***This has now been updated from Version 5.0 to Version 5.1***
(Edit date: January 26, 2021)
If you can install Rockbox firmware on your beloved iPod Classic or on any other compatible music player, or if you already have this firmware, then you’re in for a real treat! Furthermore, if you also have a pair of fairly-expensive, full-size, over-the-ear headphones that’s designed to emphasize the sub-bass (such as the V-Moda Crossfade M-100), and a portable headphone amplifier with a good bass-boost switch and a lot of power (such as the Cayin C5) to tether your Rockboxed player to, then…get ready for a musical experience with an incredible soundstage and throbbing low-end sub-bass that’s so out-of-this-world that you won’t even know what hit ya.
I installed Rockbox on my 80GB iPod Classic (6th Generation) in March 2015, and within a week I programmed nearly 200 EQ presets that could be quickly and easily changed on the fly -- without distortion -- while playing my tunes -- without iTunes!
Since then, I’ve made major additions and improvements to these presets many times over throughout 2015 and 2016, along with the most recent update (Version 5.1) in early 2021. Most of these were made on the heels of various discoveries, which allowed me to dramatically enhance the sound quality and listening experience to a level that’s…………..mesmerizing…………….
Now,...I just can't stop enjoying my music. In fact, all of this has made a bigger difference in sound quality for me than in January 2015 when replacing my old pair of fake Beats Pro headphones with a genuine pair of V-Moda M-100s.
And here's the really good news: if you have Rockbox on your music player (or if you're going to install it), then ***you*** also can use these custom EQ presets as well. They work splendidly well on an iPod Classic, and hopefully should work on most other Rockboxed players, too. Just follow these steps:
1. In Rockbox (on your Rockboxed music player), go to Settings > Sound Settings > Bass Cutoff, and select "1."
2. Go to Settings > Sound Settings > Treble Cutoff, and select "1."
3. In the Sound Settings menu, hover your cursor over the "Bass" listing, and press and hold the select button for at least half a second.
4. Choose "Add to Shortcuts."
5. In the Sound Settings menu, hover your cursor over the "Treble" listing, and press and hold the select button for at least half a second.
6. Choose "Set as Top Quickscreen Item."
7. Press and hold the select button over the "Treble" listing again.
8. Choose "Set as Bottom Quickscreen Item."
9. (optional) Go to Settings > General Settings > Display > LCD Settings, and hover your cursor over the "Brightness" listing. Press and hold the select button for at least half a second.
10. (optional) Choose "Set as Left Quickscreen Item."
11. (optional) Press and hold the select button over the "Brightness" listing again.
12. (optional) Choose "Set as Right Quickscreen Item."
13. From any screen, press and hold the menu button for at least half a second. This will give you the Quickscreen menu.
14. You can tap the menu (i.e., "up") button to fine-tune the treble downward in increments of -1.5 dB. Tap the play (i.e., "down") button to adjust the treble upward in +1.5 dB increments. The minimum level is -10.5 dB, and the maximum level is +12.0 dB. (Initially, it's best to leave it set to flat at +0.0 dB...and fine-tune it a few decibels if necessary.)
15. (optional) Use the left and right buttons to adjust the screen brightness. You can press and hold them to move the value faster.
16. Press the select button to exit the Quickscreen menu.
17. Return to the Rockbox main menu. Go to Shortcuts > Bass, and choose "12.0 dB" at the bottom of the list. (This is actually a setting of +12.0 dB.) This is very important! DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets are specifically designed to be used with this Rockbox bass-boost feature set to +12 dB, and with its "Bass Cutoff" and "Treble Cutoff" each set to "1."
18. On your PC, click this Dropbox link: https://tinyurl.com/y428ucvp
(The page should say, "DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets, Version 5.1.zip" )
(If you are in China, you can download the file from Baidu at this link.)
19. If any sign-in box pops up on Dropbox, just click “X” to close it. (If you're using the China link instead, enter the 4-letter password ieyc into the text box in the middle of the screen, then click the blue button to the right of it. Click the white button near the top of that page that says "(949KB)" in parentheses.)
20. On Dropbox, click the down-arrow download button near the top-right-hand corner of the page. Choose “Direct Download.” (If you're using the China link on Baidu, you'll need to have a Baidu user account to download the file.)
21. Save the file to your desktop.
22. Open the .zip file, and drag and drop the "EQ presets 1" and "EQ presets Cayin C5" folders onto your desktop.
23. Connect your Rockboxed music player to your computer.
24. Drag and drop these two folders onto the root directory of your music player. (If you already have a previous version of these presets, be sure and remove them from your music player first before copying the new folders.)
25. Disconnect your music player from the computer, and reboot the music player.
26. On the main menu of Rockbox on your music player, go to "Files."
27. The "EQ presets 1" and "EQ presets Cayin C5" folders should be there. You can now open them, and can choose from 2 sets of 7 midbass categories, 8 treble subcategories, and anywhere from 8-to-12 sub-bass increments (plus the original increment), for a total of 674 presets in the first set, and 669 presets in the second!
----------------------------
Now for some notes about the presets:
-- The first set named "EQ presets 1" is designed for use without a physical external bass-boost switch on an amp, and the second set named "EQ presets Cayin C5" is made for combining with the bass switch (of +6 dB) on the Cayin C5 portable amp.
-- After choosing a preset and hitting the "select" button on your iPod, it may take a few seconds for the sound to change.
-- After choosing a preset, you can press the "play" button on your iPod to instantly return to the "Now Playing" screen to adjust the volume, change the track, etc.
-- While in the "Now Playing" screen, you can press the "select" button on the iPod to return to the "EQ preset" folder you were in to try a different preset, etc.
-- While in the "Now Playing" screen, you can press the "select" and "play" buttons simultaneously, and browse the track listing of the album that's currently playing. This way, your menu cursor will remain in the EQ preset folder you were last in (to try a different preset, etc.), and you can easily browse the current album's track listing and choose another song from it.
-- Each set contains 5 main midbass categories: "Cool," "Hot," "Lite," "Ultra Lite," and "Wicked," plus two special ones: "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth," along with a simple category called "Z Flat."
-- The "Z Flat" category has a letter Z in front of it so it will appear at the bottom of the list. This "Z Flat" folder in the "EQ presets 1" set allows you to (1) turn off the EQ and set everything to flat, or (2) simulate the "flat" sound (with only the low-end sub-bass boosted) from the +12 dB Rockbox bass-boost feature.
-- The "Z Flat" folder in the "EQ presets Cayin C5" set also gives you two options: (1) simulate the "flat" sound (with only the low-end sub-bass boosted) with the physical bass switch on the Cayin C5 amp turned on -- but with the Rockbox bass-boost feature turned off, or (2) simulate the "flat" sound (with only the low-end sub-bass boosted) with both bass boosts turned on.
-- The order of the 5 main midbass categories -- from lightest to heaviest -- is "Ultra Lite," "Lite," "Cool," "Hot," "Wicked." All of them reduce the midbass to varying degrees to counteract the large midbass spillover from the +12 dB Rockbox bass feature, and/or from the +6 dB bass switch on the Cayin C5, and/or also from the natural bass boost of the V-Moda M-100 headphones (and possibly other kinds). Without using an EQ, these bass-boost features can easily muddy up the sound, drown out the midrange, add unwanted coloration, and kill off the soundstage. Not so with DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets! These splendid EQ presets have come to the rescue just in the nick of time to improve your vital sound quality and put a smile on your face.
-- Each midbass category (except "Z Flat") has its own set of treble subcategories, each in its own subfolder. These are alphabetized from brightest to dullest: "Abnormally Boosted Treble," "Additional Boosted Treble," "Boosted Treble," "Classic," "Less Treble," "Reduced Treble," "Treble Out," and "Treble Way Out." Among these folders, the 4 kHz, 8 kHz, and 16 kHz bands are boosted or attenuated to varying degrees, while the "Classic" subcategory leaves them set to flat. (The 1 kHz and 2 kHz bands form the flat "baseline" of all the preset curves.)
-- The original preset in each subfolder (with the numeral 0 behind it) leaves 40 Hz set to flat at +0.0 dB. Each sub-bass-increment preset adds 3 dB to 40 Hz with a total of 8-to-12 increments, depending on which treble subfolder you're in. The 12th sub-bass increment has the equivalent of a 36 dB boost to 40 Hz!
-- In the "Hot" and "Wicked" midbass categories, 64 Hz also gets a 0.6 dB boost with each step, and the 12th increment gives 64 Hz the equivalent of a 7.2 dB boost from the original preset in the subfolder.
-- The increments in the "Cool," "Lite," "Ultra Lite," "Wild," and "Xtra Smooth" midbass categories do not boost 64 Hz with each step.
-- Most treble subfolders contain less than 12 sub-bass increments. The reason? Well,...this is explained in technical detail further below, with charts provided for demonstration.
-- Also due to technical reasons, the "Ultra Lite" midbass category in the "Cayin C5" set does not have any 12th sub-bass increments.
-- Beyond the 8th sub-bass increment, the volume level will get quieter with each increment, so you'll need to turn up the volume to make up the difference.
-- It's a good idea to temporarily turn down the volume while changing presets -- especially when moving from a bigger sub-bass increment to a lesser one -- as a resulting louder volume may come blaring in.
-- Every subcategory folder has an extra folder embedded within it, named "EQ precut adjust." This contains some extra files, and allows you to conveniently override the default precut setting of whichever EQ preset you’re using. With this, you can set your volume precut anywhere from 0 dB to 24 dB in increments of 3 dB. This is useful if the particular song that’s playing sounds distorted (even at low volume), which could mean that the default precut setting in the EQ preset you’re using may not be sufficient, and may need to be raised. If you’re getting distortion in that song, then a precut of 6 or 9 dB usually does the trick, but some songs may need as much as 18 dB of precut to play clean.
