Ok, so I’m EQ agnostic however I have started to use the concept in my tech forum when giving advice because I believe it has power.
I recently got the Tungsten and today I went back to my ATH-70RX Refine. Both of them I gave a bass shelf and the tungsten I tamed the 8-10k, only by 2-3db each way. The Refine I gave a bump in the 8-10k and both I was happy with. I figured well obviously my arse has cracked the EQ question, lmfao. But I put the tungsten back on and changed it back… and in the depreciating returns of head fi… there is no comparison. The clarity and crispness is not the same.
So my question/quest is to make my Refine sound like my Tungsten, coming from a place of knowing nothing about EQ sans a couple of videos and a somewhat doubter. I like to believe in the mystical aspect of a chain. The sum of the parts is greater than the parts and also a few clicks on the computer can’t make up the difference. With that said I’m finding EQ to be valuable for the first time in my 45 years on this planet.
Can you guy’s guide a nooberton through EQing my headphones?
When you added the shelf and made peak filter adjustments, did you reduce the overall gain appropriately, but then increase the volume to adjust for the loss of gain? Even a 0.5 dB change is noticeable, and typically something louder will be perceived as better.
Reducing treble peaks can be interpreted as less clarity and detail, but in reality you simply removed the inaccuracies and likely improve the overall timbre. Preference is king though, so if you prefer more “crispness,” there’s nothing wrong with that. Also, if you’re not striving for neutral or accurate, then just do what sounds good and enjoy.
Interesting. I’ve had the same complaints as mentioned. Over time, through a LOT of trial and error, I have managed to get EQ settings for some of my headphones that work as intended (Sennheiser HD 820, Sony MDR-Z1R, Verum 2). I found the key points for EQ was to ensure the gain is adjusted according to prevent clipping, as adroitly pointed out. The other item is to not go overboard/apply excessive amounts of EQ.
One other note: I have Sonarworks Sound ID installed on my devices. All my Sennheiser phones have selections for EQ application. The Sound ID works quite well.
For sure. Adding a 15 dB bass shelf to the Focal Clear might be someone’s idea of fun, but when it clips the heck out of that driver, it won’t be fun anymore. Drivers do have excursions limits, so it’s wise to understand the capabilities and limits of a transducer before applying PEQ. With something like the HD 600, about 5-6 dB is the most I’ll boost the nether regions.
Don’t know which version of the Tungsten you’re using, but I was able to find a few 5128 measurements of the original by Resolve. And one 5128 measurement of the R70X by Earphones Archive. And this is what the difference between the two looks like. The graph is in 5 dB steps.
I wouldn’t use this as an R70X EQ curve because it has some high-Q narrow band peaks in the treble that might add too much sibilance. A more smoothed out version might put you a little closer to the ballpark though.
The main differences that I see between the two headphones is the Tungsten has better extension in the sub-bass. And it is more withdrawn in some spots in the upper mids. And a bit more forward in the mid-treble.
A simple 31-band graphic EQ curve (GEQ) that roughly approximates the above…
If the sub-bass distorts too much on the R70X at normal listening levels, then you might need to lower the EQ levels in that range a bit. All the GEQ values are negative though in this example, so no pregain/preamp is necessary.
So, I haven’t done more than a cursory glance of any posts in the forum lately. Entering the busy season of my industry (HVAC) and I’m just spent, I don’t have the energy to devote into this new journey in audio. Part of it is because the tech Forum I started on has gone all ANC and BT and another part is because I’m not established here. In the Tech space I could become an expert who purchased everything and beyond that was referred to though it made me a dominant snob where I scared off all of the regulars. Ex: Everyone said that the US version of the apple dongle dac was the only way to go, I one upped that after poopooing the apple dongle and purchased a couple of them; only to buy one directly from apple and had my AHA moment. With no peers remaining in the space my enthusiasm has subsided.
Couple that with two fully endorsed endgame chains and I don’t have the desire to chase anything.
Fwiw, I think there might be some better targets to try with the R70X than the Tungsten. When I get a chance, I’ll try to post a couple other suggestions on that.
At the moment, I’m just trying to go back over most of the 5128 measurements that are available. And trying to find the ones that I think are probably the most neutral, which is a fairly time-consuming process.
Not everyone agrees on what is neutral btw. And not everyone likes it either.
Speaking of sounding better, found a set of EQ settings for the Grell OAE2. The EQ settings definitely improve the overall sonic performance with the OAE2. I prefer the OAE2 with the EQ applied to most of the other headphones in its price range.
