The Limits of EQ - A case against using EQ profiles for headphones

[@mrgonk64]

this is just an outstandingly straightforward, information-dense, practically and conceptually useful video. great stuff, and thanks for your hard work and insight.

[@Dibromatic]

I'm going through this entire EQ rabbit hole, very helpful content that's coming out of this channel.

[@JeremyHalterman]

For over-ear headphones, I've found the Harman target curve to be a good starting point for my ears, although you're spot on about the >5kHz thing. Using an impulse response rather than a parametric EQ remedies the lack of fine-tuning in that region, but I still end up notching a couple high frequencies before I'm fully satisfied.

[@AusOpening]

i find harman to be bluted in the air frequency, like 10khz and plus. and the bass when eq with open backs drowns out the mids a bit

[@rhalfik]

Harman curve does not mean that treble must be smooth. It's a simplified curve to roughly show the level of highs but some peaks are meant to be there. If a peak bothers you, it's wrong, but if it doesn't, perhaps it has a benefit.

[@aceofclubskid]

I own a pair of K371 (for the uninitiated, they match the Harmon target quite well). After experiencing a few different IEM's and my HD560s, I really felt like my K371's were lacking in treble and overall clarity. I used a frequency response graph and adjusted the big "trouble areas", parts of the frequency response that were heavily shifted from a more flat measurement. While I'm quite inexperienced with eq, I was VERY pleased with the results. They have way more clarity and detail now, I even swear that the sound stage is better after A/Bing. Previously, they were a fun pair for a bassy experience, and now they serve as a solid closed-back alternative to my HD560s. I have no idea how "good" my eq job was, but I can tell you I drastically prefer it to crinacle and rtings' auto eq on Peace. All of this is to say that there isn't one right way to enjoy headphones, and eq has value in not only finding your own preferences for sound but making things sound better to YOU. That's always what this "hobby" has been about to me: enjoying music more, not expensive audio gear purchases.

[@kyron42]

I don't EQ to any particular curve. I run a frequency sweep and try to cut the peaks and boost the dips as a starting point then I fine tune from there to what sounds good to my ears.

[@stevemurphyphotography9609]

I have considered EQ-ing this way, but I am lost as to the best process to use. Is there a video or website that explained your process in more detail?

[@Jason75913]

@@stevemurphyphotography9609 here's a sweep: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3_JaqGwq9OXZ80 the sweep should not change in volume as it proceeds, try adding exaggerated dips and boosts (one at a time), varying in width ("Q", and thi is for parametric EQ only) to train yourself to learn to discern frequency deviations (very quick and easy process), then cut or boost frequencies to your liking - when done, you have your starting point for whate ver it is that you want, then test with your favorite music for final adjustments, maybe get rid of certain notches and boosts you added, maybe you end up boosting bass a bit, whatever you'd like

[@kyron42]

@@stevemurphyphotography9609 I start with a faster sweep to get a quick idea of what's going on. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnLWfp96pdmdrpo

[@stevemurphyphotography9609]

@@Jason75913 Thank you for the response and it is helpful. I use EqAPO on my PC, so I will definitely give this a try.

[@dkomanek]

Well I get the "everybody's ears are different" argument but when manufacturers tune headphone they also don't design it with yours head in mind so I don't see using presets as being worse than not EQing at all. Unfortunately it's very hard to create a good preset. I've been playing with EQ for about two years now and only recently have been getting somewhat confident with it. I've made so many terrible EQ presets but I don't regret using them. I liked how they sounded back in the day and it's necessary to experiment to actually learn to EQ. The worst experience I've had with using presents was with IEMs that didn't respond to EQ well. Most presets just tried to compensate for the difference between measurements and target which made the headphones sound absolutely terrible while bringing out all of its flaws.

[@evanrosenlieb8819]

Always great to watch a new video from Resolve the EQ guy!

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Don't you start now!

[@jeffhampton6972]

I really love your videos. Thank you for taking the time to be so clear in why you say the things you do, and why things like EQ can be so useful if done with consideration. Also, as a large-headed audiophile, I appreciate your humor.