— In the “Wicked” midbass category only, most subcategory folders also include a second extra folder, called “Rumbling noise reducer.” The extra files in this special folder enable you to reduce any excessive low-end rumbling noise that may exist in some song recordings (such as in songs that were dubbed from vinyl records), while still maintaining a “punchy” beat. The special EQ presets in this folder all take the 0th sub-bass increment from that treble subcategory, and attenuate the 40 Hz band from -0 dB to -24 dB, in steps of -3 dB each per file. When choosing these special presets, the overall sound quality may or may not be “perfect” or “ideal,” but these extra presets can certainly help you enjoy some particular songs with a decent “punchiness” that might otherwise be impossible, due to excessive deep rumbling noise in the recording.
-- In the "Sound Settings" in Rockbox, your Maximum Volume Limit should be set at the maximum +12 dB. Even with a powerful amp, you may need the extra volume gain on the 10th, 11th, and 12th sub-bass increments where the overall volume level is lower and needs an extra boost to make up the difference.
-- In the "EQ presets Cayin C5" set (while using the bass boost on the Cayin C5 amp), you'll need to use a sub-bass increment that's 2-to-3 notches lower for it to closely match the way it sounds in the "EQ presets 1" set without using a physical bass-boost switch -- if it’s at or below the 8th increment. For example, in the latter setup if you’re using the preset "Lite Classic 7," it will closely match the way "Lite Classic 4" or "Lite Classic 5" sound in the former setup. But for presets beyond the 8th increment, the former setup will resemble the sound of the latter by using a preset that’s one sub-bass increment lower. For example, "Hot Less Treble 10" in the latter setup will sound similar to "Hot Less Treble 9" in the former setup.
-- On a particular song, if you’re using the 0th increment in a subfolder with suitable-sounding midbass but there’s still too much sub-bass, then press the menu button to return to the Rockbox main menu. Go to Shortcuts > Bass, and choose "0.0 dB" (i.e., to turn off the Rockbox bass-boost feature). With the Rockbox bass feature turned off, the "Wicked" midbass category will closely match the sound signature of the "Hot" category (with the +12 dB Rockbox bass boost on), but with 4 increments’ worth of less sub-bass. The "Wild" midbass category (with the Rockbox bass feature off) will closely emulate the sound of the "Cool" category (with the full Rockbox bass boost on), but also with 4 increments’ equivalent of less sub-bass. And with the Rockbox bass feature off, "Cool" will sound like "Lite," and "Xtra Smooth" will closely match "Ultra Lite."
-- The special "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth" midbass categories may not sound good while using the Rockbox bass boost, so they're mostly just suitable for special cases when the +12 dB bass feature needs to be turned off.
-- If you’re playing a song that has a ridiculously excessive amount of sub-bass in the recording, you can go to Shortcuts > Bass, and set the Rockbox bass-boost setting all the way down to -10.5 dB, and then choose a suitable EQ preset.
-- The Rockbox treble feature (in the Quickscreen menu) can be used to fine tune the treble between treble subcategories in DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets. If the treble in a song sounds just a tad bit too bright or dull, then you can try setting the Rockbox treble feature at +/-1.5 dB or +/-3.0 dB to get the sound just right. If you need +/-4.5 dB or greater, though, then in most circumstances it's best to simply leave the treble feature set to 0.0 dB, and use the next brighter or duller treble subcategory in the EQ presets, instead.
-- If you need to use one of the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th sub-bass increments for a song, but if the preset for that particular increment is unavailable in the treble subfolder that you'd like to use, then you'll need to pick the first-available "brighter" treble subcategory that does contain this sub-bass increment. Next, use the Rockbox treble feature (in the Quickscreen) to attenuate the treble downward at or beyond -4.5 dB, with a maximum possible attenuation of -10.5 dB.
-- While you certainly can enjoy many of these EQ presets without an external amp, it is strongly recommended that you get a portable headphone amp that is non-DAC, has a good bass-boost switch, and a lot of power -- especially the Cayin C5. (A Rockboxed music player might not work well -- if at all -- with an external DAC/amp.) Without an amp, and without an external bass boost switch, you'll easily run out of volume gain on the bigger sub-bass increments. You also might get a lot of distortion if you try to play it loud.
-- When using a portable amp while listening to music at medium or high volume (with DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets), it's best to set the volume on the amp at maximum (and its volume-gain switch set to "high")...while controlling the volume from your music player. (The music should usually drown out the small hiss noise coming from the amp.) This enables you to set the volume on your music player a lot lower. The importance of this is to prevent the large sub-bass increments in the EQ presets from overpowering the pre-amp output on the music player, which could cause distortion.
-- When listening to music at low volume with a portable amp, it's best to turn down the volume on the amp somewhat (or flip its volume-gain switch to "low")...while still controlling the volume from your music player. This should eliminate any audible hiss noise. And in the EQ presets at low volume, it may sound best to use one-equivalent heavier midbass category, three-equivalent brighter treble subcategories (and/or using the Rockbox treble feature to boost the treble), and the same sub-bass increment...than you'd normally use with the music cranked up.
-- If you don’t have a good pair of headphones that’s designed to emphasize the sub-bass (such as the V-Moda M-100, which I’d very-highly recommend), then your headphones might not respond very well to these huge sub-bass enhancements. They may not put out much sound at those low pitches, they might sound distorted, or may even "bottom out" with the beat and go, "snap, krackle, pop" like Rice Krispies. Apple earbuds are one of the worst choices to use with these presets, so don’t even think about trying them!
-- To sum it up, the V-Moda M-100 headphones naturally have an 8-dB low-end sub-bass boost by themselves, the Cayin C5 amp boosts the low end by 6 dB, Rockbox firmware on an iPod Classic has a +12 dB bass feature, and on top of all that -- separately -- DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets can boost the low-end sub-bass by as much as 36 dB. 8 + 6 + 12 + 36 = up to 62 dB of possible low-end sub-bass boost with good clarity and soundstage! It’s awesome.
----------------------------------
Well, I’d now like to move on to some of the technical aspects, which have enabled me to create these presets with style and finesse. Understanding these have made possible the most spectacular sound quality imaginable that I never dreamed I could enjoy with headphones.
One discovery was this: 40 Hz is a much-better frequency to set the lowest EQ band at on a 10-band parametric equalizer, instead of the standard 32 Hz.
In late 2016, I tried experimenting with the parametric settings in the Rockbox EQ. All those experiments made the sound worse, except for one: changing the setting of the lowest frequency band from the default 32 Hz…to 40 Hz, and adjusting the “Q-factor” slope rate of that particular band from the default 0.7 Q…to a slightly-steeper 0.9 Q.
The result of that tweak was a tighter, a more solid, and a more powerful sub-bass sound, along with an even-wider soundstage, and more musical detail to go with it.
Basically, there isn’t enough sound down at 32 Hz in most song recordings…to justify centering your sub-bass boost at that low of a frequency. And Rockbox’s default slope rate for that band is a bit shallow, and tends to bleed slightly into the midbass and lower midrange.
Changing it to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q enables the EQ to boost the sub-bass a lot more efficiently, and with less of a bleed-over into other frequencies.
Moving on, another phenomenon I discovered is this: When setting the default precut for an EQ preset, the 32 Hz (or 40 Hz) band can usually be ignored.
How amazed I was in May 2015 when I tried dramatically lowering the volume precut level while playing the big sub-bass increments in the old "Optimized" category -- even with the precut dropped all the way down to zero -- without the slightest bit of audible distortion on most songs! And this was with the 32 Hz band maxed out at +24 dB. This made me realize that most song recordings have such a tremendous deficit of low-end sub-bass…that you can boost 32 Hz (or 40 Hz) by a whopping 24 dB on your digital EQ,…and there will still be a deficit without any clipping!
Prior to my discovery of this in May 2015, a 24 dB boost of any frequency band automatically meant that that EQ preset would get a precut of 24 dB. This meant I’d be using up most of my volume gain -- even with a powerful amp -- and often times, there still wouldn’t be enough low-end sub-bass.
Not anymore! I can now set the default precuts to whichever amount of dB that the band with the largest boost besides 40 Hz gets. The result is not only a more "solid" sound with less noise, but with this, I also could add a lot more sub-bass increments -- especially in the best-sounding categories at that time -- without running out of volume gain and without getting too much noise!
Of course, with 40 Hz already maxed out at +24 dB, the obvious way to add increments is to lower all the other frequency sliders proportionally below 0 dB with each extra step. Seems pretty simple and straightforward, right?
Wrong!
This led me to a further discovery: The more you lower your EQ sliders below 0 dB while maintaining the same curve, the "brighter" the high-end treble will become.
Here’s a quick experiment you can do on your own: open up iTunes or any other program on your PC that has a built-in equalizer. Open its EQ, and make sure all the bands are set to flat at +0 dB. Play a song and hear how it sounds. Next, push all the EQ sliders down to the lowest they’ll go, and turn up your volume to compensate. Play the same song, and notice a big difference in the sound quality.
What you’ll realize is this:
(Click on the diagrams for a larger view. And yes,…I was the one who drew them!)
In the "EQ curves" chart above, lines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all will have the same sound signature when played back.
The further from +0 dB your 1 kHz "baseline" is, the more your EQ curve must be "bent" for it to sound the same.
