Headphone lovers, what do you love, what do you have, Head-Fi fans 2019-21 edition.*

oratory1990 has done measurements of many headphones and calculated EQ correction curves for each.
List of headphones with EQ is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets

These aren't the same EQ as the Audeze Reveal EQ. Something different.
Oratory1990 EQs to the Harman target. Which includes a boost of about +6dB for bass. I don't agree with the bass boost for headphone listening. Keep the bass flat. Flat bass sounds best. Too much bass EQ causes problems for many headphones and too much bass also sounds wrong for too many headphones. So EQ for 500 Hz on up. Ignore the extra bass EQ settings of the Harman target curve.

I prefer to listen to the Audeze headphones with no EQ. I find EQ can do more damage than it helps. At least for what I'm listening for. Too much digital EQ makes it so my DACs filter sounds different. Too much digital EQ makes it so that high-res sounds the same as CD. Adding digital EQ also adds additional digital filtering and oversampling that I don't want.

 

I last bought headphones in 2018. I upgraded cables on 3 headphones in 2018 and 2019. I still listen frequently through headphones, but I don't have a need to purchase anything new.

 

My long-time favorite Beyerdynamic DT-990s were crapping out so I bought a pair of HifiMan 400i headphones. After a few months I switched to a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880s and am back in the groove. Along with the sound, I just love the comfort of the Beyers.

 

Very cool, thanks for this info!

I've often wondered about this Harman target curve... to the extent that it represents what the "average" listener prefers, it doesn't seem like a useful metric for audiophile headphones. Average listeners like Bose and Beats, and that's fine, but they aren't the target market for high-end headphones, so it's not clear why the latter should be measured relative to the Harman curve. Why not design for neutrality and let users equalize if they prefer the Harman curve's bass shelf and 3kHz peak?

 

The extra bass in the Harman curve is to satisfy consumer audio listeners. Audiophiles know it's often better to not try to get headphone drivers to do more bass than they're designed for and that too much added bass can obscure and mask things audiophiles find more important than more bass.

The bump in the midrange centered at 3000 Hz is to adjust for how the outer ear and ear canal affect the sound. The outer ear and ear canal actually amplify certain frequencies. The way those frequencies are amplified by the ear is different for headphones and for speakers. So that bump at 3K is to compensate. If you measured a headphone driver in free space like a speaker and designed that headphone driver to measure flat in free space like you'd design a speaker you'd end up with a headphone that sounds wrong when you put it on your head right next to your ear.

Look at the graph for the Sennheiser HD650. The HD650 is considered to have a neutral sound through the midrange for a headphone. The curve for the HD650 closely follows the Harman curve through the midrange. The Harman curve got that part right and validated everyone who has considered the HD650 and HD600 to be a neutral midrange reference for headphone sound.

 

Yep, my bad, "XC"

 

I was wondering that. Would the Focal Arche help it out in anyway, or would it be better for something like the Utopia (or something harder to drive)? I feel like an amp would help, just not if it would make the hugest difference with low impedence.

 

@Boomy, I use a Chord Mojo, and it's fine. Don't really hear a difference between just plugging it in whatever, though.

 

Gotcha. They are a nice headphone! I love the look of Focal's line of headphones, too

 

Focal Radiance Closed-back Limited-edition Headphones

These just look really cool. Similar build like the others, but just some slight cosmetic touches to give it its own style.

 

I treated myself to a modest headphone set-up for my birthday this year - Grado GH4, Schiit Eitr, Modi multibit, and Vali 1. I also have the Grado GW100 for travel. I really love it.

 

The Vali 1 is magical.

 

My new headphones setup: Denafrips Ares II -> Liquid Platinum -> ZMF Vérité Closed **I also have the Grado Hemp**

 

I ended up buying a Vali 2 (not 2+) amp for $100 for my secondary headphone station. I will use that as a pre-amp to my SMSL SP200 THX amp, in an effort to maybe soften up or warm up the THX sound signature. I may post a picture after I actually get it next week. And I got some World's Best Gotham cables to hook the 2 of them up.

 

ESS Labs 452H 2way headphone with Heil AMT tweeter
Extremely harmonic despite the shocking low price, the treble is to die for
Comfortable for a big head
Can be bought directly from factory
Combined with a Schiit Magni 3+ in my bedroom, fed by a Quad CD67 CDP

Zero upgrade wishes, which is very unusual for me ...

 

Spacious
A new recent addition for me are a pair of AKG K712 pro’s and so ruthlessly the HD600’s
are boxed back into the case with new pads for a month or so of well earned rest.


The AKG’s at sub £200 seemed an opportunity not to be missed at my current HP level.

 

Man, ZMF headphones are just beautiful. Nice setup!

 

Any thoughts on the Jot 2?

 

I'm seriously thinking about buying a Focal Clear, but there is a new version that just came out called the Clear Mg. Still waiting to get some more consensus on how it sounds compared to the original, but overall it's similar, slightly warmer sounding.

 

I'm a Focal fan. I ended up going with Grado Hemps this year but I've spent a decent amount of time with a few different Focals.

 

Yes ! it is a seriously great sounding amp. Doesn't sound like a sterile SS amp. Dynamics, bass and great highs. Good staging. Lots of power. Runs cool. Completely quiet. I normally prefer tube amps and have heard $2000-$3000 amps recently. Thinking of selling my liquid platinum and ZDT jr..

 

My favorite open-backs are the Sennheiser HD660s. If I need to use closed backs, I use the Sony MDR-1am2. And for in ears I love my Etymotic ER4-P2, made in Wisconsin!

 

I’ve got a couple of Soundmagic in-ears: e10 and e50.

My AKG k451’s are still going strong after 8 years, although I only use them for running now.

I’ve got a pair of Musical Fidelity MF100’s that are ok, but need to be driven hard on my iPhone. Plus, the treble is a bit stingy.

I’ve also got some Sennheiser Momentum 2’s, which sound very nice and natural - but aren’t that comfy on the top of my head.

The other day I invested in my first set of Bluetooth headphones - Soundcore q30’s. There’re hardly accurate sounding (quite bass heavy and certainly v-shaped), but I like them a lot. An absolute bargain for £80!

 

How's the detail?

Is it a big soundstage?

 

Lot's of changes since my last post in May. I think this will be it for a long while.