Do you EQ to fix the headphone, or to add some things to them?

[InvertedEar]

The thing about them is that I personally EQ to add certain things to them whenever I feel like doing so. Like, if I want to listen to my library for more of its bass or highs when I'm in the mood, I'll EQ my HD800S for that (I know its not the most flat sounding headphone out there, but flat enough that I can get). I never liked EQ'ing to fix a headphone because I find it a headache sometimes when it gradually messes with the sound in such a way that I end up spending more time to EQ to correct the new set of problems it introduces, which is why I don't really like the HD800 non-S due to its 6k peak, which is hot. 

 

I can see the appeal to EQ in order to fix problems in a headphone, but there were times I remember having to EQ a K702 to give it more bass, but it just ended up with me spending more time to get the EQ right without messing with the lower mids and sometimes the highs... and at one point, I don't even know how its possible, even the soundstage suffered on a certain track. There were times I even EQ'd a 400i to my liking to maybe sound similar to an HD600, but I just ended up failing. That said, I know alot of people have done this to their success, and if they are happy with it, I'm happy for them. I can go on with what I think is not good with EQ'ing to fix, because I'd rather personally add color to a flat-enough sounding headphone whenever I'm in the mood than EQ to fix a sound signature to only spend more time EQ'ing to fix them repeatedly.

 

So, which side are you guys on?

[Droidbot]

I have the same problem. Eventually I just concede and keep the IEM/headphone how it's meant to sound and turn off the EQ or keep it on, but tastefully EQ'd

[InvertedEar]

2 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

I have the same problem. Eventually I just concede and keep the IEM/headphone how it's meant to sound and turn off the EQ or keep it on, but tastefully EQ'd

I remember the time I spent atleast 30 minutes EQ'ing an HD800 non-S because after fixing the 6khz peak, it somehow sounded worse, non-EQ'd, on my other tracks.

[Bajantechnician]

1 minute ago, InvertedEar said:

I remember the time I spent atleast 30 minutes EQ'ing an HD800 non-S because after fixing the 6khz peak, it somehow sounded worse, non-EQ'd, on my other tracks.

I eq more bass in, and I increase everything else 

[InvertedEar]

2 minutes ago, Bajantechnician said:

I eq more bass in, and I increase everything else 

Which would be fine, tbh. But it ends up sounding worse on other tracks. Which is why I skipped on it and went for the S since I don't want to do the hassle of doing the SDR mod (I think its also known as the French mod) because that one, it sounds nice on its own and plays well with EQ based on my mood.

[3 Minute Reviewer]

This is the type of mindset in the audiophile community I really struggle with. At the end of the day, the only thing you are SUPPOSED to do is find a way to enjoy your music the most. So if you have fantastic beautiful equipment but you want just a little more bass - go ahead, EQ it in. There is no audio police, there is nothing that will blow up and cause damage. Find what makes YOU enjoy your time with your audio the MOST and go with that - dont let too much of the elite "flat or die" mentality get to you.

[InvertedEar]

7 minutes ago, kmathieu2220 said:

This is the type of mindset in the audiophile community I really struggle with. At the end of the day, the only thing you are SUPPOSED to do is find a way to enjoy your music the most. So if you have fantastic beautiful equipment but you want just a little more bass - go ahead, EQ it in. There is no audio police, there is nothing that will blow up and cause damage. Find what makes YOU enjoy your time with your audio the MOST and go with that - dont let too much of the elite "flat or die" mentality get to you.

Heck, sometimes I get insulted and told that I should sell my HD800S if I'm just gonna EQ it, or I should've gotten the regular HD800 and just EQ to fix that 6khz peak (when it just ends up fucking with the sound if I EQ to my taste in other sections). I went for them because I've gotten frustrated with some headphones being bass anemic, too warm, have sibilance, or other problems and EQ'ing to fix them and then later on EQ'ing to taste just somehow makes it worse for me unless I spend time EQ'ing them for maybe just ONE TRACK. Like, when the main use case scenario for headphones is to put them on and listen, its frustrating to be told I'm using them incorrectly... its not like I'm speeding with a goddamn Bugatti Veyron and just using them for trips around town when shopping and what not.