This brings us to our second diagram:
In this one, lines 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 all will have very different sound signatures. (This also exposes the fact that an EQ precut is absolutely not the same as lowering all your sliders!)
Line 6 will sound like an old radio that’s all midrange and seriously lacks highs and lows. Line 7 will sound a bit dull. Line 8 will be flat and normal. Line 9 will sound like the high-end treble and low-end sub-bass have been boosted (which might actually sound good), and line 10 will sound dark and ugly like the midrange woofers have been disconnected with the tweets and subs playing only.
Want a simple way to boost your highs and lows? Just lower all your EQ sliders a little and turn up the volume to make up for the loss, and you may be pleasantly surprised at what you hear.
So…this leads us to the final set of charts:
Line 11 represents the "Wicked Classic 8" preset fairly closely. If you’d just like to add more sub-bass while keeping everything else sounding the same, then the EQ curve will need to look like Line 12 to make that happen. Line 12 reflects the "Wicked Classic 9" preset pretty well. What, then, if you need even more sub-bass? Well, then, Line 13 hopefully would be enough to give you what you crave! (The latter could represent "Wicked Classic 11.")
So in the treble subfolders below "Additional Boosted Treble," each lower subfolder often has one less sub-bass increment, progressively. There's a tendency to run into the -24 dB floor a lot sooner on the high-end treble when the treble is already attenuated and all the sliders (except 40 Hz) are being lowered.
Anyway, an important point to note from all this is that even though Rockbox has an EQ range of +24 dB to -24 dB, you’ll "only" really be able to boost your low-end sub-bass by about 36 to 38 dB. The good news, though, is that Rockbox also has a separate +12 dB bass feature, the bass boost switch on a good portable headphone amp (such as the Cayin C5) will give you an extra 6 dB of sub-bass, and a good pair of headphones such as the V-Moda M-100 will naturally boost the sub-bass by an additional 8 dB on top of that!
So if you combine Rockbox with a nice amp and a cool pair o’ cans, and you download these fun EQ presets, then you can get a nice 62 dB of low-end throb added to make original masterings from the 1970s & ‘80s sound great, along with everything from recent decades as well. (Of course, most newer music will need much less extra sub-bass added, but you probably already knew that.)
There’s an interesting encyclopedia page about equal-loudness contours, which may suggest why boosting sub-bass by a huge amount is so desirable.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 2.0 (from late May / early June 2015)
In late November 2015 I realized I had overlooked and forgotten about the +12 dB bass-boost feature in Rockbox. In March of that year just after installing Rockbox on my iPod Classic, I tried playing with this feature one time and didn’t like the way it sounded by itself. I had yet to create my first set of EQ presets, and falsely assumed that this bass boost would change the EQ settings and would need an extra volume precut. Neither turned out to be true, since this bass feature is totally separate from the EQ!
So in November when rediscovering this feature (thanks to the big heads-up from PsiCore), I set the "Bass Cutoff" at "1," and tried it with my existing Version 2.0 of the EQ presets. Boy oh boy did it sound spectacular!
Since then I’ve drastically overhauled these EQ presets to work specifically with this +12 dB bass feature. In Version 5.1...
-- The old "Optimized" category series has been renamed as the "Wicked" midbass category.
-- The "Hot" midbass category has been created to closely match the sound of the old "Optimized" category.
-- The old "OptimizedLite" category series has been renamed as the "Cool" midbass category.
-- The "Lite" midbass category has been created to closely match the sound of the old "OptimizedLite" category.
-- The "Ultra Lite" midbass category has been created to further reduce the midbass on some songs that have excessive amounts of midbass and lower midrange in the recordings.
-- The "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth" categories have been created for special cases.
-- Each midbass category has two extra new treble subcategories named "Additional Boosted Treble" and "Abnormally Boosted Treble," which offer a further boost to the treble if it’s ever needed.
-- A simple category named "Z Flat" has been created with a couple of very basic presets.
-- All other EQ preset categories from Version 2.0 have been removed, since I never used them.
With this awesome +12 dB Rockbox bass feature, I can use lesser sub-bass increments in the EQ presets, and especially can use lighter midbass categories with better soundstage and less coloration that still pound hard and throb bigtime, which I sometimes couldn't do before. These presets now sound a lot more solid with better dynamic range. I also find myself using an extra volume precut on the EQ much less often.
There’s also another major overhaul from Version 2.0 to Version 5.1: the "EQ presets 1" set.
In Versions 1.x and 2.0, the "EQ Presets 1" set was designed to work with the bass-boost switch on the FiiO E12A amp. But I quit using that in April 2015 after getting a more-powerful Cayin C5 amp. So therefore, I decided to make this regular set of EQ presets sound best without using any physical bass boost switch on any external amp. This new regular set (without an external bass boost) closely matches the sound of the "Cayin C5" set (with an external bass boost), but while needing to use bigger sub-bass increments.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 3.0 (from mid-December 2015)
After a few weeks of listening to this major overhaul, I realized that the modification formula I used to create the new midbass categories (from Version 2.0 to 3.0)...worked well for the "Wicked" to "Hot" transition, but not-so-perfectly for the "Cool" to "Lite" conversion. In other words, the "Hot" category sounded like the old "Optimized," but the "Lite" didn’t quite match the old "OptimizedLite," and had slightly too much lower midbass. "Ultra Lite" also had a little too much lower midbass as well, since it was derived from "Lite."
So in the "EQ presets Cayin C5" set, I corrected the "Lite" and "Ultra Lite" midbass categories to sound the way they should in Version 3.1.
But wait,...there’s more. I also realized that when creating the new "EQ presets 1" set in December, the modification formula I used (modified off of the "Cayin C5" set) also worked well for the "Wicked" and "Hot" categories, but not-so-wonderful for "Cool," "Lite," and "Ultra Lite."
Therefore, I also corrected those latter three midbass categories in the "EQ presets 1" set to sound the way they should in Version 3.1, too.
And in both sets, I fixed the "Z Flat" presets to reflect these new formulas as well.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 3.1 (from early January 2016)
Version 3.1 apparently didn't last long, either.
I decided to make further improvements: this time by reorganizing the treble subfolders so that you no longer needed to chase lower treble folders beyond the 6th sub-bass increment to maintain the same sound signature. If you'd like to keep adding bass beyond the 6th increment (or now, beyond the 8th in Version 5.1), you can just stay in the same treble folder, now.
Basically, the old 7th bass increments were shifted one treble subfolder up, the 8th bass increments were moved two treble subfolders up, the 9th...three up, and the 10th...four up.
These presets are so much easier to use, now, and certainly make a lot more sense!
Anyway, I also added two new "special" midbass categories: "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth." Both are designed to be used with the Rockbox bass-boost feature turned off -- particularly on songs that have large amounts of sub-bass in the recordings -- where the 0th increment is still too much with the +12 dB bass feature on.
"Wild" (with the Rockbox bass boost turned off) sounds like "Cool" (with the +12 dB feature on), and "Xtra Smooth" sounds like "Ultra Lite." These two new, special midbass categories may not sound good while using the Rockbox bass boost, so they're mostly just suitable for special cases. And, as you already should know, when the Rockbox bass feature is off, "Wicked" sounds like "Hot," and "Cool" sounds like "Lite."
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 4.0 (from mid-January 2016)
From the time I created Version 4.0, and for a long time, I had assumed that this was the "completed version" of these EQ presets for my current equipment. Everything worked and sounded great, and I couldn't imagine any better way to design these.
But when watching a video by Hawaiibadboy in early December 2016, I noticed his lowest EQ band was set at 40 Hz instead of the standard 32 Hz. So I thought I'd give it a try in Rockbox.
Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed! After also adjusting its "Q-factor" slope rate a little (to a slightly-steeper one), every song I played sounded a lot better -- with improved low-end sub-bass and an even-wider soundstage than before, along with even-more musical detail. Holy cow, did it sound awesome!
So I decided to change the frequency and the slope rate of the lowest EQ band in all my presets from Rockbox's default of 32 Hz / 0.7 Q.........to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q.
Basically, there isn’t enough sound down at 32 Hz in most song recordings…to justify centering your sub-bass boost at that low of a frequency. And Rockbox’s default slope rate for that band is a bit shallow, and tends to bleed slightly into the midbass and lower midrange.
Changing it to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q enables the EQ to boost the sub-bass a lot more solidly and efficiently, and with less of a bleed-over into other frequencies.
So, in Version 4.0 if you were using one of the sub-bass increments at or below the 6th increment, then in Version 4.1, the song may have had a similar amount of bass with an increment that's 1-to-3 notches lower, but with a better and more solid sound. For example, if you were using the preset "Lite Classic 6" for a song in Version 4.0, then it may have sounded best with "Lite Classic" 3, 4, or 5 in Version 4.1.
In Version 4.0 if you were using a sub-bass increment beyond the 6th, then in Version 4.1, that song may have been best-suited for the same bass increment, or for one notch lower. For instance, the preset "Ultra Lite Boosted Treble 8" in Version 4.0 may have sounded best with "Ultra Lite Boosted Treble" 7 or 8 in Version 4.1.
Anyway, I also tried experimenting with the parametric EQ settings (in Rockbox) for the other EQ bands as well, but those trials all sounded worse. The only tweak with an improvement was with the lowest frequency band.
I've always known that the parametric settings could be adjusted since Rockboxing my iPod in March 2015. In my first few days of Rockbox back then, I played with those settings a little -- before deciding that the defaults were fine the way they were. But after the subsequent, incredible progress of Versions 1.x, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0 of DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets throughout the many, many months; I tried experimenting again! And the rest is history.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 4.1 (from December 2016)
-- Got rid of redundant presets that I never use anymore, which usually had treble that didn't sound smooth.
