[Koukol]

Ok,
 
As most here know the best equipment can't polish a turd of a recording.
Since I bought a HD DAP and uploaded a few of my CDs it's got me thinking about the recordings.
 
I'm now thinking that some recordings need to be EQ'd and some Producers/Engineers are expecting us to do it.
 
BTW~Now, I'm not a bass-head since I hate music drowning in it as much as music with exaggerated highs.
 
As I said, this has all come about since I bought the Pono Player and  a few Neil Young HR recordings that sound perfect with my setup.
The Pono has no EQ option and is not needed for his HD releases and many other recordings HD or not.
 
However, a lot of my CDs and vinyl that I uploaded need EQing to even tolerate them.
It's not the need for bass that has me thinking this as I assumed a weak bass is what the Artist intended.
It's the aggressive mids that are so shrill they sound like nails on a chalkboard.
The worst offender (so far) is the RAMONES recording  Road To Ruin.
I've got the original CD,Remastered version and original vinyl... and they all sound horrible.
 
Of course the Producer/Engineers could have used monitors that had recessed mids forcing them to boost it... but as I said the mids are so shrill I can't imagine a Producer using such a crappy monitor.
 
So... I use to think I had a bad habit of EQing some recordings...but no longer.

 

[Beyakusenn]

Equalizing, if done properly, can be a cheap way to adjust your headphones to get as close as possible to your ideal sound signature. It's no sin in any way to use equalization, but you need to know how to do it right. Here is a tutorial for those who want to get into equalizing: http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
 
In your case, there is something besides just sound signature. Either the recording or the mastering was not done well. Some people might prefer this sound, but you, and probably many others, don't. I don't think the engineers who (re-)mastered Road To Ruin wanted you to use EQ, but they just didn't have good enough source material to work on. Remember that no digital audio existed back then, so all the master can do is alter an original analogue recording. Not all the original recordings have good quality.