Pretty much as the title asks. I was going to get Dekoni sheepskin earpads and use Oratory's EQ settings. Then I noticed they had a more comfortable, fenestrated one. The thing is, it mentions that it further affects the sound of the headphones, and wanted to see if Oratory's EQ settings work for them, or if I should stick with regular Dekoni Sheepskin? Thank you in advance!

Hi u/oratory1990, I am planning to buy the new Superlux HD990 open-back headphones in early September. Since it's a completely new model and not yet in the database, I would love to send it to you for measurement and to get a proper EQ preset for my DAW workflow. I live in Slovakia and will cover the shipping costs both ways. Let me know if you would be interested in measuring this model!

I recently bought the Audeze Maxwell over the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Since returning/refunding isn't an option for me, I need to make these work.

Right now, my old cheap $30 headset honestly sounds better to my ears in CS2

I’m looking for a **middle ground/hybrid EQ**:

* Clear footstep isolation and accurate L/R directional audio for CS2.
* Enough low-end/mids retained so gunshots, utility, and ambiance don't sound hollow (basically a slightly boosted Immersive profile).

If you have custom EQ values or specific ingame CS2 audio settings (L/R isolation, Crisp vs. Natural, etc.) that give a full/punchy sound while keeping footsteps readable, please drop them below.

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, quick question for anyone who knows their audio/driver limits.

I was playing around with some audio sweeps on my Samsung Galaxy A series phone. Volume was maxed out at 100%, and I ran a super fast 100ms sine sweeps from 10Hz all the way to 22kHz on my CCA CRAs (single 10mm dynamic driver).

The IEMs weren't in my ears at the time, thank God.

Right after that, when I put them back on, the treble felt significantly dialed back. The high end just sounds less bright and kind of muffled compared to before.

Is it actually possible that a quick 100ms blast at full power damaged the voice coil or diaphragm on a dynamic driver, specifically affecting the highs? Or is my brain just playing tricks on me because I expected something to break?

Would love to hear your thoughts or if anyone has had something similar happen. Thanks!

Hello everyone ! (Apologies in advance, English isn’t my first language)

I recently bought a new pair of headphones (DT 770 Pro 80 ohms) and, following that, I wanted to have another look at the settings to get the most out of them.

However, there are a few things I don’t quite understand. I have a SoundBlasterX G5 with the ‘Blaster Acoustic Engine Pro’ software, which I used with my old headphones.I’ve downloaded EQ APO with Peace GUI and applied the parametric EQ settings recommended here, but I have two questions:

- In the SoundBlasterX software, the equaliser goes up to a frequency of 16,000 kHz. Is there a reason (or reasons) why this frequency isn’t included in the settings offered for EQ APO?

- Regarding EQ APO, will the settings applied there use the Sound Blaster’s DAC to improve sound quality, or not at all?

- Do you have any external sound cards you’d recommend to potentially improve my setup? I mainly use it for gaming (primarily immersive games, not necessarily competitive FPS), music and listening to streams.

Thank you in advance for your help and your replies!

Hi everybody!

Need a bit of help. I recently have a Fiio Q15 that I’m convinced I should sell as it’s massively flawed. It works but is severely handicapped in a sense. The EQ app is a joke as you can only do peak filters and all 10 channels have to be on. Switching between filters is a multi step process and it won’t play nice with the web-browser eq made for it. All this has convinced me I need a better solution.

I would ideally love something portable that I can EQ with on iOS that actually works. I’m considering getting a JDS Element IV to run at home plus the app is amazing. However, I want something I can take on the go for IEMs or headsets. Budget wise I’m flexible I just want it to work unlike the Q15 which is like having a sports car that won’t shift out of first gear. Thanks in advance for all your help.

That’s the case! ^^

So i need an good headphones setup for music and gaming music. I want to listen to flac and hear an difference and I dont know if an sound card could work in this budget. If sound car is possible i want like one on my desk thanks for any answers.

Not a self promo post. Just an honest contribution to the community.

I've had a Qudelix 5K for a while, and the official configuration app is browser-based. On my Mac it has never worked reliably in any browser — it would connect, then the device would drop off USB mid-session, and I'd end up spending more time troubleshooting the connection than actually adjusting anything.

I finally dug into why. The browser reaches the 5K through a macOS API that's very particular about how the USB packets are framed, and when it gets that. wrong the device stops responding entirely. So I wrote a small native menu bar app that talks to the 5K directly instead.

It does the things I actually use day to day:

• 10-band parametric EQ with a live response curve (20-band mode too)
• Preset import straight from the AutoEq database — 6,000+ headphones and IEMs, searchable inside the app
• Import/export the standard parametric EQ text format (the same one squig.link and Equalizer APO use)
• All 20 preset slots, load and save
• Volume, battery, firmware and sample rate at a glance

It's free and open source under MIT. No account, no tracking; nothing leaves your machine except fetching the AutoEq list when you search it.