-- Added two lesser sub-bass increments at the bottom of each list within the treble subcategories, (i.e., the new increments "0" and "1")
-- Shifted all the other presets up two numerals (the old "0th" sub-bass increments are fairly similar to the new "2nd" sub-bass increments, the old "7th" ones are fairly similar to the new "9th" ones, etc.)
-- The 40 Hz band's decibel boostings are all whole numbers now (+0.0 dB, +3.0 dB, +6.0 dB, +9.0 dB, etc.), instead the half numbers (+6.5 dB, +9.5 dB, etc.) in all the previous versions.
-- The old "6th" sub-bass increments and up (which are now the new "8th" increments and up)...have slightly-better sound quality, and sound a little more solid.
-- Version 5.0 and this latest Version 5.1 are meant to be used with the Rockbox treble feature, explained above in the "notes about the presets" section of this article.
-- Now that there are two additional lesser sub-bass increments at the bottom of the lists in Version 5.0 / 5.1, I don't need to turn off the Rockbox bass feature (of +12 dB) as often as I did before, and don't have to use special midbass categories in the EQ presets as often...as a result.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 5.0 (from December 2017)
-- Added a second extra folder in the treble subcategory folders of the “Wicked” midbass category only, called “Rumbling noise reducer.”
-- Enables you to reduce excessive low-end rumbling noise that may exist in some song recordings (such as in songs that were dubbed from vinyl records), while still maintaining a “punchy” beat.
-- These special presets all take the 0th sub-bass increment from their treble subcategory, and attenuate the 40 Hz band from -0 dB to -24 dB, in steps of -3 dB each per file.
-------------------------------
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to move on to the final but "main section" of this post. I’m going to present 12 examples of particular songs and the specific EQ presets I use with each one, along with my impressions of the sound. Be sure to compare the difference between the 40 Hz frequency band and the "baseline" bands of 1 kHz and 2 kHz to give you an idea of the actual bass boost amount that the EQ is providing. Bear in mind that the +12 dB Rockbox bass feature, the natural extra-bass signature of my V-Moda M-100 headphones, and the bass switch on the Cayin C5 amp will combine to deliver an additional sub-bass boost of about 26 dB…on top of whatever the listed EQ preset adds to the mix! (For example, if the EQ is providing 36 dB of sub-bass boost, then the grand total comes to 62 dB.) Also note that all presets listed are from the "Cayin C5" set.
You’ll see that many of these have a huge dip in the midbass frequencies. This is done purposely to counteract the large midbass spillover from the two bass boosts and from the V-Moda M-100 headphones’ natural sound curve.
And there’s something else I forgot to point out: the M-100s naturally have a "bright" (i.e., boosted high-end treble) sound signature as well, so they less often need an extra treble boost to sound good.
When mentioning the percent volume level, this is the one on the iPod…while being played with the Cayin C5 amp gain set to maximum and its gain switch set to high. (The iPod’s "Maximum Volume Limit" is also set to +12 dB in the Rockbox sound settings.)
Well, the first 9 songs are ones that most Americans might be familiar with. Here they are…
------------------
Pat Benatar "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (1980)
(Original mastering, from her Greatest Hits album)
EQ preset used: "Hot Classic 10"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: -5.1 dB
125 Hz: -13.5 dB
250 Hz: -10.0 dB
500 Hz: -7.8 dB
1000 Hz: -6.0 dB
2000 Hz: -6.0 dB
4000 Hz: -10.0 dB
8000 Hz: -13.0 dB
16000 Hz: -16.0 dB
Wow,…electrifying! I can hear and feel every part of the music, and every movement of the guitars and drums as this classic pop-rock anthem surrounds me. Very crisp highs, balanced midbass and midrange with no coloration, and absolutely throbbing and pounding sub-bass that blends perfectly with everything and doesn’t drown out anything. I usually crank it up with the volume gain around 70-75%. (At 80%, it’s really hurting my ears.) Simply amazing and a spectacular tribute to a classic tune!
-------------------
ZZ Top "Tush" (1975)
(Original mastering, from their Greatest Hits album)
EQ preset used: "Cool Less Treble 6"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +18.0 dB
64 Hz: -2.5 dB
125 Hz: -7.5 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -2.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.5 dB
16000 Hz: -5.0 dB
A fun jam with a throbbing low beat that goes, "bump bump,…bump bump,…" along with clear highs, detailed classic guitar sounds, and no coloration of the midbass or midrange -- in spite of this being the original mastering from 1975. I also can really feel the tight vibrations of the tom drums during parts of the song, too. Volume cranked up around 55-60%, starts hurting my ears around 65%, and the beat causes the amp to start clipping around 75% volume. Great sound!
-------------------
Earth, Wind & Fire "September" (1978)
(Original mastering, from a special old compilation album of theirs called Let’s Groove)
EQ preset used: "Wicked Boosted Treble 9"
eq precut: 1.3 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: +1.3 dB
125 Hz: -8.0 dB
250 Hz: -7.0 dB
500 Hz: -4.8 dB
1000 Hz: -3.0 dB
2000 Hz: -3.0 dB
4000 Hz: -3.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.0 dB
16000 Hz: -3.0 dB
This preset takes one of the most obnoxiously-flat-sounding tracks in my whole music collection and spectacularly brings it to life! Back in my old car stereo days I used to max out the treble gain with this song, and that often still wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. Not so with a "Wicked" Rockbox! Crisp-sounding percussion and trombones, balanced mids without coloration, lively vocals that surround you, and smooth, throbbing sub-bass that blends well and adds to the vibe, too. Nice ‘n’ loud at 70% volume and starts hurting the ears at 75%. Fantastic sound -- especially for an original 1978 mastering!
At this point, some of you may be asking, "Why don’t you just download some remasterings that were done in the last 20 years?"
Well, I certainly could do that, but with my large music collection, this would be a tremendous project to undertake. And since we now have a wonderful new tool called Rockbox and DiscoProJoe’s EQ Presets,…who needs to do that, anyway?
-------------------
Madonna "Live To Tell" (1986)
(Version from The Immaculate Collection)
EQ preset used: "Ultra Lite Treble Out 7"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +21.0 dB
64 Hz: -13.5 dB
125 Hz: -13.0 dB
250 Hz: -7.5 dB
500 Hz: -2.3 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -6.0 dB
8000 Hz: -10.5 dB
16000 Hz: -15.0 dB
One word: soundstage! If there’s one word that describes what this serpentine-shaped preset does for this song, that would describe it like an understatement. This "Ultra Lite" setting dramatically reduces the excessive midbass and lower midrange that would normally result from boosting the bass in this song, and leaves behind no coloration whatsoever. The playback sounds like a concert performance in a huge room and a wide-open space. Absolutely amazing musical detail with strong highs, balanced mids, and a deep throb that dramatically supports and adds to the soundstage in the most awesome way. It makes me want to keep repeating this song again and again! Volume is cranked up loud around 70%.
------------------
Vanessa Williams "Save The Best For Last" (1991)
(From her album The Comfort Zone)
EQ preset used: "Lite Classic 3"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +9.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
Every part of the music comes alive in a soothing, wide-open atmosphere that seems to wrap all around you. Powerful sub-bass; balanced midbass with clear vocals, piano, and mandolin; a dreamy, spectacular orchestral arrangement; and decent, “airy” treble. It all comes together splendidly and with great detail to give you a truly unforgettable experience! The volume is played fairly loud at 45-55%.
-------------------
Mariah Carey "Anytime You Need A Friend" (1993)
(From her album Music Box)
EQ preset used: "Lite Less Treble 7"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +21.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -2.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.5 dB
16000 Hz: -5.0 dB
Mesmerizing and spectacular soundstage. Lively gospel-choir vocals that surround you in what feels like a large concert hall. Balanced main vocal and midbass without coloration, good highs and perfectly-matched sub-bass that totally adds to the soundstage and breathes life into this passionate song! A volume level of 45-50% plays this tune pretty loud.
Back in March 2015 when creating the original set of EQ presets, Mariah Carey’s Music Box album was one of the main ones I used to craft the original "Optimized" category that eventually became the inspiration of more-complex subsequent EQ preset versions. After purchasing my pair of V-Moda M-100 headphones in January of that year, I was quite disappointed with how the Music Box album sounded through them. Too often the main vocals, upper midbass, and lower midrange sounded much too colored and unrealistic, and I needed to choose the "Bass Reducer" setting on the iPod’s Apple-firmware EQ to fix this problem. But then I’d be left without sub-bass, and had to settle for less.
So with these later EQ-preset overhauls, of course, these "Optimized" categories have been hugely expanded, reorganized, and given different names to encompass my entire music collection, so…that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
-------------------
Ciara & Missy Elliott "1, 2 Step" (2004)
EQ preset used: "Lite Treble Out 3"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +9.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -6.0 dB
8000 Hz: -10.5 dB
16000 Hz: -15.0 dB
A fun "basshead" groove that’s lots of fun to crank up with this serpentine-shaped preset! The song recording has way too much high-end treble, so it’s been drastically attenuated here in order to emphasize the midrange and create a good soundstage. (The highs still sound nice and crisp, though.) But the biggest part of the fun of this jam should be obvious: DA BASS!
This preset works like magic in this song to eliminate and smooth out any excessive, loud, "boomy" midbass while really bringing up the ultra-low-end sub-bass to kick your head with a big, tight hit! But as hard and as deep as it pounds, it still blends perfectly with the rest of the music and doesn’t drown anything out -- not even during the bridge. You can enjoy a highly-detailed sound with a good presence and a massive beat that really thumps. Lots & lots & lots o’ fun!
