To EQ Or Not To EQ, that’s the question.

[Fluffy]

Or this of course https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq

HeSuVi (headphone surround virtualisation) also has autoEQ embedded I believe https://sourceforge.net/projects/hesuvi/

I tried to EQ my Focal Clear and Audeze LCD2C with their presets. It's just sound like an over-trebelly mess. I don't think auto eq based on measurements is a good idea. Everyone should EQ according to their own hearing and taste.

 

[Enkay25]

Would love an EQ setting for Hifiman Sundara to get a better flat response.

 

[digitalfrost]

I tried to EQ my Focal Clear and Audeze LCD2C with their presets. It's just sound like an over-trebelly mess. I don't think auto eq based on measurements is a good idea. Everyone should EQ according to their own hearing and taste.

I believe the curves are EQed flat, which explains the trebelly mess. If you create your own custom curves you can work with tilt. Personally I like -1 to -1.5dB which should come close to the Sean Olive/Harman curve. See frequency_response.py on https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq.

While EQing to taste is everyone's decision, I believe without measurements we're stumbling in the dark.

 

[Fluffy]

Measurements are helpful in finding abnormalities such as sharp peaks and dips, or the general tilt. But transferring from the measurement directly to a correction preset ignores the fact that some abnormalities could actually sound good. Therefore, it is better to take guidance from the measurements, but decide on your own what is the ideal response you are looking for.

Of course, I'm not talking about pure accuracy and flatness. I don't think that is achievable of even desirable, because what is accurate is heavily dependent on what music you are listening to and also on the accuracy of your own hearing.

 

[pwjazz]

I tried to EQ my Focal Clear and Audeze LCD2C with their presets. It's just sound like an over-trebelly mess. I don't think auto eq based on measurements is a good idea. Everyone should EQ according to their own hearing and taste.

The problem is that the trend is to EQ to a Harman response, which I personally find too thin in the bass which makes everything sound overly bright. Also the LCD2C measures with a giant 4K dip that doesn't sound as recessed as it measures, so when strictly correcting that to Harman it just sounds wrong.

 

[flipflop]

Would love an EQ setting for Hifiman Sundara to get a better flat response.

Filter 1: Low shelf, 70 Hz, Gain 4 dB
Filter 2: Peak, 2200 Hz, Gain 2 dB, Q 3.5
Filter 3: Peak, 4900 Hz, Gain -3 dB, Q 8
Filter 4: Peak, 9400 Hz, Gain -4 dB, Q 8
Preamp: -4.5 dB

Peace config file: https://mega.nz/#!woRUWCrR!1dW4d2AcCsVZIiAPojniaxysHjxCpQbpisZp4dOBNeU

Should look like this:

Measurements:
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/HiFiMANSundara.pdf
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/hifiman/sundara

 

[Masterxyr]

To EQ Or Not To EQ, that’s the question.

this is really sweet, thanks Patrick!
My only wish is that it could just replace the other default EQ and be displayed in a tab/panel, but I understand that nothing happens with just the click of a button, so many thanks again (for the presets too!)

 

[Tks]

I tried to EQ my Focal Clear and Audeze LCD2C with their presets. It's just sound like an over-trebelly mess. I don't think auto eq based on measurements is a good idea. Everyone should EQ according to their own hearing and taste.

Speaking of LCD2C's ..

Oratory1990 has an EQ for them that basically makes them sound like a whole new headphone. I couldn't believe the difference that EQ made.

I tried the one for HD58X's and HD6XX's.. meh I hear the difference, but it wasn't anything earth shatteringly different as compared to what his EQ for the LCD2C's did for my ears.

 

[Fluffy]

@Tks Take any headphone and crank up some frequencies by 10 db, and you will get a whole new headphone.

 

[Sal1950]

@Tks Take any headphone and crank up some frequencies by 10 db, and you will get a whole new headphone.

Or a broken headphone if you drive it too hard.

 

[LuckyLuke575]

I think EQing is great, because it lets you improve the sound of your system to your liking, and fill any gaps that your headphones or speakers may have. I EQ both my headphones and speakers via the manual tone controls found on my integrated amp, where I add some bass and treble. I use the same setting for both, because they turned out to have similar recessed low end that comes out via the EQ (esp the speakers).

 

[escalibur]

Some profiles with the measurements:

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets

 

[soundwave76]

After using EQ to many of my headphones (Elegia, HD800, HD58X, Stax L300 Limited etc) there’s no question in mind -> I will always apply EQ also in the future. The same applies to loudspeakers, where Genelec’s built in room correction handles everything for me.

 

[Patrick1958]

Update :
Solderdude recently measured my HD650 and it turns out i really have a veiled model and also a damaged driver, an inwards pushed speaker dome that he was able to fix.
Knowing where the frequency problem is i was able to correct via PEQ, and to my surprise the HD650 now is on top of my favorite Senns.

 

[Pflamingo]

Hi Patrick, just saw this thread.
Bought the DT990pro and would like to use your EQ settings. But I'm using the Equalizer APO + Peace GUI. Is there any way you could help me with a txt file or just tell me what to input based on your Foobar settings from the screenshot? Thanks.

 

[Patrick1958]

Hi Patrick, just saw this thread.
Bought the DT990pro and would like to use your EQ settings. But I'm using the Equalizer APO + Peace GUI. Is there any way you could help me with a txt file or just tell me what to input based on your Foobar settings from the screenshot? Thanks.

Have a try at these from oratory1990. I'm confident they are more accurate than mine. Both the measurements for the new earpads and the worn earpads

 

[Pflamingo]

Have a try at these from oratory1990. I'm confident they are more accurate than mine. Both the measurements for the new earpads and the worn earpads

Thanks, man. Tried to apply the filter settings from the 'new earpads' measurements page, into the APO configuration. Please see attached. Is this correctly done?

 

[flipflop]

Thanks, man. Tried to apply the filter settings from the 'new earpads' measurements page, into the APO configuration. Please see attached. Is this correctly done?

Click the box with the green curve below 'Effects'. What you see is supposed to match the 'EQ Curve total' (middle-right) in oratory's .pdf.

 

[Patrick1958]

Thanks, man. Tried to apply the filter settings from the 'new earpads' measurements page, into the APO configuration. Please see attached. Is this correctly done?

Looks good. The oratory curves are a starting point, on some of my headphones i tweak them a little, don't hesitate to experiment.

 

[Pflamingo]

Looks good. The oratory curves are a starting point, on some of my headphones i tweak them a little, don't hesitate to experiment.

Great How can I best reduce bass a bit?