[@metal571]

Big head club

[@Studio22mix]

This is for me the best explanation video I have seen. Very well done 👍🏼 I’m a mix engineer and mix analog, so I wanted a headphone solution in the analog domain. After a lot of research I got me a decent dac, a headphone amp, a parametric equalizer (set for Harman correction) and planar headphones. The only software I use for my hardware is can-opener and love this solution. 😊 Subscribed ❤

[@careylymanjones]

I have the Sundaras and the HD6XX phones. I recently upgraded my Sundaras with a balanced cable, so I could take advantage of my Schiit Magnius' 5 watts at 32 ohms. WOW, they really DO scale up with more power. I'd been skeptical about claims they needed a lot of power, because they sound good with more modest amps, but with the balanced amp, I could get rid of the bass boost I'd been using. I now get the difference between being able to play loud and having the headroom to fill out the bass. The HD6XX is about as good as it gets for vocals. I think they benefit from a little EQ in the upper treble. Sennheiser reduced the upper treble to make them less fatiguing, and a few db lift in the > 2,000 Hz range livens them up a bit.

[@ABCboy5]

You should try a 660S some day, should end up replacing both for you

[@brendan5235]

What amp were you using before the Magnius?

[@careylymanjones]

@@brendan5235 I had a Topping EX5 combo DAC/Amp. It has preamp outs, too. It's pretty good for a desktop system. Puts out a bit over 1 watt into 30 ohms.

[@aracari]

EQ really can fix a mediocre (or even bad) sounding headphone. I have an "eq require headphone" (edition 10) and has over time become my favorite headphone. I don't really like Harman target for most use cases but it sounds wonderful on that specific headphone. Imo eq and targets in general shouldn't be treated as a perfect solution, but shouldn't be discounted to the point of not being considered when making a purchase.

[@ArturdeSousaRocha]

Well, I had to save a headphone using EQ because it got positive reviews but turned out to suck big time. I used a 10-band profile from AutoEQ and it's good enough. I still cannot reconcile the reviews with the actual uncorrected sound, though.

[@epochphilosophy]

I've noticed with quite a few headphones, especially in the low end, cause a weird type of resonance when EQ'd. It's EXTREMELY apparent in every Focal Elex I have had. (I've gone through 3 pairs lol.) I can hear it in my Arya's. The HD800S didn't show this, the Focal Clear MG didn't either. It's super bizarre and can be a bit distracting.

[@hartyewh1]

To me the HD800s is the only headphone I've tested that gets worse with a Harman EQ. I feel it can't handle the bass shelf and looses so much of what makes it great.

[@epochphilosophy]

@@hartyewh1 That's insane, because I feel like HD800S takes EQ very well. (Likely because I do not like it's stock tuning at all.) But, yes. The HD800S doesn't do bass well in the slightest. The 600 series well out performs them in that category.

[@Jason75913]

@@epochphilosophy folks on gearspace say HD800 (the silver original) takes EQ better than HD800S

[@hartyewh1]

@@epochphilosophy Well I mainly mean the bass with EQ so sure. Adding a proper bass shelf seems to ruin a mostly good thing with them, while the HD650 for example is glorious with it.

[@acphantom6437]

I also think it's interesting that Rtings measures the lower mids and bass on human subjects and uses their dummy's HRTF for the treble ranges. I wonder if headphones that'll measure your own HRTF might take off in the consumer wireless space

[@temporoyale6251]

There is also the "EasyEffects" for LInux and "Wavelet" for Android

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

EQ is a great way to save money but not having to buy more headphones. Every company, every channel just wants us to buy more stuff.

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

It is a great way to save money. That's another reason why I recommend at least trying it.

[@Alastasius]

Just don't expect a SQ boost with EQ. EQ only changes tonality to a certain degree, not necessarily SQ.

[@prithvib8662]

​​@@Alastasiusdoes sq mean sound quality? What makes up sq?

[@VSN-wb2ly]

The true experience is different but I agree there are some biases around this

[@luxinterna3370]

An equalizer is absolutely mandatory with headphones. Each ear canal amplifies individual frequencies differently. Each ear canal has a different residual volume. everyone uses different couplings. Headphones sound different in the basic setting for everyone

[@henrywilotekto]

You made a good point on personal HRTF, that's why I would rather use test function in Equalizer APO to create my personal EQ curve for my headphones than to use AutoEQ preset, on android I prefer to use Neutralizer to Wavelet for systemwide EQ. This way not only it will EQ the headphones to my personal HRTF, it will also compensate for any deficiencies on my hearing and non linearities on the gears I used in my setup. It's Ok to use the AutoEQ preset if your gears match the linearity/non linearity of the reference gears used to create the preset and you don't have deficiencies in your hearing (completely linear)

[@noself1028]

Whatever you think about the Harman target, it’s a great starting point from which to tailor your headphone’s response to your personal taste.

