like you don't mess with the original painting of the artist by adding your own touches to it.
Add to that loss of bitperfect output, no universally agreed upon target, difference between individual units to tune the same, distortion , etc.
In the end it's all just another "therapy", same as fancy cables.

 

[mark88888]

This could be a function of not using or finding the right app for EQ... but when I apply any EQ at all I feel like I hear a drop in sound quality across the entire FR. Like, it gets a little muffled. So generally I just don't use it.

 

[Sharppain]

after a month of alternating use of the monarch 2 and ie600, the sennheisers forced out the monarchs, in ie600 the timbre is still perceived more naturally

Especially w/ the excessive peak at 9-10k!? IE600 are close to masterpiece to me but still not so that close like MMk2.

 

[RIGATIO]

I really don't understand the hype about the Monarch mk2. They are not pretty, they are too big to fit comfortably in the ears. SQ is good for their price but it is definitely better to add some $$$ to Mest OG or mk2

The Monarch Mk2 is better than both Mests. Ive tested Mest OG and it was a disaster when it comes to the tuning. Ive had the Mest 2 and sold it after 2 weeks. The tuning of it was off, with its muffled and into my face vocals, too bright 6-8k area and a messed up imaging. When A/B the Monarch 2 vs Mest 2 i really regreted buying the Mests even for 980e new. Sold them for the u12t which are superior in every department.

 

[imacaverage]

Especially w/ the excessive peak at 9-10k!? IE600 are close to masterpiece to me but still not so that close like MMk2.

with foam ear pads - everything is fine

 

[DarginMahkum]

I do not see benefits of EQ for myself, only associated disadvantages as find much more pleasure in appreciating different headphones flavors.
My position that they should sound as creator intended, just like you don't mess with the original painting of the artist by adding your own touches to it.
Add to that loss of bitperfect output, no universally agreed upon target, difference between individual units to tune the same, distortion , etc.
In the end it's all just another "therapy", same as fancy cables.

HP manufacturers are not artists and often even far from being competent in tuning headphone. Sometimes even the most experienced ones fail in a particular situation. For example, HifiMan is one of the two of my favorite brands in the market that can tune their "open back" HPs pretty well. I love their open back HPs. But they badly failed to bring their tuning into their closed back HPs, even with the latest Audivina. There is nothing artistic behind it, they just failed. Raal, for example openly admits that they couldn't tune it, or "preferred other features over a proper tuning". They advertise on some filters (a form of EQ) on their website for proper tuning them via software. So I would suggest not putting them in an artist category. They are people trying to sell some products, that is it.

About "loss of bit perfection" is another exaggerated point. I am not working in the audio field but DSP programming is what pays my bills and buys my "toys" at the moment, so as long as the implementation was done by someone that knows what he is doing, there is absolutely no way for someone to hear the a worse sound due to not being bitperfect.

There is no universally agreed tuning but it is also no "enjoy the ride" type of tuning. The ear allows you to move in a range. You can't have a sabertooth like mids tuning without wonky or nasal mids. There is a range that you can experiment. Deviating too much will bring unnaturalness to the sound. Of course, if someone is listening to a music that has completely unnatural / electronic sounds with no reference to a timbre (of an acoustic instrument or vocals) things change. If someone is listening to death metal, a proper mids tuning is probably last thing he will care about.

Therapy...I am not sure. But I have an expectation in the sound and I try to tune that, so that I can hear the instruments the way I hear them in real life or I am used to. Even the people that mix albums are not always competent or fail to properly mix a particular type of music although they were very successful with something else.

This could be a function of not using or finding the right app for EQ... but when I apply any EQ at all I feel like a hear a drop in sound quality across the entire FR. Like, it gets a little muffled. So generally I just don't use it.

Sometimes EQ software reduces the replay gain if you engage it in order to avoid clipping, which is most probably what you are hearing. It is just a reduction in volume. If you are using Android DAP, I can recommend Poweramp Player or the standalone Poweramp EQ which can do system level equalisation (can also EQ external applications like Qobuz, but needs Android 10+, I think).

Sorry for the off-topic. Back to Monarch MK2.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

You don't want the original Prestige if you want to go Prestige way, the LTD version is for you.

Thanks, had no idea. Proving my point, Prestige, Prestige LTD, just another unnecessary revision to suck money out of the consumer.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

About "loss of bit perfection" is another exaggerated point. I am not working in the audio field but DSP programming is what pays my bills and buys my "toys" at the moment, so as long as the implementation was done by someone that knows what he is doing, there is absolutely no way for someone to hear the a worse sound due to not being bitperfect.

It's hard not to hear the difference between exclusive bit-perfect WASAPI or ASIO and Shared mode required by Equalizer APO on PC.
Perhaps in mobile setup things are more relaxed, as overall SQ drops in general comparing to full size headphones in stationary desktop setup, and things like UAPP have EQ plugin that might work with their high res driver (haven't tried it yet).
It's just completely unnecessary IMO, brain adjusts perceived FQ to equalize sound anyway, and if tunning is completely off or just plain unpleasant, well, then these things do not stay and get dumped, but in general I appreciate the native sound difference between phones more than one size fits all equalized Harman target, some are brighter, some are warmer, it's all good to me with less than one hour of head time to "get used to", if you are flipping between them.
If you are an audio engineer and need a neutral reference target for your mixing duties, things could be different, but I am not one of those.

Anyway, not trying to convince anyone, we all enjoy this hobby the way we see fit, just felt that it's necessary to provide counterpoint as not everyone on EQ bandwagon as it might seem after reading this forum, esp. posts from misguided new members (not implying that you are the one).

 

[RIGATIO]

Thanks, had no idea. Proving my point, Prestige, Prestige LTD, just another unnecessary revision to suck money out of the consumer.

I think, with the LTD version they wanted to prove that their actual flagship is worth saving from fail, thats why they improved the trebles from the OG version. I havent heard either of them but the LTD version looks promising to me.

 

[SweetCans928]

I really don't understand the hype about the Monarch mk2. They are not pretty, they are too big to fit comfortably in the ears. SQ is good for their price but it is definitely better to add some $$$ to Mest OG or mk2

I'm with you. I much prefer MEST to Monarch MKII, and I also prefer the OG Monarch to the MKII as well. Both have more "special sauce" to my ears whereas MKII is kinda boring and uninspired to me(even though I still recognize its strengths). Although I'm appreciating the MKII more than ever with these Pentaconn Brass tips. Adds more thump to the bass and a little more air to the signature. I feel like I've unlocked the MKII or something.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I'm with you. I much prefer MEST to Monarch MKII, and I also prefer the OG Monarch to the MKII as well. Both have more "special sauce" to my ears whereas MKII is kinda boring and uninspired to me(even though I still recognize its strengths). Although I'm appreciating the MKII more than ever with these Pentaconn Brass tips. Adds more thump to the bass and a little more air to the signature. I feel like I've unlocked the MKII or something.

Which tips were you using before?

 

[SweetCans928]

Which tips were you using before?

Spinfit W1. I have tried so many different tips. Stock, Spinfit W1/CP100/CP240, Tri Clarion, Truthear stock tips, etc. I've also tried tons of randos I've accrued over the years, of lots of varieties. I never tried them with foam tips though now that I think about it. I actually don't like these Pentaconns with much else, I'm just lucky they synergize well(to my ears) with MKII.