I enjoy this groove the most with the volume around 55-65%. The beat starts clipping the amp at 75% volume, and at that level it is seriously hurting my ears. Surprisingly, I don’t need to use an additional EQ precut with this song. The only slight distortion I can notice is in the recording of the song, and not from my equipment.
-------------------
Rihanna "SOS" (2006)
EQ preset used: "Lite Treble Out 4"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +12.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -6.0 dB
8000 Hz: -10.5 dB
16000 Hz: -15.0 dB
Rihanna’s "SOS" is another super-fun basshead jam, and this one makes my headphones shake constantly throughout the whole song! But there’s a huge catch: this "Lite" preset completely alters the type of bass that this track was meant to project, and makes it sound awesomely better.
The recording was basically meant to make this song go, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" with loud midbass that can easily drown out the midrange and vocals and kill off the soundstage. Some bassheads may prefer that, but not me! So I took this recording and made it go, "Throb! Throb! Throb!" instead -- with breathtaking presence, depth and musical detail to go with it. Incredibly powerful sound with crisp highs and lively vocals that seem to wrap all around you. Minimal "boominess," no coloration, and as solid-sounding as ever.
I typically crank this jam up to around 45-50% volume and it gets the job done. The throbbing sub-bass makes the amp start clipping at well-above 70% volume, and by then, that’s hurting my ears so much that I refuse to find out where it starts to distort.
-------------------
Passenger "Let Her Go" (2012)
EQ preset used: "Lite Classic 8"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
(A small EQ precut of 6 dB is needed on this track to prevent distortion. After you’ve selected the "Lite Classic 8" preset, you can conveniently and easily set this precut by going into the "EQ precut adjust" folder that’s located inside each and every subcategory folder. Choose the one that says "6 dB.")
Unbelievable warmth that brings out the “power” of the acoustic guitars in this song like you’d never imagine. Talk about presence! Strong midbass that isn't overpowering and doesn't sound colored, along with balanced mids, plus crisp highs all work together to give the acoustic guitars the most detailed and unforgettable sound signature imaginable. And of course, that good ol' supporting sub-bass can be felt underneath the song, and especially in the kick drum throughout. This sound also features clear, pronounced vocals without any lower-midrange “bloat.”
I can't fathom how this song could sound any better! Volume played pretty loud at 55-65%, and the sub-bass starts clipping the amp at about 70% volume.
------------------------------------
That’s all of the well-known American (or British) pop songs I’ll present for now. Moving on,…the next track is a very nice classical-music-style tune:
Tim Zibrat & Nika "River Flows In You & Kiss The Rain" (2010)
EQ preset used: "Lite Classic 2"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +6.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
Sounds like you’re in a symphony hall witnessing a breathtaking performance. The instruments sound very-well placed on the stage, and you can feel the keys on the piano being pressed. No coloration of the upper midbass nor lower midrange is present, and the "infrasonic interference" in the recording is kept to a minimum with this EQ preset. Makes for a wonderful orchestral rendition of Korean pianist Yiruma’s two most popular songs. (I usually play the volume between 40 and 50% on this track.)
This is one song that my M-100 headphones can’t play very well without an EQ. Prior to Rockboxing my iPod, I had to settle for the "Bass Reducer" setting in the Apple-firmware EQ on tracks like this, and would be left without a "low end." It sure is nice to have it all now!
--------------------------------------
Well, these final two songs are ones that everyone in China knows really well. Here they are…
Fenghuang Chuanqi "Ziyou Feixiang" (2007)
（凤凰传奇 “自由飞翔”）
(Phoenix Legend "Fly Freely")
EQ preset used: "Cool Classic 2"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +6.0 dB
64 Hz: -2.5 dB
125 Hz: -7.5 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
(A small EQ precut of 6 dB is needed on this track to prevent distortion. After you’ve selected the "Cool Classic 2" preset, you can conveniently and easily set this precut by going into the "EQ precut adjust" folder that’s located inside each and every subcategory folder. Choose the one that says "6 dB.")
An incredible soundstage with a massive low throb and infrasonic rumble throughout the entire song…is exactly what you get with this EQ preset when you crank up this mega-popular Chinese tune! You can feel the breath of the rapper and singer coming through the mic, the orchestral arrangement sounds like it’s in a large concert hall and wide-open space, and everything blends well together with a sound signature that you’ll never forget. Just pump up the volume on my iPod at 45-55% for an awesome experience!
-------------------
Zhang Yusheng "Wo De Weilai Bu Shi Meng" (1988)
（张雨生 “我的未来不是梦”）
(Chang Yu-sheng "My Future Is Not A Dream")
EQ preset used: "Cool Boosted Treble 9"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: -5.5 dB
125 Hz: -10.5 dB
250 Hz: -9.0 dB
500 Hz: -4.8 dB
1000 Hz: -3.0 dB
2000 Hz: -3.0 dB
4000 Hz: -3.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.0 dB
16000 Hz: -3.0 dB
Electrifying,…mesmerizing,…"shot through the heart"…would characterize the amazing sound signature of this preset with this late ‘80s power ballad! Feels like a live performance of a gnarly, rad ‘80s rock ballad in a huge arena with instruments that seem to wrap all the way around you, combined with a deep-throbbing bass that supports the whole beautiful structure and matches it perfectly. Volume turned up around 55-65% to put me into a sea of absolute awesomeness.
-----------------------------------
Well, we're getting close to the end, now.
You'll be totally thrilled to know that there is a 43-minute ***video***, detailing my EQ presets and portable headphone system!
You can view it on Vimeo at...
This video was made in June 2016 and showcases a previous version: Version 4.0.
(On the Vimeo page, click the tab under the video that says, "Read more," to view all the web links, etc. These links should be clickable.)
There's also a short, 4-minute follow-up video from March 2018, announcing the last version: Version 5.0:
(Version 5.0 was almost identical to the current Version 5.1, except without the “Rumbling Noise Reducer” feature that’s present in the “Wicked” midbass category.)
Now if you're in China, you also can watch this same 43-minute video on the Chinese video site YouKu by clicking here, and can view the 4-minute follow-up video at this link.
(On YouKu, the description text underneath videos has only been showing up on smartphones...by touching a ">" tab on the screen. This text may not appear on PC web browsers at this time.)
-----------------------------------
Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, that's it for now. I truly hope you can thoroughly enjoy these amazing, awesome, dramatically-inspiring EQ presets to happily brighten your days now and forever. Get a taste of these splendid wonders and hear what heaven truly sounds like. Wow,...what a difference!
-----------------------------------
P.S.: I had a great time on my visit to the U.S. back in June 2017 while attending Head-Fi's New York Spring Meetup. (Click here for photos of the event, and of the table where I showed off the dual-listening setup of my portable headphone system with Version 4.1.)
Everyone who had a chance to hear it was really impressed -- including Jude Mansilla!
------------------------------------
P.S.S.: I had a good time on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at the Rosson Audio Head-Fi Meet in the Los Angeles area, where I showed off the dual-listening setup with Version 5.1. You can view photos of the event at this link.
(Edit date: January 26, 2021)
If you can install Rockbox firmware on your beloved iPod Classic or on any other compatible music player, or if you already have this firmware, then you’re in for a real treat! Furthermore, if you also have a pair of fairly-expensive, full-size, over-the-ear headphones that’s designed to emphasize the sub-bass (such as the V-Moda Crossfade M-100), and a portable headphone amplifier with a good bass-boost switch and a lot of power (such as the Cayin C5) to tether your Rockboxed player to, then…get ready for a musical experience with an incredible soundstage and throbbing low-end sub-bass that’s so out-of-this-world that you won’t even know what hit ya.
I installed Rockbox on my 80GB iPod Classic (6th Generation) in March 2015, and within a week I programmed nearly 200 EQ presets that could be quickly and easily changed on the fly -- without distortion -- while playing my tunes -- without iTunes!
Since then, I’ve made major additions and improvements to these presets many times over throughout 2015 and 2016, along with the most recent update (Version 5.1) in early 2021. Most of these were made on the heels of various discoveries, which allowed me to dramatically enhance the sound quality and listening experience to a level that’s…………..mesmerizing…………….
Now,...I just can't stop enjoying my music. In fact, all of this has made a bigger difference in sound quality for me than in January 2015 when replacing my old pair of fake Beats Pro headphones with a genuine pair of V-Moda M-100s.
And here's the really good news: if you have Rockbox on your music player (or if you're going to install it), then ***you*** also can use these custom EQ presets as well. They work splendidly well on an iPod Classic, and hopefully should work on most other Rockboxed players, too. Just follow these steps:
1. In Rockbox (on your Rockboxed music player), go to Settings > Sound Settings > Bass Cutoff, and select "1."
2. Go to Settings > Sound Settings > Treble Cutoff, and select "1."
3. In the Sound Settings menu, hover your cursor over the "Bass" listing, and press and hold the select button for at least half a second.
4. Choose "Add to Shortcuts."
5. In the Sound Settings menu, hover your cursor over the "Treble" listing, and press and hold the select button for at least half a second.
6. Choose "Set as Top Quickscreen Item."
7. Press and hold the select button over the "Treble" listing again.
8. Choose "Set as Bottom Quickscreen Item."
9. (optional) Go to Settings > General Settings > Display > LCD Settings, and hover your cursor over the "Brightness" listing. Press and hold the select button for at least half a second.
10. (optional) Choose "Set as Left Quickscreen Item."
11. (optional) Press and hold the select button over the "Brightness" listing again.
12. (optional) Choose "Set as Right Quickscreen Item."
