[deleted]

That not the target though is it? That’s them telling you to EQ because their target is a bag of shit.

The Harman research says to adjust bass to your liking. The bass shelf was originally there because that's what room acoustics do when you take flat speakers and put them in a normal room, which was the basis for the target. From that there was some adjustments based on different user groups for the amount of bass, and the current shelf is what 60% of listeners preferred, but the research also says that more "trained listeners" prefer less bass, and again you are supposed to adjust that to your preference.

People hyper focus on the bass, but the upper mids and treble is a big part of the Harman target. If you put the HD600 response on the Harman target and compensate it to the target, the HD600 looks very consistent with the target above the bass.

Not quite. I'd like compensation as long as it makes it as close to flat as possible in the ear, not "pleasing".

It’s a target curve, nothing is optional. It has boosted bass. It it nowhere near flat and the HD600 is nowhere near the Harman target

This post has been removed. Please note the following rule:

>Rule 2: Ask purchase help questions in the Shopping and Setup Help Desk found at https://reddit.com/r/headphones/about/sticky > >Requests for product opinions, comparisons, and general purchase advice must be made in the dedicated Shopping and Setup Help Desk found at /r/headphones/about/sticky instead of a new post.

You may also use r/headphoneadvice but please search their resources and familiarize yourself with their rules first before posting.

What questions are considered purchase advice?

• A request for product suggestions, comparison requests, or opinion requests fall under the purchase advice rule. These can often be found by searching first.

• Any suggestion or comparison request pertaining to headphones, IEMs, DACs, amps, or other accessories should be directed to the purchase help thread or r/headphoneadvice.

• Asking the subreddit to help make a decision to buy a product does fall under this rule (e.g. "should I get dekoni pads for my HD650?").

Why does this rule even exist?

• In short, this is a large subreddit with a high volume. We want to help, but it's important to keep things organized to keep the sub fun. Thanks for your understanding.

• A more detailed explanation about this rule can be found here.

What if the link doesn't work?

• The post can usually be found on the top r/headphones, and titled Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk.

You mean flat raw? Like a straight line without any compensation?

I wouldn't really call it v shaped. More of a downward tilt with an optional bass shelf.

[deleted]

The Harman curve is literally bass boosted and is a V shape

Ok what is it

Flat. I want it flat. +/-3db. Flat.

Headphone. The whole notion of pouring audio science into a non-representative sample of people for what is most subjectively "pleasing" is something I could rant about for way too long.

Iems or headphones? I love headphone Harman, but hate the upper mids emphasis on the iem Harman.

Yes

What about the dt 900 Pro X?

So you're looking for something with less mids and more treble?

The whole thing.

But especially the treble roll-off.

First of all... do you mean the entire Harman curve. Or just the bass shelf?

The Harman curve is more focused on the mids, which is why headphones like the Sennheiser HD600 are considered as close to the Harman curve, despite having a lot of bass roll off.

Harman isn't just about the bass, and even the Harman research says to adjust bass and treble to your preference.

I like to warn people "if you touch that dial it will either pop your ears or my headphones, and it better not be my headphones"

XS are definitely one that needs a proper amp and dac. As to what to pick, that depends on budget and preference. A Schiit Magni and Modi stack would be a good starting point if you just want something simple.

I definitely wouldn't describe XS as laid back or lacking soundstage, so I think you're on the right track.

Right now I'm using a Teac UD501 and a Magni Heretic and getting pretty great results. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds considering I bought the Heretic as a temporary solution; it has tons of clean detail and good control over the bass.

Planning on going way overkill and switching to a Purifi speaker amp for my setup since I'm driving Stax as well, although I can't in good faith recommend going that route since it's an easy way to end up with blown headphones :P

Thanks everyone for the replies, you gave me some stuff to think about! I appreciate all the different angles of feedback given

There are a lot of people here that spend a lot of time looking at measurements and not a lot of time listening to stuff.

I have an e10k, I have a magni3+ with a modi multibit, I used to have an original jds element. I also have 6xxs. I've ran them out of all of these and even have run them straight out of the computer. They have sounded different in all of them.

Anyone that says all dacs and amps sound the same haven't listened to very many amps or dacs or are the lucky few out there, something like 20 or 30 percent of people, that honestly really can't hear a difference.

*upgrade

Great journey, we’ve found ourselves in similar spots too. I have Focal Clear, end game IEM (in my case U12t) and AirPods. That’s all I really need, though I also got some EMU Ebony closed backs.

You preferred the Clear to the Utopia? I’ve been hoping to stumble on a Utopia for a good price, but it does seem like some folks prefer the Clear for being a little warmer. And, the IER-Z1R is simply gorgeous. Sony makes a great product, even the M9 seems like a wonderful IEM.