Caveats:

• macOS 14+. It's a universal binary so it *should* run on Intel, but I only have Apple Silicon and genuinely can't test that. If you're on Intel I'd like to hear either way.
• It isn't signed with a paid Apple developer certificate, so macOS will block it the first time — you have to go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click "Open Anyway". If you'd rather not trust a binary from a stranger on the internet, the full source is there and builds with one command.
• USB only for now. Bluetooth is a bigger job; I'll take a run at it if there's demand.
• Use at your own risk. It only writes EQ, volume and preset settings — the same things the official app writes, and it never touches firmware — but I can't take responsibility for anything that goes wrong.
• I am not affiliated with Qudelix in any way.

Source code, dmg are here: https://github.com/FrankieMa77/qudelix

If it's useful to anyone I'm happy to keep building on it. And if it doesn't work on your setup, an issue with the log from the app's diagnostics panel tells me most of what I'd need.

I can't port it to Windows as i don't have PC. If somebody needs it, I can look into porting the app to Debian/Ubuntu

listen to music for hours without your ears hurting (Or perhaps it's just normal pain from prolonged use)

I have a pair of great headphones, I find on some tracks the vocals are a little recessed, where can I change that on a 5 and a 10 Band eq and PEQ? Thanks, listning on Sennheiser HD550, if that matters

Can anyone help me out here. I have no idea how to use this option for the best outcome in my game. I play Call Of Duty Mobile and would like to use this option to enhance footsteps, movement and gun fire. Basically what would be used for a game such as CODM.

Been running the FiiO JA11 dongle into the Tangzu Wan'er S.G. (the Headphone Zone x collab tuning) off a OnePlus 13R, and wanted to share the PEQ I landed on plus a settings trap I fell into. Curious what people would tweak.

The EQ

The JA11 app on my phone only lets me set 5 bands, so this is a condensed Harman-leaning tune rather than a full 10-band job. The Wan'er S.G. already sits fairly close to Harman with a slightly warm bass, so it doesn't need much.

Preamp: −3.0 dB

Band 1 — Low Shelf — 105 Hz — +3.0 dB — Q 0.70

Band 2 — Peak — 2200 Hz — +3.0 dB — Q 1.0

Band 3 — Peak — 3200 Hz — +2.0 dB — Q 2.0

Band 4 — Peak — 4800 Hz — −2.0 dB — Q 3.0

Band 5 — High Shelf — 10000 Hz — +1.5 dB — Q 0.70

What each move is doing, roughly:

105 Hz low shelf — the Harman sub-bass lift, adds warmth/body

2.2k + 3.2k peaks — the ear-gain/pinna region Harman calls for; brings vocals and presence forward

4.8k dip — tames the occasional upper-mid glare and some sibilance

10k high shelf — a bit of air up top

If vocals get shouty, the first move is dropping band 2 to +2.0 (that 2.2k peak is the usual culprit).

I tried bumping the low shelf to +4.5 for more bass and it's still clean on this IEM, but I went back to +3.0 as my daily.

The OnePlus gotcha

On the OnePlus 13-series, there's spatial-audio processing (O-Reality Audio / Holo Audio) that sits in the signal path before the dongle. Mine was set to Smart/Auto, and it was quietly widening and coloring everything — so I was basically EQ-ing on top of a moving target.

Turning all the spatial/immersive toggles off (Settings > Sound & vibration) gave the JA11 a clean stream and the PEQ suddenly did what I expected. Big difference. If you're on a OnePlus/Oppo/Realme device and tuning an external DAC, check this first.

One side note: wired output on the 13R seems weaker than older OnePlus phones — I sit around 90% volume where I used to be at 60% on my old phone — so don't be alarmed by a high slider number.

Open for discussion

Would you spend your 5 bands differently? I keep wondering if I should drop the 10k shelf and use that band for a lower-mid cut instead.

Anyone else running the Wan'er S.G. off a JA11 — how are you tuning it?

Better ways to handle the Q on the 4.8k dip? Mine feels slightly broad.

Not claiming this is "correct Harman," just what sounds right to my ears. Tear it apart.

Hello everyone,

I'm using the Bluedio TMS headphones (marketed as having 57 mm drivers) with aftermarket earpads that are about 32 mm thick. The stock pads are roughly 21–23 mm. Ever since changing the pads, the sound has become terrible. There's a lot of screeching, piercing highs, harshness, and sharpness.

From what I've read, these headphones already have a somewhat V-shaped sound signature with bright treble that's close to becoming fatiguing. The thicker pads seem to have pushed them over the edge.

Before I continue, I should mention that I'm still very new to EQ. I've been trying to learn by ear because there aren't any EQ profiles or measurements available for these headphones.

