How Much Do tonal colorations matter?


Been playing with Roon DSP Convolution filters for various headphones I own. Think of convolution filters in this case as room correction for headphones. I find they take much of the things that make various headphones sound different and make them all sound more the same and more like what one hears listening with more "reference" level headphones. My headphone collection is nice but I do not consider any of these reference level. I own various Sennheiser, Grado, Sony, Audio Technica and Klipsh headphones/earbuds. The convolution filters makes them all sound quite a bit more similar when applied.

Over the holidays I plan to expand my application of Roon convolution filters and create my own to use in various rooms of my house.

 

So with the headphones the tonal colorations of each are essentially gone and all are more similarly enjoyable now.

 

So I am finding that proper use of DSP essentially eliminates the issue of tonal differences.

Then the question becomes: Is that a good thing for everyone? Probably not. I doubt everyone likes the same end result sound even if it can be demonstrated to be technically more accurate as a result of being calibrated using pink noise as a reference signal.

So what do you think?

 

For anyone interested applying convolution filters for most any model headphone via Roon DSP is a very easy thing to try.    All you need is Roon and a pair of headphones.  The convolution filters are provided by an external site for most headphone models.  You just enable a convolution filter in Roon DSP and set it to use the convolution filter file you download, then listen and compare with and without.

 

128x128mapman

I think at the end of the day most of us like some color in our music, whether we want to admit it or not.  Fads change, recording engineers use different equipment, gear and expect us to have different speakers in our homes, and we all listen at different volumes.  Flattening a U shaped headphone could make you want to listen louder.

I think convolution filters are perhaps best used with headphones than anywhere else.  There's no room acoustic issues to consider when tuning headphones so you will get more precise results.

 

I think convolution filters are perhaps best used with headphones than anywhere else.

Easier perhaps because you can use filters already created for most headphone models but equally applicable for room correction and other primarily audio production use cases.

See this:

 

The Basics of Convolution in Audio Production (izotope.com)

 

A convolution filter merely allows one to digitally impose one signal upon another over a chosen frequency range. In case of room correction, the signal imposed is that created to compensate for room acoustics across the entire frequency range that human ears hear.

 

In the case of room correction, each room is unique and requires a custom filter be created somehow.

Here is the recipe I plan to follow to do it with Roon. For this in addition to Roon you just need a suitable microphone and to download some freeware. I’m hoping the mike I bought for $139 will be one the best investments ever for my sound at home and save me a lot of time and money potentially twiddling with components otherwise.

A guide how to do room correction and use it in Roon - Roon Software Discussion - Roon Labs Community

 

 

 

I dislike all headphone soundfield , i owned 9 ... It stay in the head , worst, the timbre perception is artificial ...

The only headphone which i can tolerate is the AKG K340 and way less performant is the K240 sextett but the two produce a natural timbre with more spatial qualities with the flagship : K340 a hybrid never imitated by any other headphone company ... Too costly to do said Kennerton ...

The two were created by an acoustican physicist of genius, Dr. Gorike ... I dont need convoluted filters ....

I need the BACCH filters of Dr, Choueiri , to improve the spatial qualities information WITHOUT LOOSING THE TIMBRE QUALITY  as most filters do ...

The timbre perception with these 2 headphone of AKG is right , thanks to their grid of passive tuned resonators ... The spatial quality of the hybrid  K340 exceed in naturalness anything i listened to ...But it is not only more  difficult to drive than any headphone , its internal acoustic chamber  must me optimized  ...

 

@mahgister if you ever want to try and see there is a download available for those headphones along with many others available here: AutoEQ Web | Results | Recommended (killdozer.uk)  Note that the always appropriate YMMV disclaimer is nicely applied.

More info on targeted results: Harman Target Curve Explained - Audiosolace

 

Acoustics is not subjective taste matter ... 😊

The design of my AKG K240 and K340 is unique ... I dont need convolution filters of any kind especially with the K340...

I need BACCH filters ... And there is no YMMV disclaimer with the BACCH filters guess why ?

Thanks for the information though ...

By the way i dont want tonal "colorations" nor neutral desincarnated " no colorations" ; i want natural realistic timbre perception in space ... No headphones give this ... The K340 is nearer than most ... But it takes the BACCH filters to go there ...

No convolutions filters for me ...

By the way i EQ, my K340 a bit to be nearer  the Harman curve ...

 

@mahgister if you ever want to try and see there is a download available for those headphones along with many others available here: AutoEQ Web | Results | Recommended (killdozer.uk) Note that the always appropriate YMMV disclaimer is nicely applied.

More info on targeted results: Harman Target Curve Explained - Audiosolace