[@codyghind]

Excellent, information dense take on mindful EQing. Bravo.

[@hartyewh1]

Great informative content. Since I started EQing a few months ago I've just gone with Oratory1990's Harman EQ and only one headphone hasn't been categorically improved by it. Turning it off just makes headphones sound broken for a moment until you get used to it again. When I have time I'll start to personalize the EQ to find my exact preference, but without any tinkering I feel that the EQ already doubles the value of the headphone.

[@FabioGrenkh]

On the Xs the Oratory Harman EQ sounds way worse than normal to me

[@hartyewh1]

@@FabioGrenkh I hate the 1-2.5kHz false soundstage dip and prefer a bass shelf, but those are personal taste and defined in the preset as bands to adjust for preference. The rest are fixing rather objective faults in minor ways so would have to be a very specific hearing thing to have an issue woth those. Sure you've used it correctly?

[@FabioGrenkh]

@@hartyewh1 Wdym by „false soundstage dip“?

[@hartyewh1]

@@FabioGrenkh A dip there causes vocals to sound more distant and is often used to make headphones sound more spatious.

[@FabioGrenkh]

@@hartyewh1 Hmm, I see. Is there like a table or something out there that shows which frequencies are responsible for what kind of things? Like 1-2,5kHz is responsible for that soundstage dip, 3-5kHz is responsible for this and that, 5-6khZ for … etc.

[@yogiwp_]

Perfectly ok with the use of EQ. However for REVIEWS, you have to clearly state for any assessment whether EQ contributes to it or not. Or have 2-part review, without EQ and with. I know there were some attempts to do this delineation. But it's not always clear when you describe something, I can't know whether it was caused by EQ or not.

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

It's always evaluated without EQ, both objectively and subjectively, and then indicated what was adjusted for one reason or another. So for reference, EQ is just part of the process of evaluation for me. It's not done beforehand or anything like that.

[@Jason75913]

@@TheHEADPHONEShow same here, but I rarely do reviews, and if I do, text only, nothing on youtube

[@ChrisKeyman]

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Hello, which iem would you suggest for mixing and mastering? Thank you!

[@cothealiv780]

I just hate messing around with EQs so I look for headphones I like without having to mess with one. I also like that headphones sound different and I can pop on another pair if something sounds better to me on another pair.

[@Jason75913]

mein bruder sans the EQ bit I've no interest in a headphone that I don't enjoy without EQ. Like any other modification, If you don't even like it stock, don't bother with mods.

[@Erispedia]

I do EQ with Crinacle measurement as the starting point and then continue with sinewave sound generator for fine tuning them with my own ears. Or if a preset sounds good enough for me, then I just use the preset without modification. Just like HD800 with SoundID preset.

[@joseluishernandezseptien]

Thank you for this video!

[@JBT97]

It kills me to see the many presets floating around Reddit and Discord from "EQ experts" who just use autoEQ/REW to match the target. IEM presets that dip the "8k" peak (which is situated there for consistency's sake) and/or 15+ PEQ bands are clear signs to me that those people didn't EQ by ear. I really hope the community can move towards EQing by ear and acknowledge that frequency curves are GREAT but have their own limitations. Small question about the distortion comment: is this also the case when a preamp is applied? I can see distortion occurring if you're just pushing the driver beyond its limit. Would it still distort because it's "non-linear"?

[@mikafoxx2717]

Just from experimenting, auto EQ'ing to something like the HE-1 actually sounds better than doing it to most targets. The taerget isn't perfect and something that's tuned by ear to sound good (like the HE-1 would have been) sounds better. And that's using auto EQ, though less naively with that 9k dip or such.

[@citadelo5ricks]

For professional mixing, EQ is a must to understand your listeners. So the question is what headphones can take the EQ best. Planar seem very good at handling EQ.

[@tonyd9998]

Thanks for explaining the relationship, its was important

[@lummond]

EQ to headphones is what room compensation is to speakers.

