The HD800 EQ-ing Thread

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by TwoEars, Mar 29, 2016.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Thanks @gepardcv for pointing out oratory's 800 (non-s) setting. After googling for a while, I got this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6czdp06yd7bzvb7/Sennheiser HD800 (5 Band EQ).pdf?dl=0
    (prol this is what you meant)

    upload_2018-11-26_11-42-5.png
    upload_2018-11-26_11-44-35.png

    (For simplicity I am calling 10B 800S setting Oratory1 and 5B 800 one Oratory2)

    While Oratory2 sounds a little better than with 1. Still sounds a bit rougher in the upper registers (both ora1/2 are rougher than stock 800 in the treble).

    Needless to say, I still hate harman bass. Likely harman guys, study participants, HT-advocates, and HT-lovers may "perceive" 800 as extremely bass-shy. That's not for me at all. My reference of "just right bass" is the closest to LCD2 (and 2 classic), rather than Dr Olive's work. And this is highly correlated with sbaf-compensated flat response in entire bass (20-200hz). While there may be some benefits of harman's "perceptionally preferred" bass levels, I will neither like it nor regard it as "neutral" any day.

    And both subjectively and objectively to me, hd800 is not bass-shy or bass-light. Ignoring its' upward tonality, the real problem against neutrality is midbass hump. This seems to occur in most dynamic drivers with open-back structure though.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2019
  2. wormcycle

    wormcycle Friend

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    I adjusted it a bit looking at the HD800S measurements and I like it better then Oratory1990. A bit "enhanced" HD-8000S but very natural, slightly tamed treble, more pronounced mids, a bit more bass but still well under control.
     
  3. itsikhefez

    itsikhefez Acquaintance

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    I've been trying to do this myself with the HD800S. I tried 2 different VST wrappers.. one crashes foobar and not much success with the second either.
    Which wrapper are you using? Are there any other specific output settings that need to be used? (WASAPI/DS, 24/32bit etc)
     
  4. SoupRKnowva

    SoupRKnowva Official SBAF South Korean Ambassador

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    I am using this one https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,84947.0.html

    I also went through a phase where I was using FabFilter Pro-Q instead, cause Electri-Q is kind of finnicky, it likes to crash while you are messing around with it. But then my free trial ended, so i went back to Electri-Q heh


    Also as an update, I have tried all of the other suggested EQ settings posted in the thread, with my SDR modded HD800, and I dont like any of them as much as the Oratory HD800S settings, with a 7.5db Bass Shelf instead of his 10db or whatever.
     
  5. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    @Kattefjaes , if there was one thing that most 800 owners agreed upon, it was that the headphone works really well for orchestral music. But this post and your other post on the E2 thread, has thrown some light into how the 800, in it’s native form, doesn’t render accurate timbre even for orchestral music. Have you come across any EQ or mods, that made you feel the timbre issue was mostly alleviated?
     
  6. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Not really. The Superdupont mod is obviously a must-have to stop that peak from f'ing you in the ear, and the bathmat mod can be pretty good. Sonicworks helped too (even after throwing it out of whack a bit from their profile with the mods). Dialling it down a bit with the wet/dry helped.

    The end result is quite nice-sounding headphones (and the bass takes EQ waaaay better than the HD800S), but they still don't really sound as good as they should for big orchestral sounds.

    Maybe a custom measurement profile would help somewhat?

    Personally, I'd accept them for what they are, enjoy them for what they're good at. You can pick up a used pair quite cheaply and mod them, and they're great to have, and super-comfy. Given the crazy price inflation with headphones as they have become a premium lifestyle tchotchke for status-obsessed dickheads (hi Rafe!), it's still well worth snapping up a pair for a song and modding them- hard to beat for the (used) price for a lot of stuff.
     
  7. Baten

    Baten Friend

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    Sonarworks :)?
     
  8. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    Thank you. I do have a pair of 800 with the SDR & SBAF mods, and use it with the Sonarworks Ref 4 and EQ. With the mods and EQ, the timbral weirdness does not stand out to me, as I do not have much exposure to live orchestra. I was curious to hear your thoughts, as you have a lot of exposure to live orchestra.
     
  9. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Yeah, thingy. You know what I mean :)

    @EagleWings - don't overrate my insight, I might be just plain wrong, you know. I'm just some guy on the internet- not an expert. I mean, they always sound more like headphones than an orchestra to me, but some people like that.
     
  10. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    Was reviewing this thread to see what sort of Q values people were using on the 6k area. Looks like @sorrodje (2.2) and @Vtory (1.5) were on the wider end while @LSW was the highest at 10. I've been going back and forth between 2 and 3, but only because I am predisposed to lower Q filters in general.

    Have rid myself of the high-shelf at this point.

    I've never felt the need to EQ the upper-mids (1k-4k) although I agree with the assessment that that area is recessed. So really just testing to see how much satisfaction I can get out of using only a 6k notch.
     
  11. Zed Bopp

    Zed Bopp Friend

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    I tried a wider Q before (with -6db at 6,5k) but settled on Q4,5 coupled with a mild drop of the higher highs (-1,5db at 7k, Q1). That earlier 2,something just killed too much sizzle from percussion instruments for me. I guess I still like 800 to have some of that original bright character - just without the annoyance and fatigue.

    Edit: Unmodded 800 here.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2019
  12. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    I also keep going back between -3 and -6 dB notches. It really is dependent on recording if its going to sound annoying
     
  13. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    Same here, for some dirty H Zimmer sessions. I throw in a -4 db at 6.2kHz, q=3 and rise the highs back with a shelf at 10kHz+. It still robs the last bit of plankton from the acoustic stuff.
     
  14. AudioFriend

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    I think it would be useful if everyone added whether your HD800 is modded or not. SDR mod means strong difference in EQ requirement.
    Bear with me if it's clear for everyone but me.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2019
  15. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    I would hope most folks are employing the shelf liner at this point.
     
  16. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I specifically made this EQ for RME ADI-2 DAC but it translates to any EQ program (I've tried it with JRiver myself on my main system).

    This is what I've settled on for STOCK HD800:
    [​IMG]

    Comparison to Sonarworks Reference 4 HD800 EQ:
    [​IMG]

    Enjoy!

    EDIT: Forever tweaking! Hahaha
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2019
  17. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    @cskippy. Looks very similar to what I use myself minus the difference due to the fact my HD800 is SDR modded. :)
     
  18. Nanekiu

    Nanekiu New

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    Is the HD800S sbaf serious parametric EQ preset found in autoeq a good match for a HD800SDR modded one?
     
  19. GoldilocksEars

    GoldilocksEars New

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    Lol, this is new to me...
    Why? I feel personally attacked if I'm honest. The 0.2dB/oct tilt is almost 2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz, definitely audible if I had to guess. And he absolutely had to add a bass boost, didn't he?

    @Nanekiu I'd give it a shot, doesn't hurt to try. I even found the HD800SDR to be smoother sounding than the HD800S, but YMMV.
     
  20. Nanekiu

    Nanekiu New

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    Yeah will try it out, unsure if I should use it with the dust cover though, lots of conflicting info out there regarding removing/leaving them in.
     

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