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AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

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Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#41

Post by scblock »

scblock wrote: post #19

I would caution against applying an EQ curve to headphones without review beforehand. If EQ includes large boosts (which the example image and table shows) that can easily introduce clipping distortion if applied linearly without appropriate headroom adjustments. Additionally, depending on transducer performance large bass boosts may simply increase transducer distortion in the bass frequency. Some headphones respond…

As an example of my point for using a judicious approach above, applying either of the sets of Sennheiser HD8XX measurements and resulting AutoEQ curves from the Crinacle and oratory1990 folders in the Roon DSP system collapses the headstage and tilts the perceived tone of the headphones from relatively full and engaging with a dip in the 2-3 kHz region to thin and hollow, with an overly bright, brittle top end.

Also, these are two sets of measurements of theoretically the same headphones, each with 10 adjustment points, some quite broad, some very narrow. The overall shape of the resulting curve for the same target compensation is similar, but they have some significant differences in the specifics, and they sound different. We have to remember that measurement systems and individual measurement setup can vary quite a bit, so settings from this tool will bake all of that in as well.

As a comparison, based on review of the measured curves in more of a a big picture way, applying a much simpler EQ with a broad 1.5 dB bass lift up to about 100 Hz, another broad lift of about 3 dB around 2 kHz, and a slight drop of about 1 dB centered around 8 kHz brings the bass and vocals up a little but keeps headstage and overall tone intact. Maybe it's this particular DSP implementation, but I would be wary about trying to use any of the precompiled results directly. EQ can have real benefits, but is going to be more personal than automated settings will capture.

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#42

Post by dsr_ »

khimaros wrote: post #39

would it make any sense to use this for tuning a car stereo? particularly, to compensate for engine or road noise?

Not really. That's an immediate noise cancellation function, which only works (a) with headphones and (b) by recording the outside noise and adding its inverse to the sound being played.

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#43

Post by pvarangot »

mckirk wrote: post #10
h2odragon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a matter of taste Taste, yes; and individual circumstances. My hearing is so good it might count as a disability, but I know where I have peaks and valleys in my sensitivity and a good EQ can help with the spikes taken by tinnitus ringing from youthful big boom car stereo work and explosives. I checked their suggestions for my headphones against my EQ profile and theirs is pretty good. I like more lowfreq and much…

In which sense is your hearing 'so good it might count as a disability'?

I had it as a kid, went away in my teen years and now I only have tinnitus. For me it was only on certain frequencies that were boosted and they are near the principal harmonic of my always-there ringing tinnitus or in the frequency of another noise I sometimes hear that's more like a pure sinewave.

As far as I know it's more of a brain thing and not like a super-ear thing.

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#44

Post by tanvach »

I created and opened up the design of a standalone DSP [1] that leverages AutoEQ. The DSP is optimized for our home brewed headphones for VR, but I’ve been using it for my desktop headphones too.

AutoEQ is not a perfect tool, but an amazing (and free) starting point to get the most out of your audio systems.

[1] https://github.com/tanvach/prettygood_dsp

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#45

Post by khimaros »

dsr_ wrote: post #42
khimaros wrote: post #39

would it make any sense to use this for tuning a car stereo? particularly, to compensate for engine or road noise?

Not really. That's an immediate noise cancellation function, which only works (a) with headphones and (b) by recording the outside noise and adding its inverse to the sound being played.

i don't mean necessarily doing active NC. i was more curious about doing an initial tune with the car at idle or while driving on the road as a way to compensate for the average. is there any value in doing something like that? maybe even just to tune the EQ profile of the car.

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#46

Post by TylerE »

khimaros wrote: post #45
dsr_ wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. That's an immediate noise cancellation function, which only works (a) with headphones and (b) by recording the outside noise and adding its inverse to the sound being played.

i don't mean necessarily doing active NC. i was more curious about doing an initial tune with the car at idle or while driving on the road as a way to compensate for the average. is there any value in doing something like that? maybe even just to tune the EQ profile of the car.

No, as the frequencies involved will vary based on speed, engine RPM, and what seat you're sitting in.

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#47

Post by [deleted] »

scblock wrote: post #19

I would caution against applying an EQ curve to headphones without review beforehand. If EQ includes large boosts (which the example image and table shows) that can easily introduce clipping distortion if applied linearly without appropriate headroom adjustments. Additionally, depending on transducer performance large bass boosts may simply increase transducer distortion in the bass frequency. Some headphones respond…

[deleted]

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#48

Post by dumpsterdiver »

scblock wrote: post #19

I would caution against applying an EQ curve to headphones without review beforehand. If EQ includes large boosts (which the example image and table shows) that can easily introduce clipping distortion if applied linearly without appropriate headroom adjustments. Additionally, depending on transducer performance large bass boosts may simply increase transducer distortion in the bass frequency. Some headphones respond…

> I am not opposed to EQ, but it should be applied judiciously, and at least partially by ear. I don't believe trying to exactly match a target curve will necessarily provide good results compared to a more judicious approach.

Agreed. While matching generalized target curves are really helpful when applying EQ to sound waves in a music production setting, from a listeners perspective EQ is going to rely much more upon personal preference.

I've always struggled balancing the subsonic portion of my mixes with the higher ranges, and often times I've ended up with way too much bass, or not enough making my mix sound very thin and unbalanced. Using Izotope's Ozone 8 Tonal Balance Control, it gives me a visual representation of where my track meets or misses a target curve based on genre. So for instance, I can see that the subsonic region of my mix far exceeds the subs in a target curve for rock music, and then adjust the eq on the instruments that fall within that spectrum accordingly. That's super helpful for getting me into the ballpark of a "recognized tonal range for a specific genre", but I fully expect people to adjust the EQ to their own tastes once I get into that ballpark.

That being said, while I expect people to adjust EQ to taste, I'd also like to point out that EQ choices made in the production phase are often intentional creative decisions. That is to say, sometimes artists may want to intentionally go against accepted norms and try something new with their frequencies. Imagine if 70 years ago someone made an Auto-EQ for the music that was popular at the time and then applied it to dubstep music being produced today - it just wouldn't work. When an artist masters a mix, that's how they want it to sound. Similarly to how a chef might be insulted if you poured a bunch of a salt on the dish they just served you without even tasting it, a producer could be similarly insulted if listeners blindly apply EQ to their work before taking time to appreciate what the artist's original intent was.

Re: AutoEQ: Automatic headphone equalization from frequency responses

#49

Post by jerrysievert »

khimaros wrote: post #45
dsr_ wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. That's an immediate noise cancellation function, which only works (a) with headphones and (b) by recording the outside noise and adding its inverse to the sound being played.

i don't mean necessarily doing active NC. i was more curious about doing an initial tune with the car at idle or while driving on the road as a way to compensate for the average. is there any value in doing something like that? maybe even just to tune the EQ profile of the car.

some cars/car stereos have had auto eq'ing with an active microphone in the past, I have to assume they still do.

my 2007 has active eq'ing to counteract road noise, and a different eq setting when the top is up, based on a switch.

it's a Bose stereo.

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