[@hartyewh1]

Kinda, but speakers are usually doing a good job in a "bad" space and headphobes are doing a "bad" job in a decent "space". I agree that it is to some extent a wonder cure, just with some limitations and requires effort to make work, but in the end definitely worth it.

[@4epa1012]

Agreed. The best case to not EQ is to only add a bass shelf. The only headphone that met this criteria for me is the Aune AR5000 headphone, all other headphones I had/have had to go through more than just adding a bass shelf.

[@motorradmike]

VERY informative, Andrew. Thanks!

[@bahathir_]

Actually, most of the sound sources are already EQed during recording, mixing and mastering stages according to the sound engineer's ears/preferences. IMHO:) Thank you.

[@Jason75913]

But the headphones people use aren't, and EQ is great for that pinch of bass boost or 10kHz notch or whatever makes a given listener happier.

[@bahathir_]

@@Jason75913 Yes, if EQing makes us happy, why not. :)

[@Your_Degenerate]

Shout out to the big head crew. Stay large and in charge.

[@ericjackman1143]

Got it, so the best measurement device is my own ears. Running sine sweeps and pink noise through the program now, thanks Resolve.

[@mikafoxx2717]

Notably, the Sennheiser HE-1 has a mild bass shelf despite being an open back electrostatic. Not sure if that's done in the base station or the headphone design though. Auto EQ'ing to the HE-1 will show you the difference between flat bass like from the usual planar and the slight shelf.

[@yuji8592]

I just want to EQ my headphones to make them flatter cuz i dont like V shaped sound

[@tysontyson1244]

Thanks Andrew! Great video!

[@fahryst]

This is one of the most educating and entertaining videos from you, well done! As for me, I tried a few auto eq profiles aiming for harman target for some of my headphones and didn't like the sound that came out and gave up. Sometimes I use a profile that imitates xbass for sundara etc. (if I remember to). I have many headphone with different tonalities and flavors. I like almost all of them hence I keep them. Still I feel like I'm at the beginning of my audio journey. At this point I would like to learn to eq the problematic parts only. However if I ever settle on a determined sound or headphone and say to myself this is it, I would love to customize, mod and eq the hell out of it.

[@musicxxa6678]

Bizim ülkede odyofillik de zor :( Sen satın almadan önce deneyebiliyor musun ?

[@fahryst]

@@musicxxa6678 maalesef, o yüzden ucuz birşey, 2. El falan bulursam alıp beğenmezsem zarar etmeden elden çıkarmaya çalışıyorum.

[@benmmurray]

Great video, Resolve!

[@LucasMp]

I just got my first multi-driver iem yesterday. A kz (i know, i know) ZSX, because I'm way too broke and the dollar in my country is waaaay too damn expensive. Pretty interesting original tuning but waaay too damn bright for my ears. Added just a touch of sub bass for shits and giggles, auto eq'd 300 to 8k to harman to take out a bit of the edge in the treble and the energy area quickly... And then changed the gains from each frequency auto eq gave me by ear, to make sure whatever result I get at the end is custom made for me. And, boy, oh boy, am I having some fun today.

[@CaveyMoth]

I couldn't imagine trying to EQ to Dan Clark Audio Expanse. Every minute movement of the headphone across my head changes the frequency response so much. I think it's one reason that people have differing perceptions of the headphone.

[@ryanjonsson]

I like to have two profiles for most of my headphones and iems. One with very minimal adjustments, ie. shelves and passes, and then another one where i go crazy and make really cool and weird effects.

[@sahajsb2728]

I never use a target, I use a 20hz to 20khz sound to find the harsh points and eq to a neutral sound and then adjust according preference while using tracks to test sound. It's worked wonders on my budget klipsch r-41/dayton sub12 system and sundara 2.0/fiio k7 balanced system

[@stevecote2584]

What was the mobile eq program he mentions @ 2:23? Sounds like he says: 'q2lix5k'.

[@CeloyG]

He said Qudelix, I would suggest that you try wavelet too, it's a global eq

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

Qudelix 5k is a nifty little portable Bluetooth dac amp which has an incredibly thorough equalizer that lets you set stuff up parametrically. Unfortunately it's been out of stock most of the last few months but there are occasional drops on Amazon or their website.

