With all the talk about Headphones mimicking the Harman curve, looked into how Sonarworks is designed for headphones. Here is what AI has to say about this:
“ Sonarworks Harman Curve
Sonarworks does not use the Harman curve as its target for headphone calibration. Instead, the company employs a proprietary method designed to make headphones sound as close as possible to neutral speakers, which is a different target than the Harman curve. The default flat frequency response reference target in Sonarworks is specifically made to match the frequency response of flat-sounding speakers, ensuring better translation between studio monitors and headphones. This approach accounts for the differences in how humans perceive sound from speakers versus headphones, including head-related transfer effects, ear canal resonances, and the kinetic experience of bass. While the Harman curve is a well-known target based on listener preferences for headphone sound, Sonarworks’ target is derived from the perceived response of calibrated studio monitors in a well-designed control room, not from the Harman research. Although some users have attempted to compare Sonarworks’ results to the Harman curve, the company’s own documentation and expert discussions indicate their target is distinct and focused on achieving a speaker-like listening experience.”
Although I prefer to not use EQ, I have to say Sonarworks is useful for some headphones. Case in point is the Sony MDR Z7. This was the first headphone I bought way back when, and I’ve kept it partly for sentimental reasons, and partly as a worst-case reference. The Sonarworks app works wonders with the Z7, making it enjoyable for use some recordings.
Their trying to achieve fundamentally different things.
They are a pro audio company, so they are trying to produce a consistent frequency response for Mastering/Engineering between various headphones and various nearfield monitors.
The people I’ve known that do Mastering or Engineering as a Job, say they get used to the limitations of their setups and “know” what they are going for. i.e. they aren’t tuning for the setup they are using, but using it as a reference.
I’ve said before frequency response, if it isn’t dreadful, isn’t a great indicator to me as to whether I’ll like a headphone, I have headphones I like that are obviously Haman tuned and some that aren’t. It’s the reason I don’t usually EQ, I can usually get used to a frequency response, and generally I find I can’t EQ something I don’t like into something I do. Though I apply pretty aggressive EQ on my Sony XM5’s to make them tolerable, they are terrible sounding out of the box, but good enough for travel with EQ.
Good points. For me, I think the Sonarworks approach makes more sense to me than the Harman Curve approach.
I like headphones that sound like speakers, so it makes sense to me to EQ in the direction in order to make the headphones produce a flat frequency response.
What kind of speakers? I’ve demoed lots of speakers back to back at audio stores and shows. They can sound quite different than headphones.
In my experience, only open baffle and planar speakers resemble enthusiast headphones. Box speakers, sealed or vented, generally sound like they are being projected into the room. Open baffle speakers (or open back tweeters) directly marry to the room much like open back headphones.
Regarding neutral (pro audio) versus warmer preference tuning – the difference depends a lot on the clarity and precision of the bass. Is the bass elevated but tight and transparent, or boomy and sloppy whereby it bleeds into and thickens the midrange?
I once demoed some expensive and huge German tower speakers (e.g., $150K) that were meant to deliver deep bass in apartments and places where the neighbors might complain. The vendor pointed two subwoofers at each other, so most of the bass self-cancelled when passing by the other tower. This design did contain the bass, but they were as muddy as a listening to a custom car blasting mega bass from outside. Expensive but technical trash, and not at all transparent.
I owned Acoustat Spectra 33s for many years, so I get your comment. My current speakers are ATC SCM 40’s, with SVS PC 4000 subs. I find the ATC’s to re-create the soundstage rather well.
I have a pair of Ultrasone Edition 15 Veritas headphones, which has S-Logic EX. The S-Logic works very well for me, and the soundstage projects out beyond the headphone drivers, much like my open back headphones. The key to the S-Logic is to ensure a tight seal around the head, and having the ears fit within the cups.
I will say again that in some ways, I wish Harman had not published their curve(s). And simply published the conclusions of their research, which is that most listeners prefer a response close to the in-ear response of neutral speakers in a semi-reflective room. It just makes sense, as Tyll Hertsens would say.
I don’t know how the Sonarworks target is derived (other than what’s been stated above). But it sounds like they are goin for something at least in a similar vein.
At some point, it would be nice to see some actual in-ear measurements of neutral speakers to compare with all these different headphone targets and response curves. Until something like that comes along though, I still think using averages of headphones close to a neutral response is probably the best way to go for EQ.
Admittedly, I haven’t tried Sonarworks. But I’ve had some pretty good success with the above approach on my DT770’s. And think it would work even better with headphones that are more neutral-sounding than the DT770 to begin with. This is just my 2c though.
I’m not really suggesting anyone should get them, but Adam, Genelec, and Kali Audio (three manufacturers of studio monitors) have all recently released new headphones which are supposed to sound like speakers for mixing and mastering.
It might also be interesting to see how these measure on a good rig.