Hi guys!

In your opinion, which speaker or headphone comes closest to the Fletcher & Munson curve?

The famous NS10 is rumored, but the AirPods also come close. I haven't found any other alternatives to my ears. Do you know any gems?

 

There are no speakers that follow the Fletcher-Munson (or rather the Robinson-Dadson) curve. The perceptive curve changes depending on the loudness/dBSPL of the music. The concept would be cool if there was such a technique implemented (different curve at what loudness you play at), but it would also be impractical because everyone's frequency perception differs. As well as you would have to sit at the exact calibrated distance from the speakers all the time. Take into account that all rooms are different, acoustically treated (and not acoustically treated), etc.

The NS10 are horribly nasal(1k)/telephonic(2k) and have bass roll-off. They have a design flaw that offsets the woofer and the tweeter. They suck.

 

Hmm... Didn't know Fletcher & Munson were making speakers now... Wonder if they are any better than my 4411's?

 

Well, if want to mix mid range/fletcher munson, i'm 100% of time using Auratones. I talk about em time to time, but it's an unreplaceble tool for my arsenal. When it comes to monitoring, i need all kind of lens. The Auratones are my mids lens.

 

The Fletcher–Munson curvatures arent’t a simple frequency response curve; they describe how perceived loudness changes with frequency and sound pressure level. It’s more complex than a basic response graph, I don't think that would even be possible in a reliable and practical way with current tech.

 

Last edited: Oct 24, 2025 at 5:42 AM

One gold tip that i got once: mixing in different volume levels may help you to nail it.

 

Now imagine having to constantly adjust the speaker’s SPL based on the frequencies being reproduced, while also taking your room into account, so that it continually matches the target curve... now yall notice how deep this rabbit hole goes and how insanely impractical that would be, even in a 'surround audio' setup.

Anyways, this was never a need as much as there is no perfectly flat room or audio setup on this earth.

 

Do we really need a fancy treated room tho? yall would be shocked seeing my room and hearing my music. Theres no treatment at all.

 

you would simply add it as digital filter and then this system had the benefit that it is ltready known how loud it will be a certain voltage.

but the whole concept which is asked for is still nonsense, of course. no idea for what such a speaker could be good for.

 

that’s how a weighting filter works, the equal-loudness (Fletcher–Munson) contours aren’t a weighting filter but a family of level-dependent, non-linear curves that describe human loudness perception. A single fixed curve can’t adapt to SPL, so it can’t match all contours

 

Yes maybe I explained it not well, I was intending the curve of F&M at 80spl, just similarity. Like if you see the curve of the airpods are similar to the f&m curve, ns10 too. I read an article that cites "

 

Yes, but that's the 'problem' here: we will hear your music differently than you hear it in your space. You know your room, you make your mix decisions in it, but your audience will hear them differently. That's why we treat rooms, to listen and make adjustments in a neutral room, so that our audience hears what our intentions are.

 

Fletcher Munson curves are outdated. They have been superseded by ISO 226:2003, an updated standard.

It is better to acoustically treat your room and invest in decent speakers, than to arbitrarily chase curves.