[@stevemurphyphotography9609]

@@michaelcorcoran8768 I continue to check their website and Amazon, but so far no luck for the past couple of months. I will purchase one as soon as they are back in stock. I assume the global chip shortage is impacting availability. I keep seeing reviews referring to them, but it is frustrating if we are unable to actually buy one. Right now, it is a unicorn.

[@Rob-sp4rx]

You just made me fine tune the shit out of these LCD-X's . I think I'm gonna die with these headphones.

[@musicxxa6678]

That's exactly what i do. I don't touch above 5k. I think it as a headphone's character. I add bass shelve below 150hz depends on my mood or content or i just average out the best amount for all types of content. I only fix wide Q problems like 1.5k scoop and 3-5k harshness on Hifiman cans. High shelve adjustment is also ok. Not a fine grained fix, just a more treble/less treble approach.

[@Jason75913]

Nearly all closed headphones have a 10kHz peak that benefita from an EQ notch with little to no effect on the overall "character".

[@Starfish845]

3rd part and so morale: the headphone you're buying need to have the best treble or perfect treble for you since it's very difficult to customise it in the right way unlike bass or mid range where you still can custom eq it to sound best (for you) especially bass

[@flourishingfog]

Great video, thank you! It answers a lot of the questions I had as a beginner to this hobby. My question is: when you say that manufacturers can tune their products in a wonky way, what's their actual intent? No one wants to make a bad product so what's going on? Are they just bad at their jobs (unlikely) or are they simply aiming to achieve a different result than the reviewer prefers? I'm essentially just wondering about the "Chesterton's Fence" explanation for all of this. We're not the only competent people in the world and when we come across something that we don't understand, we should seek to understand it instead of dismissing it outright. So I'm curious to hear your thoughts on why a manufacturer would tune their product in a seemingly wonky way?

[@-aexc-]

I wish wavelet let you manually adjust some of the filters to fine tune it. either that or Poweramp on Android let you autoeq

[@akeluify]

It does though? You can apply an autoeq profile and then adjust eq yourself on top of it

[@-aexc-]

@@akeluify yeah, but I'd rather be able to edit the peq values instead of using the graphic eq over the autoeq

[@akeluify]

@@-aexc- I understand, but just know that your not adding an extra 'stage' of Eq doing it this way, the manual change offsets the profile before it's applied

[@Erispedia]

@@-aexc- you’ll need something like Qudelix 5K then.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

@@Erispedia yeah if there's anything else that consumers can afford that has that kind of parametric EQ I have not seen it.

[@masterxyr]

I like me some EQ here and there, especially when something is bothering me. I would love a measuring rig just so that my eyes can see what my brain believes from my ears rather than trusting myself literally blind :D. IMpulse generator for me works wonders to find ugly aggressors!

[@jetsku4972]

I think that in the future we will have some sort of autoeq like genelec aural id but in a operating system level. Then we would need headphones that have a linear response and eq well.

[@ElvenSpellmaker]

I would argue this video is more about _sharing_ EQ profiles rather than against EQ (or your own profiles) itself.

[@clickzero5488]

"to compensate for all the sadness in our souls" he grabbed us right from where it hurts. .

[@juanmillaruelo7647]

A review should show how a headphone performs without EQ (FR, AND distortion) This will show how EQable a given device is, how far you can go. EQ will always exist. People will always like to fine tune music to their personal preference, (by ear, but starting from an accepted profile) even in the best factory tuned hp.

[@mudzera]

friend I have a sennheiser gsp 300 and it seems that something is missing in the sound could you help me with eq or I don't know any tips to improve your sound? I use this peace

[@cassiecat7038]

This was useful; glad the Utopias are on the no-eq list because i’m not familiar with doing that. Also: the links you have for eq are for Windows; any for Mac/ios?

[@666dreamboat]

You and oluv's gadgets should make a video just chatting about eq, I think that would be awesome.

