I’ve been using these PEQ settings in Roon and notice a more comfortable sound, if anyone wants to try them. They’re a slight modification of the PEQ posted on ASR
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Interested in whether the 1266 or Susvara would better compliment ZMF VO? I’m looking to purchase one, however unable to audition due to COVID, often don’t listen to all that well recoded music… appreciate any thoughts!
I tried the -3 db at 1k with a Q of .7. It sounds like it softened the attack of some instruments and vocals in that range. I like an exciting sound so I’m not sure I like this adjustment much but for those that may prefer a smoother frequency response I think this is definitely a step in the right direction
Thank you. Going to give that one a try for sure. Appreciate it.
I have all 3 and in my opinion the Susvara is the better can but the 1266 is radically different from the VO. In fact I just took off my VO and put on the 1266 and it is a whole different universe. So if you want two very different sounds go with the 1266 and if you want an improved but if you a more traditional “upgrade” and beautiful sound go with the Susvara (and I love the VO and the Susvara).
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@Resolve I performed it the same way Christof did and then brought in two non-audiophiles to A/B it. Neither thought there was enough of a difference to matter. Of course they all hated put in on the headphone.
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haha that’s funny. I’m not surprised. It reminds me of getting x-rays done at the dentist where you walk into that machine that clamps on either side of your head. I keep waiting for someone to say “bite down on this”
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I didn’t focus on your last line. The 1266 is not kind to music that is less than stellar recorded. In that case I would go with Susvara although the wicked deviation of the 1266 sound is a siren song calling in the night.
Welcome to the group. They are a nice bunch of people (usually).
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I told my wife she looked like she was auditioning for the Empress of China in Empire of the Sun. Truth is I think everybody looks like either that or the Frankenstein monster from the original Boris Karloff film.
Seriously if you have any suggestions on a comprehensive approach on an APO EQ it would be a great benefit to those of us foolish enough to buy and enjoy these headphones.
Thanks for the advice, am definitely looking for something different to compliment VO, however good to know how 1266 treats poor recordings…
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It’s worth considering some of the studies done by Olive and Temme, Geddes and Lee, among others on this topic. Basically, THD is not what many think it is - and in fact nonlinear distortion in general has been demonstrated to not be particularly meaningful past a certain point. Higher THD in a headphone doesn’t necessarily mean it will be less preferred than a headphone with lower THD - even at surprisingly high levels (0.1% vs .01% etc.). That’s because, due to the auditory masking effect for lower order harmonics (and just in general with music and level), you likely won’t hear the distortion products.
But, more colloquially, it’s important to not think of the absence of distortion as ‘detail’ or better subjective performance in this way. I think there are a lot of folks who mistakenly see a low THD score and go “this must be audibly more clear and clean sounding”, but it doesn’t really work like that. This is likely due to the fallacy of quantification, or like, over-indexing for something you can measure and then attributing the experience to that, when it’s not actually responsible. In a sense I get why people want to do that. It’s one other thing apart from FR that we can measure, so it feels like it should mean something - and it does - but not quite what many seem to treat it as.
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Just adding the video here for anyone who is curious:
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goes to show you how subjective this all is…I have both the susvara and the abyss TC and to my ears the soundstage on the abyss is appreciably wider than the susvara …I dont much care about the gobbly gook of measurements I only care about what they sound like and I hear the abyss and susvara as 1a and 1b depending on what kind of sound you prefer and dont think the utopia or lcd-4 can even compete…with the abyss there is so much adjustment that can be done with both the pads and frame and I dont think many people truly take the time to figure it out
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Totally agree with @jlbrach (hi fellow head-fier)
@Resolve I was surprised about your comment regarding soundstage and not finding the TC to be as large as the HD800. I had a HD800S with me recently for a while and thought the Abyss offered a much better soundstage, at least as large, if not larger. The 800S seems mushed in comparison, although that could have just been the difference in frequency responses of the two.
My guess is that planar separation plays its part here. To give one example, no-one I know of (with the possible exception of Darko) has called the Ether 2s ‘wide’, but I still perceive their stage as being as large as the 800S because of the amount of internal space the planar drivers generate. I think of this as the 800S (and other large dynamic drivers) being expansive, and the Ether 2s (and other large planar drivers) ‘inspansive’.
I haven’t heard the 1266s, so can’t say for sure, but do you think this might be a factor?
The custom fit of this heapdhone can also impact a ton about its sound, including soundstage. I can open up the width, toe-in, and ear pads and that will definitely impact bass, treble, and stage. That’s why these are really tough to get a consistent opinion about.
Definitely a huge factor. Resolve does a great job but measurements with seal and in middle are going to necessarily show different results than all the way back and open to the front etc. Not arguing these are the best–I still love Susvara the best but you have to experiment with these to get the best sound more so than any other headphone I have been around. I don’t know how one can measure all that. Sometimes I feel like I am playing some weird instrument within the song.
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trying to measure the abyss is a fools errand…there are so many potential variations and fits etc…with the susvara you put it on an hit play…with the abyss there is an awful lot of experimenting and changing of pad position as well as frame that literally can make it sound like a different HP…I recognize how subjective this hobby is but in any controlled setting allowing for amping needs and DAC etc I cant imagine anyone putting the utopia and lcd-4(both of which I like and have owned more than once) in the same league as the abyss…to me the abyss,the susvara,the sr1a and now the solitaire p play in their own league
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Myself in the same boat with ZMF VO, having a hard time to decide on 1266 tc purchase. Please let me know your impressions, if you get 1266 tc.
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Will let you know, looking to pull the trigger on 1266 or Susvara in the next week or so…
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