Looking for accurate Windows environment headphone equalization?

[jonwb]

Hi all... My headphone collection comprises of Senn HD560s, Neumann NDH30s and Drop HD6xx. I currently use Equalizer APO and ToneBoosters Morphit for headphone EQ. AutoEQ (https://autoeq.app/) makes it pretty easy to download Harman Curve .txt files and add them to APO's configuration editor. I can also add the Morphit VST2 plugin and use its correction method. However, I'm finding some discrepancy between the two.

I've attached two examples in Equalizer APO of HD560s equalization (without any preamplification). The first is the AutoEQ's Graphic EQ txt file and the second is Morphit. Notice how AutoEQ tends to cut most frequencies whereas Morphit tends to boost everything below 600k and peaks 11k substantially. Which one is more accurate? I'm pretty sure if I added a Sonarworks SoundID Reference file for the HD560s it'd be different too.

Any opinions?

 

[staticV3]

Hi @jonwb! You can use Audacity Wasapi Loopback recording and REW Sweep import to measure the frequency response of various correction filters, then apply them to a HD560S frequency response measurement via A*B Trace arithmetic, and finally overlay the result onto the Harman OE2018 frequency response target to see which is more accurate.

Here's a short video showing that workflow: https://youtu.be/vTLmo8syGRs

You can find the OE2018 target and raw HD560s response in .txt format here: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq
(use oratory1990 measurements whenever possible)

Btw, your second screenshot shows a config with Peak gain of 7.5dB

Whenever Peak gain is above 0dB and marked red, with parts of the frequency response graph also marked red, that indicates that digital clipping can occur which you really want to avoid.


The solution is to add a Preamp block above/upstream of the correction filter, then reduce it until Peak gain is no longer red: