Then-Effective5434 OP t1_itr4dua wrote on October 25, 2022 at 6:12 PM

Reply to comment by The_D0lph1n in Sincere question: does technicalities exist, or everything what matters is FR graph? by Then-Effective5434

One more sincere question. What do you mean by saying that you can't EQ one headphone to sound like any other. I'm asking because I'm not an engineer and also not good at physics, but how do manufacturers make so many headphones(of one model) to sound the same or 99.9% the same? It because of what? Can we call this 'hardware' EQ and not digital, because digital EQ have it's limitations, while 'hardware' EQ doesn't?

The_D0lph1n t1_itr54l2 wrote on October 25, 2022 at 6:17 PM

So, unit variation is a thing, and it's unlikely that any 2 headphones of a given model will sound exactly the same. Tight manufacturing tolerances and mechanical testing is generally how good consistency is achieved.

But I was talking about EQing one model of headphone to sound like a different model of headphone, like EQing a Hifiman to sound exactly like a Focal or Sennheiser. That's not possible.

Also, you can physically modify headphones by changing their earpads and other parts of their construction (hardware EQ as you put it) to change their sound, but that is actually less precise than digital EQ.

Then-Effective5434 OP t1_itr8ew1 wrote on October 25, 2022 at 6:38 PM

Understood, thank you for extensive response, what about EQ not HiFiman to Focal, but Focal to Focal, especially interested in Clear/Elex, because their similarities is already very large, Utopia do have a bit more physical differences, but still looks like they are times more insignificant that for example Sundara/Ananda. They definitely have different pads, and voice coil in Clear are copper, while Elex is copper/aluminum, so can pad swapping and digital EQ make both headphones close to the 'same' sound, that most people will not even recognize the tiny differences?

The_D0lph1n t1_itrcl5x wrote on October 25, 2022 at 7:05 PM

I've heard that the Elex is very close, like 90-95% of the OG Clear. I've also read that the Elex and Clear use the same earpads too; the Elex is an Elear with Clear pads based on what I've read.

So assuming you are listening at volumes that don't encounter the driver clipping issues that all Focals have (and the different driver on the Elex might make it more susceptible to clipping than the Clear), you are more likely to be able to EQ an Elex to sound just like a Clear, but again, you can't accurately do that with just a graph. The only way to you can accurately EQ the Elex to sound like a Clear is to have both headphones side by side, and EQ one to sound like the other by ear.

I've used and experimented with EQ a lot, and it's easy to destroy technicalities via EQ, but it's hard to improve technicalities with EQ. My experience is that technicalities are linked to relative levels of very narrow bands of frequencies throughout the audible range. "Correcting" small tonal problems via EQ also affects technicalities that are linked to those frequency ranges. EQ, even digital EQ, is not precise enough to accurately shape the needed frequencies without also messing up nearby frequencies. If you're really focused on technicalities, then I would suggest going for the Clear, as then you don't have to worry about EQ.

I'm not sure why you asked about whether "most people" could tell a difference. In audio, what "most people" think is irrelevant. Your ears are not anybody else's ears. Your preferences are not exactly the same as anybody else's preferences. Things that bother some people don't bother others. Will there be differences after EQing the Elex to sound like the Clear? Almost certainly, they won't sound exactly the same. Whether that matters is something that only you can answer for yourself.

Then-Effective5434 OP t1_itrmluh wrote on October 25, 2022 at 8:08 PM

Understood, actually it's a pity, that you need still eq by your ears, having 2 headphones, I never have used any good EQ software, but I do want to try it(Qudelix 5K parametric EQ), I was thinking you just need to download some preset or press one button and get close to Clear sound with Elex, but now I understand the problem, because everyone's eardrum is different, so there will not be any universal preset that you can download for over-ear headphone and call it a day?

At least as I understand, after asking other people under this post, EQ with IEMs can be more effective to recreate close sound of another IEM