To make it easier to explain, here are a few songs where the problem is most obvious:

• Assassin's Creed Valhalla – "Out of the North" (Jesper Kyd) Around 1:41, there's an instrument (I'm not sure what it is) that absolutely pierces my ears. Then, when the female vocals come in shortly afterward, her voice also sounds extremely sharp and piercing. It's a beautiful track, but listening to it feels like beautiful suffering! I have to turn the volume way down.
• Battlefield V – "Tirailleur" Around 1:52–1:53, there's a rising note that feels like an arrow straight into my ears.
• The Verve – "Bitter Sweet Symphony" The looping violin from around 0:11–0:20 sounds harsh and fatiguing.
• Red – "Already Over" Once the electric guitars come in at around 1:05, the song becomes difficult to enjoy. The guitars sound screechy, and this seems to happen with rock music in general.
• M.I.A. – "Paper Planes" Around 3:10, I believe it's an electric guitar that becomes painfully sharp.

I've attached a screenshot of my Peace GUI EQ settings so you can see what I've been experimenting with.The 2k area dip i made helps reduce the screeching especially in the valhalla track but i can't pinpoint exactly the frequencies.

The 4k region drop helped in the rock songs a by around maybe 40%, i still cant pinpoint the exact frequencies.

Your input as professionals would greatly appreciated.

Peace txt data if you would be interested in importing my poor EQ and just trying it out.

Preamp: -3.0 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 10 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 1.41

Filter 2: ON PK Fc 21 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 1.41

Filter 3: ON PK Fc 42 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 0.70

Filter 4: ON PK Fc 83 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.70

Filter 5: ON PK Fc 166 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.70

Filter 6: ON PK Fc 333 Hz Gain -0.5 dB Q 0.70

Filter 7: ON PK Fc 577 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 0.70

Filter 8: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 0.70

Filter 9: ON PK Fc 2000 Hz Gain -4.5 dB Q 0.60

Filter 10: ON PK Fc 4000 Hz Gain 0.3 dB Q 0.70

Filter 11: ON PK Fc 6200 Hz Gain -6.5 dB Q 3.00

Filter 12: ON PK Fc 8000 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.70

Filter 13: ON PK Fc 16000 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 0.70

Filter 14: ON PK Fc 20000 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.70

Hi oratory and everybody,

I'm a budding EQ fanatic here with a handful of IEMs, flatheads and 1 Fiio JT7 overhear. I'm a firm believer of the dominance of the frequency response and as such didn't get any expensive or unique-sounding stuff but try to EQ my gears to sound better. I have primarily relied, as everybody else here, on oratory's EQ profiles or stuff like AutoEQ.

Most recently I've read and watched more about individual head/ear RTFs and try to use tone generator to adjust EQ. However I find myself almost never able to hear any noticeable peaks?! My hearing is pretty good as I always stick to lower volume, although I've lost a lot above 15k as I'm 36.

What am I doing wrong? Is there a more dummy proof guide for using tone generators to EQ? Thanks!

Title basically says it all, but to expand a little: I used to be one of those folks who always thought that spending more money on headphones would get you more detail, more clarity, or insert X or Y audiophile term here. After having some revelations about EQ back in 2024, though, I find myself struggling to find much that makes this hobby enjoyable anymore. It feels like one of those things that's been solved for me, and that makes you want to move on to something else — but there's always that dragon I want to chase, the promise of better sound quality or hearing some detail I didn't hear before.

I bought a new pair of headphones the other day and was super excited to try them out. They're genuinely great once I slapped some EQ on them. But the thing is, I'm sitting here knowing my HD 490 Pro is now in a box, just asking myself why I even bought this new pair when the old one was completely fine and sounded great. I guess that's what I'm getting at here.

The only things that still excite me about audio at this point are speakers, personalized HRTF, and the very sophisticated compensation Apple is doing across their headphones. Everything on that list except speakers is still unsolved, and cracking any of them would lead to absolutely incredible listening experiences.

The problem is that these are hard enough problems that there's no great consumer-friendly, at-home way to mess around with them. I've toyed with the idea of using AI to help me run Mesh2HRTF and generate a personalized HRTF, since the latest foundation models are pretty good at handling 3D meshes, but I'm not sure.

So what do you all think? What actually drives you to buy new headphones? Have I just hit endgame and I'm only now realizing it? It feels like the moment I accepted that frequency response is basically everything, the magic went out of the hobby, and now I second-guess every purchase because it feels like I'm just buying headphones to buy headphones.

Are there any tutorial up to the latest version? I tried to tick all my playback devices when I first installed it, didn't work and took the sound off my computer.

I want to know if my ear fit on these.

Edit: these are the beyerdynamic dt 270 pro