13. From any screen, press and hold the menu button for at least half a second. This will give you the Quickscreen menu.
14. You can tap the menu (i.e., "up") button to fine-tune the treble downward in increments of -1.5 dB. Tap the play (i.e., "down") button to adjust the treble upward in +1.5 dB increments. The minimum level is -10.5 dB, and the maximum level is +12.0 dB. (Initially, it's best to leave it set to flat at +0.0 dB...and fine-tune it a few decibels if necessary.)
15. (optional) Use the left and right buttons to adjust the screen brightness. You can press and hold them to move the value faster.
16. Press the select button to exit the Quickscreen menu.
17. Return to the Rockbox main menu. Go to Shortcuts > Bass, and choose "12.0 dB" at the bottom of the list. (This is actually a setting of +12.0 dB.) This is very important! DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets are specifically designed to be used with this Rockbox bass-boost feature set to +12 dB, and with its "Bass Cutoff" and "Treble Cutoff" each set to "1."
18. On your PC, click this Dropbox link: https://tinyurl.com/y428ucvp
(The page should say, "DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets, Version 5.1.zip" )
(If you are in China, you can download the file from Baidu at this link.)
19. If any sign-in box pops up on Dropbox, just click “X” to close it. (If you're using the China link instead, enter the 4-letter password ieyc into the text box in the middle of the screen, then click the blue button to the right of it. Click the white button near the top of that page that says "(949KB)" in parentheses.)
20. On Dropbox, click the down-arrow download button near the top-right-hand corner of the page. Choose “Direct Download.” (If you're using the China link on Baidu, you'll need to have a Baidu user account to download the file.)
21. Save the file to your desktop.
22. Open the .zip file, and drag and drop the "EQ presets 1" and "EQ presets Cayin C5" folders onto your desktop.
23. Connect your Rockboxed music player to your computer.
24. Drag and drop these two folders onto the root directory of your music player. (If you already have a previous version of these presets, be sure and remove them from your music player first before copying the new folders.)
25. Disconnect your music player from the computer, and reboot the music player.
26. On the main menu of Rockbox on your music player, go to "Files."
27. The "EQ presets 1" and "EQ presets Cayin C5" folders should be there. You can now open them, and can choose from 2 sets of 7 midbass categories, 8 treble subcategories, and anywhere from 8-to-12 sub-bass increments (plus the original increment), for a total of 674 presets in the first set, and 669 presets in the second!
----------------------------
Now for some notes about the presets:
-- The first set named "EQ presets 1" is designed for use without a physical external bass-boost switch on an amp, and the second set named "EQ presets Cayin C5" is made for combining with the bass switch (of +6 dB) on the Cayin C5 portable amp.
-- After choosing a preset and hitting the "select" button on your iPod, it may take a few seconds for the sound to change.
-- After choosing a preset, you can press the "play" button on your iPod to instantly return to the "Now Playing" screen to adjust the volume, change the track, etc.
-- While in the "Now Playing" screen, you can press the "select" button on the iPod to return to the "EQ preset" folder you were in to try a different preset, etc.
-- While in the "Now Playing" screen, you can press the "select" and "play" buttons simultaneously, and browse the track listing of the album that's currently playing. This way, your menu cursor will remain in the EQ preset folder you were last in (to try a different preset, etc.), and you can easily browse the current album's track listing and choose another song from it.
-- Each set contains 5 main midbass categories: "Cool," "Hot," "Lite," "Ultra Lite," and "Wicked," plus two special ones: "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth," along with a simple category called "Z Flat."
-- The "Z Flat" category has a letter Z in front of it so it will appear at the bottom of the list. This "Z Flat" folder in the "EQ presets 1" set allows you to (1) turn off the EQ and set everything to flat, or (2) simulate the "flat" sound (with only the low-end sub-bass boosted) from the +12 dB Rockbox bass-boost feature.
-- The "Z Flat" folder in the "EQ presets Cayin C5" set also gives you two options: (1) simulate the "flat" sound (with only the low-end sub-bass boosted) with the physical bass switch on the Cayin C5 amp turned on -- but with the Rockbox bass-boost feature turned off, or (2) simulate the "flat" sound (with only the low-end sub-bass boosted) with both bass boosts turned on.
-- The order of the 5 main midbass categories -- from lightest to heaviest -- is "Ultra Lite," "Lite," "Cool," "Hot," "Wicked." All of them reduce the midbass to varying degrees to counteract the large midbass spillover from the +12 dB Rockbox bass feature, and/or from the +6 dB bass switch on the Cayin C5, and/or also from the natural bass boost of the V-Moda M-100 headphones (and possibly other kinds). Without using an EQ, these bass-boost features can easily muddy up the sound, drown out the midrange, add unwanted coloration, and kill off the soundstage. Not so with DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets! These splendid EQ presets have come to the rescue just in the nick of time to improve your vital sound quality and put a smile on your face.
-- Each midbass category (except "Z Flat") has its own set of treble subcategories, each in its own subfolder. These are alphabetized from brightest to dullest: "Abnormally Boosted Treble," "Additional Boosted Treble," "Boosted Treble," "Classic," "Less Treble," "Reduced Treble," "Treble Out," and "Treble Way Out." Among these folders, the 4 kHz, 8 kHz, and 16 kHz bands are boosted or attenuated to varying degrees, while the "Classic" subcategory leaves them set to flat. (The 1 kHz and 2 kHz bands form the flat "baseline" of all the preset curves.)
-- The original preset in each subfolder (with the numeral 0 behind it) leaves 40 Hz set to flat at +0.0 dB. Each sub-bass-increment preset adds 3 dB to 40 Hz with a total of 8-to-12 increments, depending on which treble subfolder you're in. The 12th sub-bass increment has the equivalent of a 36 dB boost to 40 Hz!
-- In the "Hot" and "Wicked" midbass categories, 64 Hz also gets a 0.6 dB boost with each step, and the 12th increment gives 64 Hz the equivalent of a 7.2 dB boost from the original preset in the subfolder.
-- The increments in the "Cool," "Lite," "Ultra Lite," "Wild," and "Xtra Smooth" midbass categories do not boost 64 Hz with each step.
-- Most treble subfolders contain less than 12 sub-bass increments. The reason? Well,...this is explained in technical detail further below, with charts provided for demonstration.
-- Also due to technical reasons, the "Ultra Lite" midbass category in the "Cayin C5" set does not have any 12th sub-bass increments.
-- Beyond the 8th sub-bass increment, the volume level will get quieter with each increment, so you'll need to turn up the volume to make up the difference.
-- It's a good idea to temporarily turn down the volume while changing presets -- especially when moving from a bigger sub-bass increment to a lesser one -- as a resulting louder volume may come blaring in.
-- Every subcategory folder has an extra folder embedded within it, named "EQ precut adjust." This contains some extra files, and allows you to conveniently override the default precut setting of whichever EQ preset you’re using. With this, you can set your volume precut anywhere from 0 dB to 24 dB in increments of 3 dB. This is useful if the particular song that’s playing sounds distorted (even at low volume), which could mean that the default precut setting in the EQ preset you’re using may not be sufficient, and may need to be raised. If you’re getting distortion in that song, then a precut of 6 or 9 dB usually does the trick, but some songs may need as much as 18 dB of precut to play clean.
— In the “Wicked” midbass category only, most subcategory folders also include a second extra folder, called “Rumbling noise reducer.” The extra files in this special folder enable you to reduce any excessive low-end rumbling noise that may exist in some song recordings (such as in songs that were dubbed from vinyl records), while still maintaining a “punchy” beat. The special EQ presets in this folder all take the 0th sub-bass increment from that treble subcategory, and attenuate the 40 Hz band from -0 dB to -24 dB, in steps of -3 dB each per file. When choosing these special presets, the overall sound quality may or may not be “perfect” or “ideal,” but these extra presets can certainly help you enjoy some particular songs with a decent “punchiness” that might otherwise be impossible, due to excessive deep rumbling noise in the recording.
-- In the "Sound Settings" in Rockbox, your Maximum Volume Limit should be set at the maximum +12 dB. Even with a powerful amp, you may need the extra volume gain on the 10th, 11th, and 12th sub-bass increments where the overall volume level is lower and needs an extra boost to make up the difference.
-- In the "EQ presets Cayin C5" set (while using the bass boost on the Cayin C5 amp), you'll need to use a sub-bass increment that's 2-to-3 notches lower for it to closely match the way it sounds in the "EQ presets 1" set without using a physical bass-boost switch -- if it’s at or below the 8th increment. For example, in the latter setup if you’re using the preset "Lite Classic 7," it will closely match the way "Lite Classic 4" or "Lite Classic 5" sound in the former setup. But for presets beyond the 8th increment, the former setup will resemble the sound of the latter by using a preset that’s one sub-bass increment lower. For example, "Hot Less Treble 10" in the latter setup will sound similar to "Hot Less Treble 9" in the former setup.
-- On a particular song, if you’re using the 0th increment in a subfolder with suitable-sounding midbass but there’s still too much sub-bass, then press the menu button to return to the Rockbox main menu. Go to Shortcuts > Bass, and choose "0.0 dB" (i.e., to turn off the Rockbox bass-boost feature). With the Rockbox bass feature turned off, the "Wicked" midbass category will closely match the sound signature of the "Hot" category (with the +12 dB Rockbox bass boost on), but with 4 increments’ worth of less sub-bass. The "Wild" midbass category (with the Rockbox bass feature off) will closely emulate the sound of the "Cool" category (with the full Rockbox bass boost on), but also with 4 increments’ equivalent of less sub-bass. And with the Rockbox bass feature off, "Cool" will sound like "Lite," and "Xtra Smooth" will closely match "Ultra Lite."
