It took me many months to come round to this, and I am glad I was not influenced by anyone else, cos I independently arrived at a less is more conclusion, with respect to EQ, also based on not hearing any true improvement, from any extensive EQ effort. What led to this?
A few days ago, I was struck by these points.
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Every measurement rig is different, especially anything measuring IEMs and headphones.
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There will be unit variations, from my own copy of the headphone/IEM, whose measurements have been published.
For this reason alone, the likelihood that any EQ correction I attempt to do based on published measurements, will be effective, is indeterminate.
Furthermore :
- I do not have that much intimate knowledge of the auto-correction algorithms, of sources like AutoEQ.app, and the oratory database. I respect their efforts, but any effort to base correction on their algorithms, is like a shot in the dark.
And from that moment, I stopped using any filters which attempt to correct specific nuances of a headphone/IEM, in any extraneous detail - especially the kind that uses any more than one or two broad filters.
In certain cases, with my AKG K702, for example, where there is broad acceptance that it could do with a lift in the low frequencies, I have no problem with applying some gentle low Q low shelf or high pass filter, to “shape” what I’m hearing, to my preferred taste. I also would have no problem with doing similar tailoring with a broad Q high shelf, or low pass filter, to boost or cut the high frequencies, to my preferred taste. Either of these adjustments, simply to fit with how I prefer to hear things. So I would still advocate that it’s fine to apply EQ, in a broad manner, but of course this is optional. This way, I do not have to invest in a fair number of headphones/IEM’s to discover the one that best fits my preferred hearing, when I can use a little bit of EQ, to adjust any headphone/IEM which is already close to my preferred, to better align with my preference.
Nevertheless, most of the time, I no longer apply any EQ, preferring to just listen to the IEM, I consider is the most accurate to source, of the things I own. Which happens to be the ARTTI T10, its the best that I own. And I find that I no longer need to use any EQ with it. Same also with the 7hz Zero 2 - I think the stock sound is about as good as it will get. And for me EQ will not improve the sound of the Zero 2.
With IEM’s I must however qualify, the paragraphs above, with this. The choice of eartip, already confers on the IEM, an overlay of EQ, as each eartip choice changes the frequency response. So identifying the eartip, which delivers the most desired outcome in an IEM, is in itself an unavoidable application of EQ.