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cr1t1cal76 t1_is3xsd5 wrote

Reply to comment by UnderTheMusic in Most discriminating audio reviewer by SnooStories7223

No bass? Try eq. No highs? Try eq. No bass, no mids and no highs? Hit the play button.

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Ultima893 t1_is5b8dd wrote

I know this a joke thread. But if your comment is serious could you recommend a good EQ app for Mac? I just bought LCD-X and a topping stack and I wish there was more bass. I tried 3 different random free EQs and none of them let me increase the bass without sounding like the drivers were literally broken. Can you actually EQ bass or is it just a myth? The amount of bass the LCD-X produces at 70-80% volume is what I want but at 30-40% volume. I dont want the bass to sound like broken glass. Which is weird, cause my Sony XM3/XM4 both let me bass boost them in their native apps ti crazy level of bass without ruining the sound quality at all…

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ayedea t1_is5cjt5 wrote

If you’re bass boosting XM3s, it’s unlikely you’re going to get the sound you want from open backs.

That said, SoundSource is a great Mac EQ and comes with built in headphone presets. I found them to sound cleaner than eqMac.

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Ultima893 t1_is5d445 wrote

Well the thing is I did spend hours listening to them in a store about 4-5 years ago. They were plugged into $6000+ worth of amp/dac/cables. And they had the best bass I have ever heard in a pair of cans, second only to the STAX LP700. Yes, really. Those stax cans were massaging my ears and vibrating my head like no other. It was in the same shop, so maybe they have some magic ass EQ going on or maybe their $20k power cables do make s difference. Or maybe the whole experience was a placebo. I did listen to the Focal Utopia’s and Hifman well but they were far too flat for my taste.

My Topping stack only cost $250 but I have been told the difference between a topping stack and a $6000 stack should be quite minor. Another factor is this was years ago so it was the old LCD-X. I bought the newer, revised 2021 model.

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ayedea t1_is5d9yg wrote

LCD-X are supposed to be very EQable. It’s possible your EQ was clipping? Are you lowering the preamp before raising the bass?

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Ultima893 t1_is5wefd wrote

I am not sure if I understand your terminology here. Source is MBP (volume at Max) connected to L30/E30. Amp is at 0 gain. I only turn the amps volume knob. I adjust EQ via sliders and I do not hear any bass improvements until it all of a sudden sounds extremely bad. Like rattling chains or TV static. I suppose I never tried first lowerikg the volume and then slowing adjusting the lower frequency sliders if that is what you meant…

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djentlemetal t1_is5yqrn wrote

You need to lower the gain below '0' whenever you raise any of the bass frequencies/sliders. Also, you need to set the proper bass/sub bass frequencies in order to reveal the proper type/amount of bass. My LCD-X's that are hooked up to my amp/DAC stack from my PC sound incredible and have the best bass of the cans I've acquired so far.

Edit: here's a snippet of my Equalizer APO settings. https://imgur.com/a/TO1vHEo They're based on oratory1990's recommended settings with the bass frequencies adjusted to taste. My LCD-X absolutely slams. You'll notice that my Pre Amplifying setting is set to -9.5 (top-left corner). This is to compensate for the gain increase introduced by raising any of the frequencies below above 0. If I didn't do that, then it would clip and possibly sound like a blown out subwoofer.

Edit 2: Here's a link to all of oratory1990's presets that pretty much run the gamut of most of the headphones we know, love and/or hate: https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets I used the LCD-X 2021 revision settings to tune my EQ. It takes some figuring out as there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's worth it.

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Ultima893 t1_is646t3 wrote

Thank you very much! I will do so and report back

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halpnousernames t1_is5jcpx wrote

LCD-X will take bass eq all day my friend. Enough to rattle the ear wax out of your ears.

Go forth and eq the shit out of them.

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marcustbw t1_is5czwc wrote

Try SoundSource, you can use any audio plugin with it.

Here I use the N-Band Equalizer (AUNBandEQ) and the Low Shelf Filter (AULowShelfFilter) to equalize my LCD-2, both are from apple and are already installed on the mac by default. Personally, I think the results are great and I have no problems with the sound quality, I love the bass I can get from my Audeze.

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Ultima893 t1_is5ek23 wrote

Thanks, I will give it a go ! Because I literally refuse to believe anyone enjoys the sound that comes from EQing via the apps I used.

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marcustbw t1_is5i6dd wrote

Hahaha I know how you feel, try it and let me know if you need any help.

Also, if you're going to equalize the entire frequency range I recommend that you follow some sort of EQ guide for your LCD-X (oratory1990 usually has some interesting guides, I use one of them here for the LCD-2) and just give the bass an extra boost as you like using the Band Equalizer to pinpoint which frequencies you want or the Low Shelf Filter to give bass a more general gain - I actually use both.

And as the other user said, lower the preamp as well to prevent clipping.

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ThirdWorldOrder t1_isaxdqc wrote

the ifi gear also have something called bass boost which works like magic. I use EQ a lot and can't figure out what iFi does with this bass boost to make it sound so good

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haris525 t1_is69rmt wrote

Not GONA happen! You are asking a planar open back to produce closed back dynamic bass. Not going happen my friend. The only planar that can produce nauseating thunderous bass is the Ether CX with equalizer. I have the old LCD-X (2016)and the new LCD-X (2022) and I drive them with the topping A30/A90. They have sufficient bass for me but they are no where close to TH900, however the CX can get there with EQ.

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