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guesswhochickenpoo t1_j5xhzhr wrote

EQ is highly underrated IMO and I think honestly one of the first things people should consider with their existing headphones before buying another pair, unless there's a fit / comfort issue.

I had a similar experience with my HD 6XX. Night and day difference between stock and EQ'd and I wonder why / if I really need anything else.

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SirMotherfuckerHenry t1_j6304uz wrote

EQ is certainly not highly underrated on r/headphones. This is the home of Oratory1990. You won't hear much talk though about EQ on head-fi and SBAF, but people over there truly belief that cables make a difference in sound signature.

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BobbyFlaaay t1_j6bzll3 wrote

What’s your EQ for the 6xx? I’ve tried oratory and crinacle’s harman tunings and it didn’t seem to make much of a difference for me so I’m wondering if I’m missing something.

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guesswhochickenpoo t1_j6c2yji wrote

I started with the Oratory EQ and heard quite a notable improvement and for me it took a lot of the “veil” away but it’s been a while since I listened to the stock sound. I just remembered being really impressed with the difference at the time.

Often going back to the original sound (or the original version of other things after upgrading) is a much starker difference than the initial improvement. Try out one of the EQs for a while, like a week or more, with songs you know the best and then try going back to stock with the same songs.

After I grew accustom to the sound and started using the 560s for gaming and other things I adjusted the 6XX EQ more to taste and increased the highs a bit more (by reducing the negative DB adjustments from Oratory in the upper mids and highs) and added a touch more bass. Probably has a mild V shape now and makes even more crisp and exiting.

It could really depend on the type of music you listened to as well.

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guesswhochickenpoo t1_j6fn65x wrote

Just did a bit of back and forth between the stock sound and Oratory's EQ. It's pretty song (and even part of song) dependant and I think the "night and day difference" comment I made comes a lot more from the enjoyment / impact of the changes for me than the actual objective changes.

If I were to try and give a % difference in the sound I would say it's maybe 10-20% different depending on the part of the FR you're talking about but the increase in enjoyment and "fun" and other subjective aspects for me is pretty substantial. Things feel less thin and have more body and impact to them and I find it noticeably more fun to listen to even though the measured difference may be small, if that makes sense. To me the sound stage even sounds a bit wider but that could be the type of music I listen to and the dominant frequencies in them or even just a trick of the brain / ears, I'm not sure.

There are also sonic differences from person to person because of their ear canals and such never mind the mental subjectivity. So just like this hobby as a whole is highly subjective EQ adjustments are also highly subjective depending on a lot of factors.

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