Hey guys,

I currently have the DT 700 Pro X together with SoundID Reference and the monitoring add-in.
I chose Reference instead of Slate VFX.

For me, music is a hobby – I don’t do it professionally.
But I have a problem with ear fatigue. I experience it very quickly when making music with headphones.
I think the SoundID add-in already helps a little.

The funny thing is that I use a cheap pair of Jabra Elite 4 in-ears at the gym and can listen to Hardstyle or Techno for a long time without my ears hurting.

Could it really be that the DT 700 Pro X just don’t suit me because the highs are too much?

Now I’m considering getting all-round headphones with more bass.
I believe that if I use them more often, maybe even at the gym while training, and my ears get used to them, I might be able to improve my mixes a bit.

Unfortunately, my room is an old building with very high ceilings, so I can't fully equip it with absorbers.

I know the topic of headphones and producing is somewhat controversial, but I enjoy it, and I don’t want it to become a struggle.

Maybe you can recommend a comfortable pair for me. Bluetooth also fine.
The bass on the DT 700 Pro X is also quite weak.

Thank you very much


https://www.sonarworks.com/soundid-reference/supported-headphones
I wonder, why there are so many JBL BT Headphones supported.
Someone here with some JBLs?

 

Last edited: Mar 28, 2025 at 9:07 PM

I'd skip the reference for now and listen to a piece you know well and use the EQ. Look at the frequencies.

You shouldn't constantly listen to music. At the very least, you should avoid listening to anything for half an hour before making music.
Your brain needs to recover from the bass-heavy headphones and then adjust to high quality.
I would leave the headphones at the gym for a few days and then listen again when you get home with rested ears.

You can also go to an ear doctor and have your hearing tested.

What should studio headphones "sound" like?

Many producers and engineers believe that a monitoring system should be as neutral as possible. It's important to be able to hear details, such as crackles, the precise sound of a signal's attack range, or the precise pitch.

The less coloring a headphone is, the better it is as an analysis tool, but it may quickly become uninspiring. And if a pair of studio headphones produces particularly heavy bass or particularly low definition, that's by no means a deal breaker: It's important to know and be able to assess them. And don't forget: hearing is very individual—so if in doubt, try it out and decide for yourself!

 

Thank you for your fast Feedback. I Think your sentence "...but it may quickly become uninspiring" says a lot.
With the BD DT 700, i´ts not much fun.
I also think the ears need time to get used to Headphones or speakers.

My idea was to find a pair of headphones i can get used to, wearing in Gym AND while producing at home.
Mixing and Mastering can be another part. Maybe for this part, the DT700PX will be good.

It´s really about the creative process and having fun, but without ear fatigue.

What do you guys think about the Sennheiser HD650 for Techno, EDM, Harder Genres?
Together with the Sonarworks, this could be something good for me.
I read now, that the Beyerdynamics are really harsh in the highs, which can lead to ear fatigue.

 

Last edited: Mar 28, 2025 at 9:40 PM

No, that's not quite right. The Beyerdynamic is very neutral, so you can observe a mix neutrally. If you listen too long and too loudly, your ears will tire and your sound will become increasingly bass-heavy. Always take breaks in between and go outside, and then continue. Change the way you work.

 

This

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 38 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 0.500
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 86 Hz Gain 4.2 dB Q 2.000
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 140 Hz Gain -6.2 dB Q 1.500
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 240 Hz Gain 9.2 dB Q 2.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 400 Hz Gain -0.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 970 Hz Gain -1.1 dB Q 2.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 2400 Hz Gain -4.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 3000 Hz Gain 6.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 6100 Hz Gain -10.3 dB Q 1.700

and especially not listening closely to sound changes/differences while producing helps against ear fatigue with the DT770 PRO X.

 

One thing to add would be, if you are using Fabfilter Pro-Q 3, you will have to multiply the Q-Factor with 1.41, because it has different filters than other EQs.

 

Some very interesting feedback here.
This values are from or for APO? I found something about that on google.
I was already on my way to insert this values into PRO-Q onto my master and already thought, there must be something wrong

Could you guys give me a "best practice" for this values?
Thank you very much.