-- The special "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth" midbass categories may not sound good while using the Rockbox bass boost, so they're mostly just suitable for special cases when the +12 dB bass feature needs to be turned off.
-- If you’re playing a song that has a ridiculously excessive amount of sub-bass in the recording, you can go to Shortcuts > Bass, and set the Rockbox bass-boost setting all the way down to -10.5 dB, and then choose a suitable EQ preset.
-- The Rockbox treble feature (in the Quickscreen menu) can be used to fine tune the treble between treble subcategories in DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets. If the treble in a song sounds just a tad bit too bright or dull, then you can try setting the Rockbox treble feature at +/-1.5 dB or +/-3.0 dB to get the sound just right. If you need +/-4.5 dB or greater, though, then in most circumstances it's best to simply leave the treble feature set to 0.0 dB, and use the next brighter or duller treble subcategory in the EQ presets, instead.
-- If you need to use one of the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th sub-bass increments for a song, but if the preset for that particular increment is unavailable in the treble subfolder that you'd like to use, then you'll need to pick the first-available "brighter" treble subcategory that does contain this sub-bass increment. Next, use the Rockbox treble feature (in the Quickscreen) to attenuate the treble downward at or beyond -4.5 dB, with a maximum possible attenuation of -10.5 dB.
-- While you certainly can enjoy many of these EQ presets without an external amp, it is strongly recommended that you get a portable headphone amp that is non-DAC, has a good bass-boost switch, and a lot of power -- especially the Cayin C5. (A Rockboxed music player might not work well -- if at all -- with an external DAC/amp.) Without an amp, and without an external bass boost switch, you'll easily run out of volume gain on the bigger sub-bass increments. You also might get a lot of distortion if you try to play it loud.
-- When using a portable amp while listening to music at medium or high volume (with DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets), it's best to set the volume on the amp at maximum (and its volume-gain switch set to "high")...while controlling the volume from your music player. (The music should usually drown out the small hiss noise coming from the amp.) This enables you to set the volume on your music player a lot lower. The importance of this is to prevent the large sub-bass increments in the EQ presets from overpowering the pre-amp output on the music player, which could cause distortion.
-- When listening to music at low volume with a portable amp, it's best to turn down the volume on the amp somewhat (or flip its volume-gain switch to "low")...while still controlling the volume from your music player. This should eliminate any audible hiss noise. And in the EQ presets at low volume, it may sound best to use one-equivalent heavier midbass category, three-equivalent brighter treble subcategories (and/or using the Rockbox treble feature to boost the treble), and the same sub-bass increment...than you'd normally use with the music cranked up.
-- If you don’t have a good pair of headphones that’s designed to emphasize the sub-bass (such as the V-Moda M-100, which I’d very-highly recommend), then your headphones might not respond very well to these huge sub-bass enhancements. They may not put out much sound at those low pitches, they might sound distorted, or may even "bottom out" with the beat and go, "snap, krackle, pop" like Rice Krispies. Apple earbuds are one of the worst choices to use with these presets, so don’t even think about trying them!
-- To sum it up, the V-Moda M-100 headphones naturally have an 8-dB low-end sub-bass boost by themselves, the Cayin C5 amp boosts the low end by 6 dB, Rockbox firmware on an iPod Classic has a +12 dB bass feature, and on top of all that -- separately -- DiscoProJoe’s Rockbox EQ Presets can boost the low-end sub-bass by as much as 36 dB. 8 + 6 + 12 + 36 = up to 62 dB of possible low-end sub-bass boost with good clarity and soundstage! It’s awesome.
----------------------------------
Well, I’d now like to move on to some of the technical aspects, which have enabled me to create these presets with style and finesse. Understanding these have made possible the most spectacular sound quality imaginable that I never dreamed I could enjoy with headphones.
One discovery was this: 40 Hz is a much-better frequency to set the lowest EQ band at on a 10-band parametric equalizer, instead of the standard 32 Hz.
In late 2016, I tried experimenting with the parametric settings in the Rockbox EQ. All those experiments made the sound worse, except for one: changing the setting of the lowest frequency band from the default 32 Hz…to 40 Hz, and adjusting the “Q-factor” slope rate of that particular band from the default 0.7 Q…to a slightly-steeper 0.9 Q.
The result of that tweak was a tighter, a more solid, and a more powerful sub-bass sound, along with an even-wider soundstage, and more musical detail to go with it.
Basically, there isn’t enough sound down at 32 Hz in most song recordings…to justify centering your sub-bass boost at that low of a frequency. And Rockbox’s default slope rate for that band is a bit shallow, and tends to bleed slightly into the midbass and lower midrange.
Changing it to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q enables the EQ to boost the sub-bass a lot more efficiently, and with less of a bleed-over into other frequencies.
Moving on, another phenomenon I discovered is this: When setting the default precut for an EQ preset, the 32 Hz (or 40 Hz) band can usually be ignored.
How amazed I was in May 2015 when I tried dramatically lowering the volume precut level while playing the big sub-bass increments in the old "Optimized" category -- even with the precut dropped all the way down to zero -- without the slightest bit of audible distortion on most songs! And this was with the 32 Hz band maxed out at +24 dB. This made me realize that most song recordings have such a tremendous deficit of low-end sub-bass…that you can boost 32 Hz (or 40 Hz) by a whopping 24 dB on your digital EQ,…and there will still be a deficit without any clipping!
Prior to my discovery of this in May 2015, a 24 dB boost of any frequency band automatically meant that that EQ preset would get a precut of 24 dB. This meant I’d be using up most of my volume gain -- even with a powerful amp -- and often times, there still wouldn’t be enough low-end sub-bass.
Not anymore! I can now set the default precuts to whichever amount of dB that the band with the largest boost besides 40 Hz gets. The result is not only a more "solid" sound with less noise, but with this, I also could add a lot more sub-bass increments -- especially in the best-sounding categories at that time -- without running out of volume gain and without getting too much noise!
Of course, with 40 Hz already maxed out at +24 dB, the obvious way to add increments is to lower all the other frequency sliders proportionally below 0 dB with each extra step. Seems pretty simple and straightforward, right?
Wrong!
This led me to a further discovery: The more you lower your EQ sliders below 0 dB while maintaining the same curve, the "brighter" the high-end treble will become.
Here’s a quick experiment you can do on your own: open up iTunes or any other program on your PC that has a built-in equalizer. Open its EQ, and make sure all the bands are set to flat at +0 dB. Play a song and hear how it sounds. Next, push all the EQ sliders down to the lowest they’ll go, and turn up your volume to compensate. Play the same song, and notice a big difference in the sound quality.
What you’ll realize is this:
(Click on the diagrams for a larger view. And yes,…I was the one who drew them!)
In the "EQ curves" chart above, lines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all will have the same sound signature when played back.
The further from +0 dB your 1 kHz "baseline" is, the more your EQ curve must be "bent" for it to sound the same.
This brings us to our second diagram:
In this one, lines 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 all will have very different sound signatures. (This also exposes the fact that an EQ precut is absolutely not the same as lowering all your sliders!)
Line 6 will sound like an old radio that’s all midrange and seriously lacks highs and lows. Line 7 will sound a bit dull. Line 8 will be flat and normal. Line 9 will sound like the high-end treble and low-end sub-bass have been boosted (which might actually sound good), and line 10 will sound dark and ugly like the midrange woofers have been disconnected with the tweets and subs playing only.
Want a simple way to boost your highs and lows? Just lower all your EQ sliders a little and turn up the volume to make up for the loss, and you may be pleasantly surprised at what you hear.
So…this leads us to the final set of charts:
Line 11 represents the "Wicked Classic 8" preset fairly closely. If you’d just like to add more sub-bass while keeping everything else sounding the same, then the EQ curve will need to look like Line 12 to make that happen. Line 12 reflects the "Wicked Classic 9" preset pretty well. What, then, if you need even more sub-bass? Well, then, Line 13 hopefully would be enough to give you what you crave! (The latter could represent "Wicked Classic 11.")
So in the treble subfolders below "Additional Boosted Treble," each lower subfolder often has one less sub-bass increment, progressively. There's a tendency to run into the -24 dB floor a lot sooner on the high-end treble when the treble is already attenuated and all the sliders (except 40 Hz) are being lowered.
Anyway, an important point to note from all this is that even though Rockbox has an EQ range of +24 dB to -24 dB, you’ll "only" really be able to boost your low-end sub-bass by about 36 to 38 dB. The good news, though, is that Rockbox also has a separate +12 dB bass feature, the bass boost switch on a good portable headphone amp (such as the Cayin C5) will give you an extra 6 dB of sub-bass, and a good pair of headphones such as the V-Moda M-100 will naturally boost the sub-bass by an additional 8 dB on top of that!
So if you combine Rockbox with a nice amp and a cool pair o’ cans, and you download these fun EQ presets, then you can get a nice 62 dB of low-end throb added to make original masterings from the 1970s & ‘80s sound great, along with everything from recent decades as well. (Of course, most newer music will need much less extra sub-bass added, but you probably already knew that.)
There’s an interesting encyclopedia page about equal-loudness contours, which may suggest why boosting sub-bass by a huge amount is so desirable.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 2.0 (from late May / early June 2015)
In late November 2015 I realized I had overlooked and forgotten about the +12 dB bass-boost feature in Rockbox. In March of that year just after installing Rockbox on my iPod Classic, I tried playing with this feature one time and didn’t like the way it sounded by itself. I had yet to create my first set of EQ presets, and falsely assumed that this bass boost would change the EQ settings and would need an extra volume precut. Neither turned out to be true, since this bass feature is totally separate from the EQ!