[@Tinez87]

What's the phone equaliser app that you are using? I didn't catch the name. Thanks 🙂

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

later, depends on how fast the 'maintenance', its like the 500th time maintenance

[@markovlasic1978]

So far, for most headphones with less sub bass extension, the best parametric EQ settings is to level up from 20 hz to 60 hz 3 to 4 db. Usually , those headphones have extended treble region. put 3 db level down from 7 to 8 khz and further on up to 20khz let it be at -3db lower. That is the good starting point for good eq-ing. As have said in the video most problems are from 5khz and up. For headphones that have midrange problems, its simple, dont buy that shit. Frequencies response from 170 hz up to 5-6 khz simply have to be linear for headphones to sounds good. Example for most treble extension and bass lacking are Sennheinsers... most of the models.

[@Jason75913]

Grados and ATs more than Sennheisers

[@markovlasic1978]

@@Jason75913 dont buy any of those. AT m40x are good, but that is all.

[@mistercool3421]

do you have also an tutorial about 1. using HRTF Filter and 2. correction of the assymetry of our ears (e.g. left ear has in various frequency ranges different sensitivity/hear lost then the right one)? I have my own "home made" method for the 2. but I am excited, which approach would you recommend

[@acphantom6437]

I've developed my own frequency response based on modified Harman I think it would be cool if there was some headphone that you could tune yourself with DSP and make it your own FR curve

[@musicxxa6678]

You still don't know your own HRTF and unit variation. So if you try to match that FR with different headphones you get different results. Sundara measures extremely close to harman target but it's veeeery bright to my ears. I hear a big 8k peak. On the other hand i have bright measuring headphones but not bright to my ear. If i eq them they sound muffled.

[@rezanova]

How would I go about finding out how well a headphone can handle EQ? For example those shitty airplane headphones would just have terrible distortion but I'd imagine some high end headphones could handle quite a bit of eq without distortion right? Is there a measurement for that?

[@kalel33]

I have used the oratory1990 EQ profiles for all my headphones. Do I use it all the time? Nope. I also have rock EQ settings and most of the time don't use any. It doesn't matter if the EQ is set up for the Harmon Target, they'll still sound completely different from one another.

[@GadZookz]

Resolve is the best over-ears reviewer out there. Sure he uses EQ himself but his reviews always deal with no EQ first and the EQ commentary is icing on the cake.

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

I should make that more clear in evaluations - but thanks for saying that! Means a lot.

[@kyron42]

I EQed my 4XX and now it sounds so much more enjoyable. I'm a bit scared to move up to a $400 or even $1,000 headphone because what if it doesn't sound better.

[@Jason75913]

4XX isn't that great, even with EQ. Go, just don't don't ditch your 4XX so you can stick to it if you are not happy.

[@kyron42]

@@Jason75913 The 4XX sounds incredibly good when I use my EQ. Maybe your EQ needs more work.

[@akeluify]

Such a great video. Keep it up.

[@BruceCross]

Heavy EQ is working against the intentional decisions & compromises made by designers. Use EQ sparingly, esp. boost.

[@robertvondarth1730]

It seems to me… That running an outboard hardware EQ, with a constant Q, is the way to go. Another way to do it may be to run pink noise thru them, and use a microphone to cause feedback, this may detect some peaks.

[@Hyperion1722]

I tuned my Edition XS and only looked for resonance independently for left and right then adjust accordingly. I only found 5 resonances in 2kHz to 10kHz. Resonance (Left and Right) between 2kHz to 5kHz so I just made minor adjustments. Also, this might be unique for each headphone since testing the right and left at higher frequencies have different resonances at higher treble frequencies (8kHz to 10kHz) so I adjusted them accordingly. Am using Foobar's Mathaudio function (sweep option).

[@kalelalves]

what if I add one pass with the eq profile for my headphone, and another with my preferences? I thought about that cause I have a few headsets that have wildly different signatures like the artics nova pro wireless and 1000xm3... having to factor my preferences with each one is kind of a pain, and I know the steelsearies one is good without any eq, but the sony one.. omg, that thing is atrocious turned off(via cable). I know you mentioned the oratory profiles, but what about rtings measurements/profiles, are they trustworthy? I'm not talking about performance issues, my PC can easily handle that with very low latency especially using realtime scheduler for audio processing.