[Guest]

Once I got used to using tone control, I use it to spice up my elderly Sennheiser HD5... headphones. Now, I can't imagine bypassing my Schiit Loki box. @kmathieu2220 , you're on the nose with it being a divisive issue. I respect @Max_Settings 's view that different headphones have unique physical characteristics. I can appreciate how each headphone can provide a unique experience... it's a visceral experience, that doesn't need to be justified. I can't use 2-channel set ups (big stacks of speakers and sound bars) in my home... for the sake of my spouse (after a day in a classroom, she needs QUIET). As I get older, I can see having several sets of cans for different effects... hell, for different fits.

 

It's interesting to see the quirks cropping up with the super duper, high priced HD800 set. It reminds me that there's really no 100% headphone "out there".

 

When I'm finally full time in my zombie outpost up on the Bruce Peninsula, I could see having my own little radio shack in the woods. I might be in my 70-80s, but I can sit on a couple of sub-woofers, getting my kicks! Pshh. That's just me.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Guest
HD800 hip shot

[InvertedEar]

6 minutes ago, PrometheanCat-1970 said:

Once I got used to using tone control, I use it to spice up my elderly Sennheiser HD5... headphones. Now, I can't imagine bypassing my Schiit Loki box. @kmathieu2220 , you're on the nose with it being a divisive issue. I respect @Max_Settings 's view that different headphones have unique physical characteristics. I can appreciate how each headphone can provide a unique experience... it's a visceral experience, that doesn't need to be justified. I can't use 2-channel set ups (big stacks of speakers and sound bars) in my home... for the sake of my spouse (after a day in a classroom, she needs QUIET). As I get older, I can see having several sets of cans for different effects... hell, for different fits.

 

It's interesting to see the quirks cropping up with the super duper, high priced HD800 set. It reminds me that there's really no 100% headphone "out there".

 

When I'm finally full time in my zombie outpost up on the Bruce Peninsula, I could see having my own little radio shack in the woods. I might be in my 70-80s, but I can sit on a couple of sub-woofers, getting my kicks! Pshh. That's just me.

This is why the perfect headphone for one guy can end up being the worst for the other. Kind of why sometimes I'm really hesitant to asks questions regarding headphones or straight up audio. Sometimes it just has to start with tangents (ranging from insults, derailment, etc...) and ends with an answer that half the time is skewed. 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, InvertedEar said:

This is why the perfect headphone for one guy can end up being the worst for the other. Kind of why sometimes I'm really hesitant to asks questions regarding headphones or straight up audio. Sometimes it just has to start with tangents (ranging from insults, derailment, etc...) and ends with an answer that half the time is skewed. 

Earlier this week, I went into THE premier AV shop here in Toronto (Bloor & Bay Street)  and wandered down to the wall o' headphones. Behind the counter, they had the $1500-1900 CDN planar-magnetic (you should have seen my wife roll her eyes at the 'sale price'). I had a listen.  I was expecting "a solid wall of sound"... a Yo-Yo Ma cello smacking-my-eardrums sort of thing. Meh sound.  Beautiful and solid construction. They sat on my melon head with easy (zero squeeze). Yet, they sounded "fine". Interesting... I'll stick with my Massdrop & Sennheiser creations.

[Reckless95]

I’m currently using True-Fi with my LCD-X and K712’s. I enjoy it.

[Tarun10]

9 hours ago, InvertedEar said:

The thing about them is that I personally EQ to add certain things to them whenever I feel like doing so. Like, if I want to listen to my library for more of its bass or highs when I'm in the mood, I'll EQ my HD800S for that (I know its not the most flat sounding headphone out there, but flat enough that I can get). I never liked EQ'ing to fix a headphone because I find it a headache sometimes when it gradually messes with the sound in such a way that I end up spending more time to EQ to correct the new set of problems it introduces, which is why I don't really like the HD800 non-S due to its 6k peak, which is hot. 

 

I can see the appeal to EQ in order to fix problems in a headphone, but there were times I remember having to EQ a K702 to give it more bass, but it just ended up with me spending more time to get the EQ right without messing with the lower mids and sometimes the highs... and at one point, I don't even know how its possible, even the soundstage suffered on a certain track. There were times I even EQ'd a 400i to my liking to maybe sound similar to an HD600, but I just ended up failing. That said, I know alot of people have done this to their success, and if they are happy with it, I'm happy for them. I can go on with what I think is not good with EQ'ing to fix, because I'd rather personally add color to a flat-enough sounding headphone whenever I'm in the mood than EQ to fix a sound signature to only spend more time EQ'ing to fix them repeatedly.

