EQ: can I reduce sibilance without ruining the timbre of percussions?

[HELIAS]

I EQ headphones towards the Harman OE 2018 target. Their sibilance is tolerable but less would still be better.

I tried adding a -5 dB, Q = 2 peak at 7000 Hz. Unfortunately, it makes percussions such as cymbals dull. They lose the overtone in the 6~8 kHz area and it is very noticeable. I attempted to mitigate this by boosting 10~20 kHz, but they don't help much for percussions below that frequency range.

I get there has to be a tradeoff, and I'm OK with preparing multiple EQ profiles for different music, but is there a good middle ground for one universal EQ profile?

 

[ZolaIII]

I EQ headphones towards the Harman OE 2018 target. Their sibilance is tolerable but less would still be better.

I tried adding a -5 dB, Q = 2 peak at 7000 Hz. Unfortunately, it makes percussions such as cymbals dull. They lose the overtone in the 6~8 kHz area and it is very noticeable. I attempted to mitigate this by boosting 10~20 kHz, but they don't help much for percussions below that frequency range.

I get there has to be a tradeoff, and I'm OK with preparing multiple EQ profiles for different music, but is there a good middle ground for one universal EQ profile?

Which headphones? Try tilting it and adjust bass slope.

 

[HELIAS]

Which headphones? Try tilting it and adjust bass slope.

The ones I'm currently trying EQ on are HD 490 Pro and HE6se V1. Following your idea, I applied a high shelf filter of -5.5 dB, Q = 0.3, at 5000 Hz, on my HD 490 Pro (fabric pads). It works! The cymbals sound quite normal now and the sibilance is as reduced as I intended.

Thanks! One step towards finding my own preference curve.

 

[Galliardist]

I EQ headphones towards the Harman OE 2018 target. Their sibilance is tolerable but less would still be better.

I tried adding a -5 dB, Q = 2 peak at 7000 Hz. Unfortunately, it makes percussions such as cymbals dull. They lose the overtone in the 6~8 kHz area and it is very noticeable. I attempted to mitigate this by boosting 10~20 kHz, but they don't help much for percussions below that frequency range.

I get there has to be a tradeoff, and I'm OK with preparing multiple EQ profiles for different music, but is there a good middle ground for one universal EQ profile?

A lot of the time, microphones introduce sibilance on human voice. So some is inevitable with proper balance. And of course it's not natural a lot of the time. But if you want everything else to sound right, you have to accept some of it.

It is as simple as that. We got used to reduced sibilance from de-essing on LP, and I know I had to learn this. It's still annoying sometimes, but I listen to a lot more instrumental music than vocal, so all in all I stick with it.

 

[ZolaIII]

It works surprisingly good. Next thing to try is min phase FIR as a EQ and bass self filter if need be. Don't try to push them to do what they can't in lows. Start preferance is find something which has right trable for you without much fiddling with it in the first place.

 

[HELIAS]

A lot of the time, microphones introduce sibilance on human voice. So some is inevitable with proper balance. And of course it's not natural a lot of the time. But if you want everything else to sound right, you have to accept some of it.

It is as simple as that. We got used to reduced sibilance from de-essing on LP, and I know I had to learn this. It's still annoying sometimes, but I listen to a lot more instrumental music than vocal, so all in all I stick with it.

True. Even without EQing the sibilance out, I can put up with it in most songs. They are a distraction more than an annoyance for me: can't unhear once heard.

 

[markanini]

Try a broad 1-2 dB bass boost instead. It's a popular option when a direct cut in the sibilance range around 7kHz does something unwanted.

 

[propaganda1]

EQing gets more tricky the higher the frequencies get, as even slight changes can have an effect on other parts of the sound. I'd recommend getting headphones that measure smooth in the upper frequencies and EQing the lower frequencies to your target, and using just a high shelf filter to reach your preferred treble. I am happy to recommend you some if you would like.

Another option would be pad-rolling and/or dampening, but I do not like doing this unless there are measurements of the headphone and pad combo, so I can see the exact changes in the frequency response. If you are not as vain as I am in this regard, it is definitely worth a try.

 

[swamps]

EQing high frequencies tend to be harder but as always, it depends. The main issue here is the peak(s) shifting in frequency on different headphone positions.

When EQing you should check "all 3" on Squig measurements to see if the peak shifts or if the left/right look much different. To confirm this listen to a sine sweep (https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/) to find the peak, adjust the headphone a bit and notice if it shifts. From what I remember the HE6se V2 peak is consistent.

I've heard there are pad measurements for the HE6se somewhere so maybe they really exist out there. At least pads are reversible.

I personally think the HE6se Vx is a pretty good planar aside from the humongous power requirements [especially with EQ] and it is worth the effort to really fine tune the EQ.

 

[HELIAS]

EQing high frequencies tend to be harder but as always, it depends. The main issue here is the peak(s) shifting in frequency on different headphone positions.

When EQing you should check "all 3" on Squig measurements to see if the peak shifts or if the left/right look much different. To confirm this listen to a sine sweep (https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/) to find the peak, adjust the headphone a bit and notice if it shifts. From what I remember the HE6se V2 peak is consistent.

I've heard there are pad measurements for the HE6se somewhere so maybe they really exist out there. At least pads are reversible.

I personally think the HE6se Vx is a pretty good planar aside from the humongous power requirements [especially with EQ] and it is worth the effort to really fine tune the EQ.

Thanks! I'll try.

Dekoni would give measurements of their pads on their website. For 3rd-party measurements, Unheard Lab is a reviewer who consistently measures headphones with different pads. This is their measurements for HE6se stock vs Dekoni Velour (what I'm using):

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