Feedback correction like Bose QC25/35 works fine IMO 20 Hz-1 kHz, but a bit more work needs to be done for > 1 kHz. Otherwise I am using my DT150/DT100pad headphone most of the time. It just works. Dongle USB-C cables with EQ supplied for free could be one solution - but are there such around today?
hi，I had similar FR curve with you. I think headphones with heavy angled drivers are hard to test.Nice review!
Upon testing the AR5000, I found the positioning on the measurement rig plays a very significant role in the FR you get. This is expected. As Amir mentioned at the beginning of the review, the AR5000's drivers are highly angled. That means a greater degree of variability in how they interact with the pinnae.
Wear them with your ears towards the front of the AR5000 ear cups (blue curve) tends to give you the most upper-mids and treble, compared to wearing them in the middle/back of the ear cup (purple/red).
p.s. I am using the GRAS 43AG-4 namely the regular IEC60318-4 coupler so the treble response can be a bit different from Amir's measurement.
There are for IEMs: Moondrop FreeDSP & CDSP (and there are USB-C IEMs with DSP from Moondrop and Tanchjim). I don’t think there are equivalents for Headphones. A few ANC headphones offer a USB-C digital input, but that’s yet another category.
Really bad analogy. As someone who worked professionally in the automotive motorsports industry as a suspension and chassis tuner/engineer, I would 1000% rather own/operate/drive a finely tuned (with aftermarket parts) vehicle than it’s more contemporary/higher end stock equivalent.
The recommendation is CONDITIONAL on eq. Lots of people use eq while others don't. So the recommendation is clear enough, I think.
Not using EQ because you're some old school audiophile purist is trolling. (Not directed at you by the way unless you are said purist who "rolls" amps, dacs, cables and tubes.)
I agree with you
Since the bass region needs close to a +10db boost in the sub-bass area (which already has the highest distortion) to match the Harman target I suspect it's not that unlikely that bass distortion will be audible after EQ.
Still, it should not distort when listening at normal levels. I don't really trust Amir's EQ distortion claims since my experience do not align with it for couple of headphones ha has tested.
And "normal" levels are what exactly? If you tend to listen at 90db max or below, you likely won't hear the distortion. But for anyone who likes to crank the volume (even if just occasionally) the distortion would likely be audible.
Sure, and Amir is usually clear in his reviews about whether he recommends a headphone without EQ, or only with EQ.
I am personally against headphones that require an amplifier. It is like saying "it is a good car, but you need to supply the engine".
