1 Topic by timiambeing (edited by timiambeing 2020-08-06 10:37:40)

  • Registered: 2020-07-19
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Topic: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

Good morning esteemed gathering! I've been lurking around here for a couple of weeks as I awaited the arrival and installation of my new RME ADI-2 FS DAC, and now I'm an official fan (what an amazing bit of kit!) I thought I would ask if this is possible... I have been using Roon DSP with a convolution filter specially for the Senn HD600 headphone, but I find it muddies the sound when used with the ADI-2. I have studied the manual concerning setting the EQ parameters and can safely say I am now more confused than I was before I started (I take the manual to bed with me to inwardly digest but I keep falling asleep - I wonder why that is... hah!) so would I be able to enter the details below somehow into the DAC EQ or would I need to make some alterations as these were for Roon or similar software?

Quoted from the Roon forum... (I realise I could only use the first 5 which are designed for that purpose).

Parametric EQs

In case of using parametric equalizer, apply preamp of -6.8dB and build filters manually with these parameters. The first 5 filters can be used independently. When using independent subset of filters, apply preamp of -6.9dB .

Type    Fc    Q    Gain
Peaking    25 Hz    0.87    6.3 dB
Peaking    4332 Hz    6.8    2.9 dB
Peaking    9346 Hz    2.41    4.2 dB
Peaking    11893 Hz    1.55    2.3 dB
Peaking    20166 Hz    0.24    -10.7 dB

Peaking    185 Hz    1.22    -1.9 dB
Peaking    618 Hz    1.42    1.0 dB
Peaking    3143 Hz    4.78    -2.4 dB
Peaking    5979 Hz    6.09    -4.2 dB
Peaking    6374 Hz    3.32    2.8 dB

*Edit... these are from this site (https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq … 20HD%20600) which also shows 'fixed band' setting as well?

2 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2020-08-06 22:37:47)

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Re: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

If I look the the figures, specially this one-
"Peaking    20166 Hz    Q: 0.24    -10.7 dB"
- I think the creator must be a treble hater.
This removes all the treble, broadband down to 1 kHz.
Not to mention the numerous peaks and dips on a headphones model that basically has a neutral sound corrector.
No wonder it sounds muddy.

Sennheiser HD 600 is not known for being very treble strong, so the above does not make any sense to me.


There's a lot of advice going round in the Internet about "perfect EQ curves" for certain headphones models.
Whenever I try these, it does not make sense at all.

The reason is simple:
The measurement condition can by no means meet your personal sound reception, because your ears have a personal, individual shape.
No measurement system in the world will replicate this.


Next, there is no perfect target for any measurement systems in use.

If you look at the famous "Harman Curve" it has a very coarse shape, by far not that detailed as the people try to equalize headphones.
This means, people try to correct with more precision than the measurement system gives them, resulting in absurd peaks and dips.

Plus, the Harman Curve is a special calibration that is only valid on the very same HEAD Acoustics measurement system it's made for.
People senselessly apply it to whatever they have, without taking this fact into account.
They basicly miscalibrating their systems.


In my experience the Sennheiser HD 600 does not need much EQ, and can't take much without losing its character, not gaining other qualities.

Few dB of bass boost by taste, a bit of broadband reduction of the area around 2.5 kHz, maybe a little boost in the air band above 8kHz, that's it.

The amount even depends on how loud you listen with it.

KaiS's Website

  • Registered: 2020-07-19
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Re: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

Thanks for your input KaiS, I presume these figures are trying to correct the 'raw' HD600 response shown in this graph?

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jaakk … %20600.png

I wouldn't know as i'm a novice at EQ'ing, but I did read somewhere recently how the HD600 lends itself to EQ adjustments better than most so I thought it might be worth a shot

4 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2020-08-07 09:44:51)

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Re: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

Your ear will be the judge.

EQ should change the sound for the better smile

KaiS's Website

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Re: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

KaiS wrote:

Your ear will be the judge.

EQ should change the sound for the better smile


ah.. better... tongue

6 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2020-08-07 22:35:19)

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Re: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

timiambeing wrote:
KaiS wrote:

Your ear will be the judge.

EQ should change the sound for the better smile


ah.. better... tongue

Sounds trivial, but, yes!

EQ can be used to improve something you dislike.
There is not too much to dislike on the HD 600, at least for me.

I even tried some of the settings on the HD 600 that are going around in the Internet, e.g. on reddit.
I disliked them, for the reasons mentioned.
They simply don't fit for me, I even would consider them wrong.

Sound reception on headphones is very personal.
I'd encourage you to try by yourself find something, maybe you start with the recommendations I gave above.

Something else that helps very much is ADI-2's loudness function.
It compensates the perceived sound change for different listening levels.

KaiS's Website

  • Registered: 2020-07-19
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Re: Playing with EQ for my HD600 headphones

I tried the five bands of those settings KaiS, first in Roon DSP and then on the ADI-2 and guess what... couldn’t hear any difference at all!! wink

Now I pride myself on my audiophile ears (don’t tell the engineers in here!), but then again 25hz and 20khz even with the effect on nearby bands I of course couldn’t hear (I’m not a teenager after all!) - there was a little rumble around on the classical (I only listen to classical on the phones) track I played as the DAC spectral display showed it but probably below my hearing unless turned way, way up. The rest of the adjustments looked silly on the resulting graph on the DAC display and the Roon visualisations as well, little humps here and there. I have studied room correction in Roon and will have a go one day, but even with my little knowledge I could see these numbers when shown on the display would have a crazy effect, way to close together and trying to change very specific little humps and dips. Still it’s got me used to the EQ system and it’s a lot simpler than I thought when you actually start using it.

I love my new ADI-2 and it’s really transformed my main system, clear, articulate, tight all that sort of stuff, so I am very pleased I have a great front end - I’ll probably have a listen to other headphones one day and tweak the head-fi sound that way if I fancy. Thanks for the input again.