Skip to main content

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones (Read 9577 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Obviously (like with most audio topics) there's probably some subjectivity here but -

I own a pair of AKG K240 studio monitor headphones. I've always liked their sound, and apart from them getting a bit sweaty after prolonged use (3-4 hours) I really have no complaints.

Recently a buddy of mine who's a musician came over and saw I had them and said they were nice headphones for mixing but that if he was just listening to music it wouldn't be his first choice - he'd rather have some EQ'd headphones.

I've seen a similar sentiment on gaming boards in discussions of headphones.

These headphones are well liked among gamers and music people: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-O...=I1OLXLGOX6RLWS

Was thinking of trying them just for kicks but I'm curious if anyone here has any insight they can share? I mean I get what he's saying - but wouldn't monitor headphones really be representing how the music is "supposed" to sound? Wouldn't EQ'd headphones be coloring the sound with the sound of the headphones themselves?

 

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #1
By an EQd headphone, do you mean a headphone with a FR that deviates significantly from neutral out of the box, or a vaguely neutral headphone equalised to be, say, extremely bassy?

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #2
There isn't really a difference between getting headphones that are designed to have a flat response and taking a pair of similar quality headphones and flattening the response with EQ if that is what you're asking.  Maybe the EQ'ed ones will be a little flatter if you do the calibration well.

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #3
There isn't really a difference between getting headphones that are designed to have a flat response and taking a pair of similar quality headphones and flattening the response with EQ if that is what you're asking.  Maybe the EQ'ed ones will be a little flatter if you do the calibration well.


Well - put it this way:

I read a tweet a while ago by Flying Lotus (artist) who said he was listening to his new record on Beats by Dre. He said he didn't like the headphones but that he knew that a lot of kids would be hearing his music that way.

In other words - he's saying that the system itself (the Beats by Dre) are investing their own sound/personality into reproducing the sound and that he didn't care for the effect.

So my question is: are studio monitor headphones ideal for music consumption (and not just a studio tool as my friend was implying) or are they actually ideal for hearing music as the artist intended?

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #4
Maybe your friend was referring to the difference between a real flat frequency response (normally not targeted even in "monitor" headphones), a diffuse field equalization, or some other target response curve. See for example

http://www.stereophile.com/content/between...adphones-page-3 for example

or this article by Sean Olive

http://seanolive.blogspot.it/2013/04/the-r...eption-and.html

or this by Etymotic

http://www.etymotic.com/technology/hwmra.html

or eventually Google for "headphone target response curve"
... I live by long distance.

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #5
I appreciate the articles. Ill look through them.

Is there a layman response to my question though?

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #6
I think we should define what a "monitoring headphone" is and if it has any actual technical meaning that would give it a certain sound.
There's an old SOS article comparing monitor vs hi-fi speakers and the conclusion is that there isn't a significant sound difference between them.

I think a flat frequency response and a detailed transparent sound is generally the goal for both.
There might be a tendency for monitoring equipment to accentuate the upper mids or highs, to reveal certain "delicate" frequencies. It seems to be the case with some "classics", like the Yamaha NS10 or Sony MDR-V6 for headphones (AFAIK neither of those are very flat in terms of EQ), but I can't say whether it's the rule for all monitoring speakers and headphones.

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #7
+1 to what Brand said.  Over the years I've owned many headphones including the K240.  Some were labelled "monitor" and others were not; it's somewhat meaningless.  What mattered to me then and now is that they were comfortable and that I liked their sound with the music to which I typically listen.  I wouldn't let someone else talk me off a decision that worked for me.

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #8
Shortly, the key point is that a measured flat response for a headphone doesn't translate in a perceived flat response to the ear, for reasons related to outer and mid ear physiology, to the fact that commercial recordings are often mixed and produced having in mind the sound of speakers radiating in typical listening room etc...
So headphone designers who want their project to be perceived flat and balanced, instead of targeting for a flat frequency response, target for uneven frequency curves, like for example the "diffuse filed curve" targeted by every Etymotic design, meant to be perceived flat by the listener.

As someone already pointed out, anyway, if the transducers are of good quality, i.e. low distortion in all audio spectrum, equalization can do a lot to suit the sound signature to listener's own taste, be it even and balanced or not, so an answer to the OP question could be: if you're not satisfied by the headphone you currently own or want to try something new, before speeding out to buy a new one, play a little with the graphic equalizer you'll very probabily find as a feature in every player.

There are even some smartphones apps, like Accudio for iOS, that have a database of measurements of the most diffused headphones and try to mimic the sound of many specific models by using the one owned by the user and applying a compensation curve.
... I live by long distance.

Monitor Headphones vs EQ'd Headphones

Reply #9
The problem with these compensation curves is that they depend on individual's physiology. Unless your auditory apparatus is that of the average Joe (whose "curve" was used), you will not perceive these "compensated" IEMs (or, to a lesser degree, any other headphone type) as flat. Still better than no compensation...