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DWW256 t1_j1zyg2c wrote

When we talk about "audio quality in general," much of that can actually be gleaned from a savvy interpretation of the frequency response graph. If it sounds "muddy," that's likely because there's too much bass and the drop in volume between the ~80 Hz and ~200 Hz domains is too abrupt. If it sounds "piercing," that likely means it's too loud between the 4 kHz and 10 kHz. If it sounds "unnatural," then there's probably some weird spikes between 500 Hz and 4 kHz.

Interpreting frequency response graphs can be a very nuanced thing, and even (perhaps especially) the most experienced reviewers often swear that they don't tell the whole story. If you look up graphs of the KZ CRN, you'll find that it looks extremely accurate—but many reviewers felt that it had unnatural lower treble. The Campfire Andromeda, meanwhile, has a rather weird-looking graph, but almost every reviewer I've read says its tonality is gorgeous, if a bit odd.

Others will probably chime in and point out that there are other graphs you can use to understand a heaedphone. The most notable one is the waterfall graph, which (allegedly) documents resonances where the headphone takes an unnaturally long time to stop sounding when a specific frequency is played. Others argue that this just isn't how headphones work. I don't know enough about physics to say who is correct.

But I would consider the video u/SupOrSalad linked to be authoritative on the subject.

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ICrySaI OP t1_j207pyq wrote

I kinda get you but those things don't really only depend on fr.

you can have two headphones with equally elevated bass where one is muddy and the other is not. same with treble.

or am I dumb?

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kill3rb00ts t1_j208wki wrote

Muddiness usually comes from specific bass frequencies, typically the upper bass. So it's pretty easy to see on a graph which headphone is likely to be muddy. Same thing with treble, the specific spikes tell you which headphone is more likely to be unpleasant.

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DWW256 t1_j22vf98 wrote

Well but this is just the thing. Some people would absolutely disagree and say that if they have the same bass FR, they won't have different bass response. But others would not! It's one of the most heated disagreements in headphonedom.

Here are my two points:

First, as I said, it's not always so much how much louder the bass is as a whole as how smoothly it transitions into the mids. And this can affect the character of the bass a lot. Second, if you're looking for "fast" bass, that can boil down to treble response too. Bass instruments will have higher harmonics that are affected by higher frequencies, and these can also affect the impression of what sounds clean or not—whether these higher harmonics are rendered accurately.

But I would probably have to try a good planar headphone before I could authoritatively say of myself "no it's just FR but more nuanced" or "there actually is a je ne sais quoi to the bass texturing."

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