[@0Metatron]

What was the EQ app? It was spoken way to fast to understand and even google something close

[@woopeedyscoop1858]

i tried to measure my phones (m50x and focal listen pro) with hand made stand made of behringer measurment mic and plastic sheet. i sent white noise to it, then using pro-q`s matching abilities i matched phones sound to original signal - result was quite impressive - both phones showed absolutely flat response, corrections was +/0.15 db at MAX. i dont really know how to interpret this. when i used this mic to fix room nodes using sonarworks (or manually, but not this pro-q matching trick though) - i didnt showed flat response, so i guess it is still working. if shape of their measurement plastic head (at sonarworks, for example) makes such huge difference - then it makes sense first to make 100% perfect make up of your head with mics, and only after that perform a measure? anyway after this finding i just stopped using eq correction, it seems that is just successful marketing trick... or maybe i miss something. room sim like cla nx is still very useful for mixing/mastering, just not the correction eq

[@Nordi1_0745]

Hello Resolve can you share your EQ for HD600 please?

[@realaudioreviews]

I also recently made a video on this. Very interesting. I value the transparency keep up the great work.

[@bloodindark]

Did you ever get the change to listen to oppo pm3 , what did you think about them?

[@aceofspades6667]

Sometimes you have to just go with it. Fostex th900 and abyss 1266 phi tc come to mind. Incredible bass performed mids dip and some sparkly treble peaks. If you try too hard to smooth you look the magic and technicality of the cans. I prefer to use warm op amps in my amp and an r2r Dac to smooth the highs a bit.

[@Jason75913]

R2R is just the best in general.

[@vladimirtitov1099]

Do you have a sense of precision and details being preserved after EQ ?

[@KelvinKamsg]

Highly agree on the idea of personalisation. Everyone experiences sound differently not to mention personal preferences and genre of music. At least for now, the "perfect" headphone doesn't exist, so just get something as close to your preference as possible and either leave it vanilla, or tweak it. Hell I've got multiple EQ profiles for a lot of my audio equipment for various scenarios not just music.

[@jlemaster1157]

Excellent as ever Andrew; however I think these sorts of videos do require a fairly advanced knowledge base. Perhaps the 10 steps of headphone targets video should be listed as ‘pre-requisite?

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Oh, it is haha

[@Franceyou]

Do you prefer any eq for sundara 2020 in your expirence? Thanks

[@zygote8888]

AutoEq if your headphone is listed there except you know what you are doing , most people don't I'm included 🙏🏼

[@camoturtle18]

2:23 what is the name of the eq he recommended for mobile use here?? He talks a little fast here and I couldn’t understand what the eq software app was called.

[@Farpun]

I would love a comprehensive guide on how to EQ

[@Jason75913]

Use of EQ is subjective, so to each their own. If you want to be an "objectivist" nerd, find someone with a point of view you agree with that has written their own EQ guide with the goals that you feel that align with your interests. Alternatively, just mess with EQ on your own, that's plenty fun and highly educational on its own, guaranteed. If you've read remarks like, "this headphone tricks you into thinking it resolves more detail with its treble boost," and similar, messing with EQ on your own will train your brain to not be tricked with such things. Guaranteed, it doesn't even take that long at all, it couldn't be easier. It may also help shape your interests if you still want to seek whatever complex goal(s) with EQ and who you look to for a guide relevant to your interests.

[@Jan-is4jy]

I tried autoEQ and it just seems to suck the soul out of my Arias. Am I tripping? I wanted to try it, because I have some IE 300s coming and I thought I might want to boost the mids a bit (I know it is different then autoEQing) (BTW, yes I watched the video, just didn't think it would sound worse than before, even when I knew about the problems of EQ profiles)

[@OptLab]

So is there resources where we can download EQ profiles for any headphone/iem?

[@cowboyflipflopped]

Audiophiles should be tweakers. I may be an audiophile primarily as an excuse to continually fine-tune things. I want to tailor my EQ to the individual hearing profiles of each ear, dammit!

[@Jason75913]

Use DMG Audio's EQuilibrium, it lets you do per-channel EQ if desired. It will even let you do far left/right vs. center EQ ("mid/side" as it is called) apart from regular left vs. right channel or both channels together. Quite fantastic. Super transparent, too, but my experience there is from using it in a DAW (digital audio workstation) like Steinberg Cubase and Ableton Live, not the kind of software I would recommend to anyone for regular music playback as they are designed for music production, a radically different thing. Foobar and uLilith don't have VST wrappers (adapters) on par with professional DAWs, so your results may vary.