 

So, which side are you guys on?

If I had a pair of high end headphones then I would totally spend the time on it.

[InvertedEar]

5 minutes ago, Reckless95 said:

I’m currently using True-Fi with my LCD-X and K712’s. I enjoy it.

Glad you enjoy it

1 minute ago, Tarun10 said:

If I had a pair of high end headphones then I would totally spend the time on it.

The thing is, if its a pair of high end headphones with quirks that are unfavorable, I might as well get the one that's close to having the least amount of quirks I don't want in it, and then EQ to my taste on certain tracks.

[Tarun10]

18 hours ago, InvertedEar said:

Glad you enjoy it

The thing is, if its a pair of high end headphones with quirks that are unfavorable, I might as well get the one that's close to having the least amount of quirks I don't want in it, and then EQ to my taste on certain tracks.

Yeah that is true considering how much we pay for premium headphones manufacturers should provide better support with fine tuning. But I would hate to spend an hour on EQing a headphones just to hear them sound awful on another device or in another track.

[jasonvp]

On 5/31/2018 at 3:49 AM, InvertedEar said:

So, which side are you guys on?

EQ to tastes.  I also use a pair of HD800 cans, but I use them for gaming not music consumption.  Their tendency towards bright mid-ranges can be ear crushing with FPS gunshots and explosions.  Literally deafening.  But it's simple to EQ out a bit with my mixer.  So I do that, and enjoy the games thoroughly.

 

[InvertedEar]

12 minutes ago, jasonvp said:

EQ to tastes.  I also use a pair of HD800 cans, but I use them for gaming not music consumption.  Their tendency towards bright mid-ranges can be ear crushing with FPS gunshots and explosions.  Literally deafening.  But it's simple to EQ out a bit with my mixer.  So I do that, and enjoy the games thoroughly.

 

The thing with the HD800 non-S is that EQ doesn't fix the resonance well enough regarding that 6khz peak, which is noticeable to upper-mids and/or treble sensitive people like me, thus why I went for the S (though I feel like I should've saved myself the money and did the SDR mod which costs $20-30, including shipping, and can even be lower if you DIY and follow the instructions). I lose out a bit on soundstage and lose a bit of precision in imaging, but I can EQ much more to taste instead of fixing because, somehow, when EQ'ing to other tracks, they just sound much worse than non-EQ'd (but the problem rises back up again with that 6khz peak).

 

That said, if it works for you, then I'm happy to hear that. Just sucks that EQ'ing to fix the non-S just gave me more headaches.

[IFPMaximus34]

if you use foobar2000 and have m40x,takstar 80,cb-1 they all have artifical vocals on most of music i listen.In youtube is less noticable tho probably lower bitrate.Cause of suddent boost on 10khz for no reason,here it iz https://ibb.co/nhjSHd also for some reason cant replicate this on eq apo with peace ui idk it dosent sound same,adds to much artifacts in voices for some reason but foobar2000 works perfect.

[JZStudios]

What are you using to EQ?

To be honest, I'm perfectly damn happy with my Logitech UE 6000 and 600vi. I've dabbled in the built in 10 band Dolby EQ, and made a profile for each, but it's very minor. I like more warm sounding... sounds, so that's pretty much the curve I put on them and leave them alone. Most of the time I forget it's even on, and I sure don't have anything to EQ them on my phone anyways, so sublety is key. Although I also tell myself the phone WILL just sound inferior so it doesn't bother me as much.

I've been thinking about trying some new cans or IEM's, but frankly out of the budget. My buddy has a recording studio and some Beyer Dynamic.. something flat reference studio monitors and I like the warmer more bass rich tones of my cans over the flat anyways.

[Dackzy]

I would never say that a EQ can fix a headphone, since you can't fix fundamental problems with it, plus if you EQ something too much then you end up making the headphones muddy and/or distorted. Like you can't fix slow bass with a EQ.

 

I am of the mind that a EQ should only ever be for very minor tweaks, nothing major, but I also spend quite a bit of time in the mixing and audio engineering world.

And my stance is always going to be that if you want a different sound then you get different headphones, that is if you have the money, don't spend money you don't have.

 

I personally don't care if someone EQs their headphones or not, it is their headphones after all and they have their own personal taste.