Also added a column called “Effectiveness” ranked from 1-3.
Where 1 means that the EQ is a game-changer for the iem and could mean it goes from being un-recommendable to recommendable/strongly recommendable.
2 means that it is a big positive change.
3 means that it isnt a very big change and using it stock might still be preferred.
Final Audio E5000 A to A- , too loose bass makes it very unsuited for my library.
Moondrop Blessing 2 S to A+ , with the addition of the Tanchjim Oxygen, the B2 has way too unnatural tonality and timbre in comparison for it to be in the same rank.
Sony XBA-A2 A+ to A- , too bloaty bass and lacking treble extension/air.
Blon BL-03 (mesh-mod) A- to A , matches well with my library and nothing really wrong with the bass/mids/treble and it has a very special sound that I just love.
Shozy Form 1.1 A to A- , a bit unnatural mids and treble.
I am aware that some hate EQ and wont touch it. I was like that too not long ago. But I have been slowely but surely opened my mind to EQ. The Tin Hifi P1 is the biggest factor for that, it turns it from a pretty meh and un-recommendable iem to a beast.
i don’t know about that, just seems that the creator didn’t have the tuning down so as the buyer you alter that. By that definition something like the dt 880 wouldn’t be a good headphone because you can’t pair it with the liquid spark (bringing up bass and lowering treble). Even if you aren’t modifying the headphone itself you are adding something to your chain in order to change the sound characteristics of it.
I am quite sure that is different compared to physically changing the filter and design of the product or altering the digital signal for a different sound signature.
I have no problem with eq (if used properly), but lets say for a headphone if you have to start making driver modifications or dampen things like nuts to make it sound usable it typically isn’t going to be that great of a headphone from my experience. I think my opinion on this matter would lie on how much you actually feel the need to change. EQ is a helpful tool that can be a good thing if done correctly, but if you have to drastically alter the signature to just have it even sound palatable that’s kinda a pretty strong sign that’s it’s prob not worth messing with. EQ also isn’t magic, it has it’s limits in what it can change and how it can alter sound, imo it can’t add more detail, can’t really improve dynamics much, it’s not going to change transient response much, can’t really change soundstage/spatial recreation imo, it might allow more of what’s there to shine through but it can’t really make up for deficiencies. I can’t say I have really experienced something where EQ has saved a product for me, I have to at least find something desirable about it, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard an eq that really transforms something I didn’t like to something I really enjoy, but EQ can improve things I like with the proper tweaks.
I wouldn’t really call that modification. It’s not like you can avoid coloration, you are just have to work around it and figure out what coloration works best with the headphone, all things are inherently colored, you just have to find what colored pieces match together to create the desired result. And on a similar idea to what I mentioned above, if something is incredibly amp dependent and only sounds good in an incredibly specific setup, it’s also a sign something can be off with the headphone and might not be worth the hassle (depending on how it’s designed). Also keep in mind that an amp has the ability to alter all properties about a headphone or iem imo, whereas eq for example can really only alter one or two properties at best imo
I wouldn’t call using tips that fit you and create a proper seal a modification. I think anyone who takes critical listening seriously is going to want to use their preferred tips either for fit, seal or sound.
I think it might be important to state/list what tips you’re using with the IEM when discussing it with others since tips do have a considerable effect on the sound and technicalities.
Sometimes I get lucky lol, but I also sometimes get lazy and not mess around with tips as much as I really should (also not one to really go ham trying out pads on headphones either)
I guess my point is that both affect the sound of the headphone, and sometimes you choose the non invasive amplifier to color your headphone in a way that you want instead of a more invasive tape that you add to the p1 to add bass. And even if you go through the EQ route depending on how much you change it there isn’t a noticeable loss in audio quality ime
if veritas means just to sound good (which is basically what you said too) you are right about the headphone fundamentally being a bad headphone and EQ or mods won’t make it much better. But if your problem is a massive beyer peak giving up on that headphone because of that one reversible issue i wouldn’t say that it’s not a good headphone. Depending on the parameters we can agree or disagree on this topic,
it’s true that you can’t really avoid going through an amplifier but that dosen’t change the fact that it alters the sound just like a modification would. I guess that’s the main basis of my arguement, whether you are forced to modify the sound of something or not EQ, pyshical mods and amplifiers/dacs all basically change the sound in one way or another so i don’t see why someone would be so strongly against EQ and then buy 10 different amps to change the sound of their gear.
Agreed, we all have different ears with different tolerances for treble. Our ear canals will also affect wether the peak is at 8k or 6k, so using a little EQ to tame it down a bit should be fine (like with the Shuoer Tape).
I would agree with this. While like on the 1990 I don’t like how forward it can be in the treble, I still like some aspects of the headphone and with eq you can make that more pleasurable (or other ways like amp selection or pad changes if you are into that), so yeah in that regard eq is just fine. Basically you could sum up my thoughts on EQ as “you can’t polish a turd” lol
That is correct
Because eq can be a sloppy and less desirable or effective way of going about modifying the sound for reasons mentioned above. You will suffer a loss in fidelity that can range from insubstantial to significant, it just depends on how much and what you are willing to sacrifice. I agree that skipping eq on the basis of “keeping things true to the recording” is dumb, but I can understand using other more effective alternative methods of tuning that might produce more desirable results imo. EQ can never really accomplish what changing to a different amp can do, but there are situations where eq makes more sense than changing an amp does
Also to be clear, while I personally don’t use EQ, I do think it’s a worthwhile option to fix small issues you may have with frequency response, but I don’t think eq can really transform a headphone as much an amp can
There’s a difference between not a good headphone and not a good headphone for you.
I’m not interesting in trying to “fix” Beyers, I can appreciate them as good headphones, just not for me.
I don’t really object to EQ, but I don’t use it.
But outside obnoxious problems I don’t consider FR to be a significant factor in if I like a headphone, it’s a part of the character. Fundamentally someone designed it to sound like that.
I have for example no problem with electrical or for that matter digital processing that’s a part of the Headphone, it’s potentially a good solution for some driver limitations, The Raal’s do EQ inside the Amp adapter and it’s fundamentally no different to what a Phono Preamp does in Vinyl systems.
I draw the line at trying to make everything sound (or judging everything by) Harman Neutral with EQ.