[@paulosilva8200]

Harmon is always a safe target. That all. Most studio producers use that target because we don't know in what speakers or devices our music will be listening with. So, HT is a safe measure. Now about the eq, I find funny people talking about eq. Yes, there is good and bad eq. Good eq like Sony daps because they have a dedicated processor for their eq, so they don't lower the eq at everyone's touch because of clipping software issues. There are other brands that the q filter can be adjusted because some eq it may destroy the q narrow field on the frequency. But not using an eq when all music is recorded these days on a daw with plugins . Plugins are digital eq,like,hf,parameter eq.eq. So I don't get the point of people saying. I never use an eq. Well, when you own loads of iem and you like a specific tuning ,then Yes. Do it. Speakers, too, can predict distortion by adjusting eq. I always say. If you have a unit that has a frequency, Example. 30hz sub bass, and you want to increase and the max point is 10. Then I recommend going max for a 2 clicks. More than that and distortion du to crossovers will maybe appear. But on the 2 clicks I am always on safe mode. If requires more like maybe 10 of my iem. Then I use sponge tuning filters for inside the nozzle or for outside the nozzle ,on the grill.

[@hartyewh1]

Some people are digital-phobic and lose a sense of magic if they tinker with the "soul" of an audio device. Seems silly and lacking in understanding like you said, but to each their own I guess. I'd still recommend to everyone to try for example Oratory's Harman target on your headphone, balance it like is suggested in the instructions, use it for a week and the go back and forward for a while. For most I think it would have to be a negative placebo not to prefer the EQ, but some ears and headphone's might be coincidentally a bad match.

[@scarlet7960]

Is getting a physical Equalizer better than using a computer program?

[@gibgun]

I feel like I’m getting deja vu from reading the LCD-5 thread on the forum 😂

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

What I love is that every headphone gives me a new perspective. So if we always EQ aren't we just making them all sound the same?

[@ResolveReviews]

No, EQ shouldn't be used to make them all sound the same, but there is something to making all headphones sound... 'better'. And that could be in different ways.

[@johnsontan345]

Eq isn't able to make them sound the same. Wavelet auto eq makes my arias and blon bl03 sound very different (i prefer the arias)

[@IronKnok]

This may sound a little nuts and perhaps a little dated. I would like if you took something fun (ARGON MK3) and then played with EQ to get closer to target. It would be an interesting place to go with EQ v Headphone

[@dareeltoro6681]

Simply put, you never go over 0db in any frequency. Flat is the answer. If you have to tune a headphone to much is trash.

[@probablynoturdad]

"I think audiophiles tend to have large heads. Its probably just to compensate for the sadness in their souls." You doing alright, Andrew?

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Oh it's just a joke. I'm a generally happy dude haha. Unless I have to listen to bad sounding equipment. Then sadness is abound.

[@albertguev]

What if personal measurement rigs come with moldable silicone ears that you can mould to your own? That would make the FR more "correct" to your own individual hearing, right? Think CIEM, but for measurement lol

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

That would require an unoccluded probe mic at the ear drum if I understand correctly. It is possible with actual humans, but moulds would be less accurate depending on how close the material being used is.

[@rafael6769]

What is that headphone stand for the lcd?

[@adamp6862]

What EQ app does everyone use on iOS?

[@robertvondarth1730]

I’d also like to know

[@ahappycoder2925]

You don’t

[@Valla451]

Not being able to use Exclusive mode and Eq is tough

[@TheArild31]

2:23 cuetilx5k huh???? Update: Found it it's Qudelix

[@Bigtooly]

yeah, ive never liked eq (ie that dsp sound) -- the closest thing to convincing me is chord mojo 2 "lossless uhq eq" lol i doubt that but maybe, never heard it, and not likely too -- not to mention headphones physical properties, physical ears like you said, or like the pads etc, or their physical reliability, or power sources, etc etc one day we'll have headphone heaven over ear? (again though physical properties)

[@Jason75913]

yeah, transparent EQs are just in music production software, but most folks don't notice the subtle coloration from the EQs they use or lack a headphone resolving enough for it to be noticeable, that can be seen as advantageous ;)

[@diudiamoustache7765]

Sooo... No eq profile to make a pair of hd800s out of porta pro, right? Daaaamn.

[@ekjellgren]

Not many videos I run UNDER x1 speed =)