BTW: For this evening i ended with a custom Target in my Reference Plugin. I know this looks very very wrong, but it gives me no ear fatigue anymore :D

 

What do you mean your ears are hurting? I mean they shouldn't hurt really. And ear fatigue shouldn't hurt either. If your ears hurt there seems to be something wrong? Do your auricles hurt or what is hurting exactly? Maybe your ears are too big for the headphones? Or you listen too loud? But even that should not hurt physically unless it is extremely loud. If your ears physically hurt, it should be a pressure problem because of the headphones not fitting around your ears properly and not a problem with the music I think.

 

I tried this now with Peace and APO, but frequencies still harsh. But it made them sound a bit more flat.
Actually i try to reference my Speakers, Headphones with the Garage Set from Skrillex ^^

___
Having long time chronicle Tinnitus. But i hear good. Doing some Tests at the doctor regularily.
Some days are good, some days bad. But the last weeks, since i´m more into music again, i realized that my tinnitus becomes louder when using the Headphones. Sure, i´m playing a lot with Synths, Layering, Equalizing. Already not loud. But ja, the frequencies are there.

For now i´m happy with my custom Target in Reference + Far Field Monitoring. It erases the harsh highs and makes more "Space"
I try to get used to the sound to produce.
For the mixing and mastering workflow i need to find another plan.

Honestly i also don´t know if another pair of Headphones like the HD650 would help.

 

Last edited: Mar 28, 2025 at 11:11 PM

Is this some Harman-Curve offshoot? If not you can also try Harman Curve instead of Sound ID.



Fabfilter all Q = value * 1.41

 

Last edited: Mar 31, 2025 at 7:21 AM

My experience is, that if you listened regularely to really neutral eq'd IEM's it becomes obvious how to do signal processing. At this point it will not matter anymore which system you actually use to monitor sound. Which means loudspeakers are the way to go then.

Headphones really are the worst listening environment option.

 

https://peqdb.com/graphs/?share=PEQdB_OE_Target

 

I believe there is no better value for your money ATM than the Hifiman Edition XS. But they are uncomfortable if worn too long, if thats a problem take a look at the Sundaras which are also cheaper. You propably want to use Harman EQ for these too because otherwise you might miss some bass for these genres. And you need an Headphone Amp.

 

thanks now im down the rabbithole

 

Hifiman have a section on their website where they sell open box returns, usually about half price. They always have good deals on their own site compared with other sellers.

 

dude this slider thing rules on PEQdB ty very much

 

I´m going to sleep guys.
But your Tips and this settings helps a lot already. I tried this with the Smile+APO in Windows and the Audio became a lot better already. Also more transparent than with Reference.

Can you suggest me a good VST EQ, which can handle this settings? I only use Fabfilter and this multiple with 1.41 etc. makes me some kind of nervous :D

Good n8

 

Often when I am working on a track and I notice it has gotten "ear fatigue inducing", it is because somewhere in the track, there is something which is annoyingly abrasive, brittle, or containing some unwanted resonances, or compression artifacts. It's frequently something in the 7K-10K range which is generating it and you can't exactly put your finger (or ears) on why. It's a different issue than one caused by your headphones or correction profiles.

Try using a dynamic resonance suppressor or a non-vocal wide band de-esser. If you are using the Fabfilter plugins, use Pro-DS in the situation.
Sonnox SupRessor if you have it available, and there are many others as well. The result can be nearly inaudible, but with your problem gone.

 

FabFilter - Pro-Q 3 or FabFilter - Pro-Q 5



Headphones and equalizer: How to set the EQ perfectly
https://www-kopfhoerer-de.translate...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Kopfhörer und Equalizer: So stellt ihr den EQ perfekt ein (Original German)
https://www.kopfhoerer.de/ratgeber/kopfhoerer-und-equalizer-so-stellt-ihr-den-eq-perfekt-ein/

 

Last edited: Mar 29, 2025 at 10:11 AM

It is in general advisable to choose one target and use it souvereignly. It does not make sense to get lost in targets or subjective preference fiddleing. Harman is good, peq is better.

"Love it in the morning, hate it in the afternoon" has already been observed.