SHP9500 EQ APO for Gaming

[yayu]

Soo... I just got the Philips SHP9500 and I was wondering what EQ settings I should put on these, since I heard these work best paired with good eq and an AMP and DAC. I found an eq settings on reddit that was over 4 years ago and what I dont like about his settings is that the audio is quite low even at 100% in games, and the bass is kinda low for me, I also paired it with HeSuVi because Im not used to just stereo. I play mostly competitive games.

 

Should I just stick with Stereo? and what eq settings can you suggest for gaming and music?

 

(Im new to eq and such so I dont really know how to make my own atm ://)

[imogenBlue]

I have the same headphones as you, here are some eq profiles:

 Philips SHP9500 ParametricEQ.txt this one needs -8.7 pre amp. Credits to the AutoEq project https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sc2wanrbrqe0qn7/Philips SHP9500.pdf?dl=0 Credits to Oratory1990 https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index

 

To apply the first one, you simply need to download the .txt and import it from Peace, then set the preamp value. The second one you have to manually enter the values. Please note that the second one uses a low shelf filter, so you will need to set that too. They both target the same curve, the difference is that the first one is achieved by a program (https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq) and the second one was done manually by a person. I personally prefer the first one as it sounds more detailed on the treble, but that is subjective so try for yourself if you wish. The AutoEQ profile (the first one) differs a bit from the one posted on github because I allowed it to use a higher max gain, improving the results on the bass frequencies. The con of this is that the preamp is now -8.7 instead of -7.4, meaning that the volume level will be somewhat lower and you'll have to turn it up some more. You did mention that with the eq you were using things sounded too low, so maybe these settings are not ideal either since they do take a hit in volume too. A thing I would do is that if you have a realtek sound card, go to its control panel and check if there's some setting to change the output gain, or something along those lines. Set it higher if the volume is low. Otherwise, you might have to consider an amp or live without eq. It might be tempting to leave preamp at 0 altogether but try not to since this would cause clipping, distortion. If you can't afford to sacrifice 8.7 db because the volume becomes too low then this one Philips SHP9500 ParametricEQ-alternative.txt only requires you to apply -6.4db preamp. It is essentially the same as the one on the github results, so it has slightly less bass and more treble compared to the other result. Again, this is all subjective so you might even like this one better. I still recommend the first one though as that is the one that sounded the most natural to me. 

 

If -6.4 is still too much, I can make one with less preamp, but it won't be nearly as good in the bass region.

 

So how does the eq compare to the headphones by default? The highs, which I did not find annoying but might be too much for some songs are tamed, and the bass becomes way more present, but not to the point where it's ovedone. It becomes far less fatiguing to listen to the headphones and in general just sounds natural. Don't know anything about hesuvi and how its virtual surround works so I can't help you there. Anyways hope this helps, and feel free to ask if you need that profile with the lower preamp.

 

[rice guru]

On 8/5/2020 at 4:46 AM, yayu said:

Soo... I just got the Philips SHP9500 and I was wondering what EQ settings I should put on these, since I heard these work best paired with good eq and an AMP and DAC. I found an eq settings on reddit that was over 4 years ago and what I dont like about his settings is that the audio is quite low even at 100% in games, and the bass is kinda low for me, I also paired it with HeSuVi because Im not used to just stereo. I play mostly competitive games.

 

Should I just stick with Stereo? and what eq settings can you suggest for gaming and music?

 

(Im new to eq and such so I dont really know how to make my own atm ://)

Eq wise personally I would stick to stock. As it's rather flat with treble more forward which is good for footsteps. Whether to use hesuvi or not though is up to you and what succseeds

[xAcid9]

I don't use EqApo but this is my Voicemeeter Banana eq for my SHP9500s.

 

Basically just a tad bit more bass and much more brightness.

[yayu]

On 8/8/2020 at 11:38 AM, imogenBlue said:

A thing I would do is that if you have a realtek sound card, go to its control panel and check if there's some setting to change the output gain, or something along those lines. Set it higher if the volume is low.

just updated my realtek audio manager but I couldnt find the output gain in there tho.

 

Ive been using oratory's eq for awhile now and Im loving it, its sometimes hard to hear but it really makes a difference when listening to music.

Im planning on buying a starter amp, since I heared it makes the audio alot louder without it being distorted? but I just couldnt find one thats in my budget so far.

[BobP]

I know this post is old, but I thought I would add to it for those looking for SHP9500 EQ setting suggestions.  I played around for a month with various EqualizerAPO settings with reasonable results and then took a more structured approach.  The results, for me, have been outstanding and I thought would share them.

 

I first compensated for the difference between the SHP9500 response and an "ideal" target response.  Then I overlaid a subtle V curve (I like a "livelier" sound profile).  Then I pushed the vocals forward very slightly, since the V curve moves them back.

 

Try these settings out (see the attached pdf) and let me know what you think.

 

BobP

Shp9500 Freq Response 6 D01.pdf