So Harman, it's not just a crowd sourced target based on an average preference.

The target was first derived from the frequency response of flat speakers, in a typical room, recorded on a head and torso simulator. The bass boost and downward slope is what we expect to hear from good speakers in a good room.

From that, there was group testing done to tweak things by a few dB, and the Harman research says to adjust the bass level less or more to your preference.

The target itself is meant to be a reference point, but not necessarily something to adear to exactly, especially in the treble since the target is very much smoothed and doesn't represent the peaks and dips that headphones or speakers can have at our eardrums.

As for what to EQ to, we all hear differently and have a unique HRTF. This means what you see on a frequency response graph will not represent what your hear, or the frequency response at your own eardrum (mostly past 3khz), so EQ to your own preference