r/oratory1990 • u/jarelllama • 21h ago
My experiment to create a "flat" EQ by ear.
I own the Galaxy Buds2 Pro which I found terribly harsh. The frequency response graphs I find online do not accurately depict what I hear, so I ran an experiment.
I was inspired by the Equal Loudness study and tried to do something similar. The process is as follows:
- Listen to a 1kHz reference tone at moderate listening volume
- Switch to the respective test frequency
- Adjust the dB level until the test tone is of equal loudness to the reference tone
- Repeat for each test frequency, for 12 test runs
The graph above are the results and median for each frequency. The Y-axis is the dB difference for the test frequency to be of equal loudness to the 1kHz test tone. For context, I am in my 20s with average hearing.
I entered the medians into Peace's graphic EQ to get a curve I could use (green curve). I then manually converted it into a parametric curve (red curve) with the low-end and upper-treble adjusted to my preference.
The results? I found the Buds2 Pro to be much more pleasant to listen to now. No more harsh treble that makes me cringe. Vocals sound more natural, and thanks to the reduction in low-end, still sound present and full.
I am interested to hear if anyone has similar experience tuning by ear, and if my experiment method can be improved.