Equalisers: why not?

[Tenson 0]

Cheers MAckie,

 

As it happens I did try using it like you just suggested. That?s kinda' what I meant by just using it for room mode treatment.

 

There were only 3 problems I could see though which were a bass suck out at about 135Hz, an increase at 80Hz and a slight suck out at 12Khz. Like this it didn't change the tonality and the width of the sound staging was also not affected much. The bass did became better. But I just didn't feel the improvement was worth the money. Especially as the width of the soundstage was still changed noticeably when a/b'ing and to be honest bass is not a big factor for me.

 

Perhaps if bass is important to you then you would find this a good upgrade.

 

Thank-you for all your help!

 

BTW, when I said 3 days I mean 3 days solid not 3 days after work and between dinner

 

[Tenson 0]

BTW, how much do the Eigth Nerve response controllers cost? Just curious...

[Mackie 0]

From your personal observations, it seems like the newer DEQ2496 causes a bigger fallout in signal purity than the older DSP8024, albeit packed with more features. Owners of the older model from 2 power buys in Echoloft forum have not experienced the detriments U experience. It's good to know there's a return policy in UK; an advantage we can only dream of in S'pore.

 

U can read all about 8th Nerve on this website: http://www.soundscapehifi.com/en.htm

 

I also corresponded with the founder Bill Laurent to learn more of his products. The major edge of these over other competitors is their effectiveness and lower prices.

Edited November 19, 2003 by Mackie

[Tenson 0]

Maybe, it does have differant DAC's. Though it might just be I was expectiong more considering all the great reviews.

 

Oh well.... I'm not really botherd now, its all sent back

 

Thank-you,

[lekguan 0]

Great, some benefits we can never enjoy here in singapore.

[Tenson 0]

Yes I didn't realise s'pore had no returns policy. Now I know why people are so keen on shops that offer home trial!

 

I am sure you must have a few cool laws that we don't!

Edited November 20, 2003 by Tenson

[evil-zen 0]

Beyerdynamic 880 smoothed 20X

 

did some experimenting with foobar2k equaliser based on info from the above graph.

my changed values:

55hz: +2

77hz: +1

1.8khz: +1

2.5khz: +2

3.5khz: +1

10khz: -2

14khz: +1

 

now the midrange seems fuller especially with male vocals. but seems slightly congested? can anyone tell me if i have done the right thing? the changes are very slight after activating the inbuilt equaliser which shows that it doesn't have much negative impact on the sound itself.

 

hmmm should i adjust the etys as well?

 

more info

http://www.headphone.com/headphonegeek/pre...reqrespdata.php

[Tenson 0]

I would think the congestion comes from the raise in 55Hz and 77Hz. From the graph it does not seem to me very necessary.

 

From the graph I would say changes more like:

 

170Hz -1

500Hz +1

700Hz +2

1KHz +1.5

1.5KHz +2.5

2KHz +3

6KHz +1

9KHz -2

15KHz +4

 

Would be more in order to flatten out the response. The trouble is you can't SEE the result! You can only hear it, and human ears are extremely tolerable to frequency change.

 

I don't think equalisers are very necessary for headphones, just choose a pair you like the sound of. There are no problems like having a room!

 

I'm actually surprised by how much the frequency of the 880 changes. I guess it is intentional to make them sound better. Or at least what they think sounds better.

 

Have fon!

[Mackie 0]

The notch at 15KHz of DT880 alarms me but one needs to know how the above measurement was taken. Although results should not fluctuate that much with cans than speakers in a room, results can still vary but the response dip around 15KHz seems like an aberration to me.

 

Another point of note is music from cds are often not or perhaps never flat/neutral. One's adjustment of the eqs to attain a flat response via a sweep tone often require further adjustment to compensate for different cd mastering.

 

Based on the above graph on DT880 frequency response, I suggest +2db for 1.5KHz, +2.5db for 3KHz and leave the rest unchanged. More often than not, I prefer to employ eq attenuation than boost for electronic boosting of signals tend to introduce glare to the sound. Ultimately, let your ears decide instead of basing all your adjustment on one or a few graphs.

Edited November 21, 2003 by Mackie

[evil-zen 0]

unfortunately, foobar doesn't have all the frequency that you listed and levels can only be adjusted in whole numbers.

 

dt880 is the best pair that i like but even the best has slight deficencies right? like a less than satisfying bass, recessed mids and maybe slightly bright on vocals. the overall effect is that the sound doesn't really gel together like it should.

 

another question, based on the above image, if you adjust 3.5khz only, will the frequencies on the left and right of 3.5khz be adjusted as well? or will there be an increase in 3.5khz and nothing else?

[Mackie 0]

As to the bumping of an eq freq band to increase treble extension, each graphic band carries a certain bandwidth and by upping it, U'll also up the adjacent freqs. In the end, U gain treble extension in the high octave but upper treble may be boosted as well, resulting in brightness. Similarly, trying to gain bass extension by upping the eq band may also add to lower-mid bass bloat, resulting in a warmer and slower sound.

 

evil-zen, quoting my own comment as shown above, adjacent freq bands of the labelled eq band are also affected but with different magnitude when U boost/cut this key. The tighter the bandwith, the lesser adjacent freqs are affected. Only parametric eqs allow bandwidth adjustment. Most if not all graphic eqs have a substantially wider bandwidth.

 

On the foobar, I suggest the following settings based only on the above graph:

 

+2db at 1.8K

+2.5db at 2.5K

+1db at 3.5K

 

DT880 does not have a plumpy mid-upper bass and boosting the eq to compensate for this will reduce bass extension which is its forte. Also, too much mid-upper bass bloom will result in a slower but warmer sound. Try my settings and hear if the recessed mids are improved. Don't expect a huge change as it ought not to happen this way. IMHO, I prefer using interconnects to adjust tonality of a system. Eg, Tara Labs Ref Gen 2 offers fuller mids and upper bass but less deep bass and treble extension. The higher end Tara Labs Air 3 presents much better extension in the extremes but mids are pretty neutral. However, Tara Labs Air 2 encompasses the strengths of the previous 2 but cost 3 times more than Ref Gen 2 and almost double of Air 2.

Edited November 21, 2003 by Mackie