We did a video where we tried to EQ the HD 800S to sound as good as possible to Andrew in 5 minutes with no help from typical EQ tools like AutoEQ or dynamic visualizations that show the results. If you want to check out that video, you can watch it here: Can We Make HD 800S Sound GOD-TIER in 5 Minutes?
Great video, would love to see a version of this or at least a small post here for the focal clear. Love the out of the box sound signature but am curious what small adjustments could do to improve upon the kind of sound it is presenting. I have been having a weirdly hard time on my end finding one, and am not nearly proficient enough to do it by ear. Regardless keep up the good work!
Since in the video you asked us for our HD 800S presets:
Preamp: -8.52 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 1.4
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 71 Hz Gain 1 dB Q 1.4
Filter 3: ON LS Fc 82 Hz Gain 5.5 dB Q 0.6
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 190 Hz Gain -2.1 dB Q 0.7
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 0.5
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5900 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 2
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7800 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 5
Cool video - well done, guys. It would be fun to see this done again with a headphone most people hate in stock tuning form to see if it sounds subjectively “good” after EQ. Perhaps the HD 820 or Sundara closed.
Don’t tell me Konstantin actually came up with those four high Q filters, among others, in five minutes, one of them for a 1 dB change too. That’s mad skills for sure.
Would have to watch the vid again, but I think the Oratory1990 filters probably came from his HD800S PDF presets here. That doesn’t mean he does not have god-like skills though.
That’s all fine and dandy for the HD800S. But, what headphones are recommended which need NO EQ right out of the box? Trying to EQ my Verite open backs is maddening. Please send me links for EQing them.
I don’t doubt it. No sub-bass. No upper mids or air. And a nasty peak right where it’s likely to inflict the most pain at 5-6 kHz. Good grief, Charlie Brown!
Probably has a nice warm sound though.
I’d suggest shelving filters for both the sub-bass and upper mids/treble. Or you could use one peak filter with a negative gain and a very broad bandwidth (low Q-factor) to reduce the lower midrange.
And use another negative peak filter to dial back the spike at 5-6k.
An FR plot on the HBK 5128 rig might make it somewhat easier to recommend a better and more precise EQ curve. I don’t see any around in the usual places though.
You’ll probably have to make due with the notch at 3k. It’s likely due to a cancellation effect. And probably can’t be fixed very well with minimum phase EQ.
Hopefully some of the ideas above will get you going in the right direction though.
Since you’re well above my price bracket, I’ll leave most of the suggestions of more neutral headphones to others. It kooks like ZMF makes some better tuned headphones now than the Verite though. Focal, DCA and Meze probably also make some decent higher end headphones that may be worth a look.
There are probably also a few good options worth considering in the sub-$500 range as well. Some open headphones I’m looking at in this price range include the Sennheiser HD550, HD6XX, and HD490 Pro, Fiio FT1 Pro, HFM Sundara or Edition XS, and possibly the Moondrop Para/Para 2. the video below has some pretty good thoughts on these and more…