So in November when rediscovering this feature (thanks to the big heads-up from PsiCore), I set the "Bass Cutoff" at "1," and tried it with my existing Version 2.0 of the EQ presets. Boy oh boy did it sound spectacular!
Since then I’ve drastically overhauled these EQ presets to work specifically with this +12 dB bass feature. In Version 5.1...
-- The old "Optimized" category series has been renamed as the "Wicked" midbass category.
-- The "Hot" midbass category has been created to closely match the sound of the old "Optimized" category.
-- The old "OptimizedLite" category series has been renamed as the "Cool" midbass category.
-- The "Lite" midbass category has been created to closely match the sound of the old "OptimizedLite" category.
-- The "Ultra Lite" midbass category has been created to further reduce the midbass on some songs that have excessive amounts of midbass and lower midrange in the recordings.
-- The "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth" categories have been created for special cases.
-- Each midbass category has two extra new treble subcategories named "Additional Boosted Treble" and "Abnormally Boosted Treble," which offer a further boost to the treble if it’s ever needed.
-- A simple category named "Z Flat" has been created with a couple of very basic presets.
-- All other EQ preset categories from Version 2.0 have been removed, since I never used them.
With this awesome +12 dB Rockbox bass feature, I can use lesser sub-bass increments in the EQ presets, and especially can use lighter midbass categories with better soundstage and less coloration that still pound hard and throb bigtime, which I sometimes couldn't do before. These presets now sound a lot more solid with better dynamic range. I also find myself using an extra volume precut on the EQ much less often.
There’s also another major overhaul from Version 2.0 to Version 5.1: the "EQ presets 1" set.
In Versions 1.x and 2.0, the "EQ Presets 1" set was designed to work with the bass-boost switch on the FiiO E12A amp. But I quit using that in April 2015 after getting a more-powerful Cayin C5 amp. So therefore, I decided to make this regular set of EQ presets sound best without using any physical bass boost switch on any external amp. This new regular set (without an external bass boost) closely matches the sound of the "Cayin C5" set (with an external bass boost), but while needing to use bigger sub-bass increments.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 3.0 (from mid-December 2015)
After a few weeks of listening to this major overhaul, I realized that the modification formula I used to create the new midbass categories (from Version 2.0 to 3.0)...worked well for the "Wicked" to "Hot" transition, but not-so-perfectly for the "Cool" to "Lite" conversion. In other words, the "Hot" category sounded like the old "Optimized," but the "Lite" didn’t quite match the old "OptimizedLite," and had slightly too much lower midbass. "Ultra Lite" also had a little too much lower midbass as well, since it was derived from "Lite."
So in the "EQ presets Cayin C5" set, I corrected the "Lite" and "Ultra Lite" midbass categories to sound the way they should in Version 3.1.
But wait,...there’s more. I also realized that when creating the new "EQ presets 1" set in December, the modification formula I used (modified off of the "Cayin C5" set) also worked well for the "Wicked" and "Hot" categories, but not-so-wonderful for "Cool," "Lite," and "Ultra Lite."
Therefore, I also corrected those latter three midbass categories in the "EQ presets 1" set to sound the way they should in Version 3.1, too.
And in both sets, I fixed the "Z Flat" presets to reflect these new formulas as well.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 3.1 (from early January 2016)
Version 3.1 apparently didn't last long, either.
I decided to make further improvements: this time by reorganizing the treble subfolders so that you no longer needed to chase lower treble folders beyond the 6th sub-bass increment to maintain the same sound signature. If you'd like to keep adding bass beyond the 6th increment (or now, beyond the 8th in Version 5.1), you can just stay in the same treble folder, now.
Basically, the old 7th bass increments were shifted one treble subfolder up, the 8th bass increments were moved two treble subfolders up, the 9th...three up, and the 10th...four up.
These presets are so much easier to use, now, and certainly make a lot more sense!
Anyway, I also added two new "special" midbass categories: "Wild" and "Xtra Smooth." Both are designed to be used with the Rockbox bass-boost feature turned off -- particularly on songs that have large amounts of sub-bass in the recordings -- where the 0th increment is still too much with the +12 dB bass feature on.
"Wild" (with the Rockbox bass boost turned off) sounds like "Cool" (with the +12 dB feature on), and "Xtra Smooth" sounds like "Ultra Lite." These two new, special midbass categories may not sound good while using the Rockbox bass boost, so they're mostly just suitable for special cases. And, as you already should know, when the Rockbox bass feature is off, "Wicked" sounds like "Hot," and "Cool" sounds like "Lite."
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 4.0 (from mid-January 2016)
From the time I created Version 4.0, and for a long time, I had assumed that this was the "completed version" of these EQ presets for my current equipment. Everything worked and sounded great, and I couldn't imagine any better way to design these.
But when watching a video by Hawaiibadboy in early December 2016, I noticed his lowest EQ band was set at 40 Hz instead of the standard 32 Hz. So I thought I'd give it a try in Rockbox.
Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed! After also adjusting its "Q-factor" slope rate a little (to a slightly-steeper one), every song I played sounded a lot better -- with improved low-end sub-bass and an even-wider soundstage than before, along with even-more musical detail. Holy cow, did it sound awesome!
So I decided to change the frequency and the slope rate of the lowest EQ band in all my presets from Rockbox's default of 32 Hz / 0.7 Q.........to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q.
Basically, there isn’t enough sound down at 32 Hz in most song recordings…to justify centering your sub-bass boost at that low of a frequency. And Rockbox’s default slope rate for that band is a bit shallow, and tends to bleed slightly into the midbass and lower midrange.
Changing it to 40 Hz / 0.9 Q enables the EQ to boost the sub-bass a lot more solidly and efficiently, and with less of a bleed-over into other frequencies.
So, in Version 4.0 if you were using one of the sub-bass increments at or below the 6th increment, then in Version 4.1, the song may have had a similar amount of bass with an increment that's 1-to-3 notches lower, but with a better and more solid sound. For example, if you were using the preset "Lite Classic 6" for a song in Version 4.0, then it may have sounded best with "Lite Classic" 3, 4, or 5 in Version 4.1.
In Version 4.0 if you were using a sub-bass increment beyond the 6th, then in Version 4.1, that song may have been best-suited for the same bass increment, or for one notch lower. For instance, the preset "Ultra Lite Boosted Treble 8" in Version 4.0 may have sounded best with "Ultra Lite Boosted Treble" 7 or 8 in Version 4.1.
Anyway, I also tried experimenting with the parametric EQ settings (in Rockbox) for the other EQ bands as well, but those trials all sounded worse. The only tweak with an improvement was with the lowest frequency band.
I've always known that the parametric settings could be adjusted since Rockboxing my iPod in March 2015. In my first few days of Rockbox back then, I played with those settings a little -- before deciding that the defaults were fine the way they were. But after the subsequent, incredible progress of Versions 1.x, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0 of DiscoProJoe's Rockbox EQ Presets throughout the many, many months; I tried experimenting again! And the rest is history.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 4.1 (from December 2016)
-- Got rid of redundant presets that I never use anymore, which usually had treble that didn't sound smooth.
-- Added two lesser sub-bass increments at the bottom of each list within the treble subcategories, (i.e., the new increments "0" and "1")
-- Shifted all the other presets up two numerals (the old "0th" sub-bass increments are fairly similar to the new "2nd" sub-bass increments, the old "7th" ones are fairly similar to the new "9th" ones, etc.)
-- The 40 Hz band's decibel boostings are all whole numbers now (+0.0 dB, +3.0 dB, +6.0 dB, +9.0 dB, etc.), instead the half numbers (+6.5 dB, +9.5 dB, etc.) in all the previous versions.
-- The old "6th" sub-bass increments and up (which are now the new "8th" increments and up)...have slightly-better sound quality, and sound a little more solid.
-- Version 5.0 and this latest Version 5.1 are meant to be used with the Rockbox treble feature, explained above in the "notes about the presets" section of this article.
-- Now that there are two additional lesser sub-bass increments at the bottom of the lists in Version 5.0 / 5.1, I don't need to turn off the Rockbox bass feature (of +12 dB) as often as I did before, and don't have to use special midbass categories in the EQ presets as often...as a result.
-------------------------------
Changes from Version 5.0 (from December 2017)
-- Added a second extra folder in the treble subcategory folders of the “Wicked” midbass category only, called “Rumbling noise reducer.”
-- Enables you to reduce excessive low-end rumbling noise that may exist in some song recordings (such as in songs that were dubbed from vinyl records), while still maintaining a “punchy” beat.
-- These special presets all take the 0th sub-bass increment from their treble subcategory, and attenuate the 40 Hz band from -0 dB to -24 dB, in steps of -3 dB each per file.
-------------------------------
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to move on to the final but "main section" of this post. I’m going to present 12 examples of particular songs and the specific EQ presets I use with each one, along with my impressions of the sound. Be sure to compare the difference between the 40 Hz frequency band and the "baseline" bands of 1 kHz and 2 kHz to give you an idea of the actual bass boost amount that the EQ is providing. Bear in mind that the +12 dB Rockbox bass feature, the natural extra-bass signature of my V-Moda M-100 headphones, and the bass switch on the Cayin C5 amp will combine to deliver an additional sub-bass boost of about 26 dB…on top of whatever the listed EQ preset adds to the mix! (For example, if the EQ is providing 36 dB of sub-bass boost, then the grand total comes to 62 dB.) Also note that all presets listed are from the "Cayin C5" set.
You’ll see that many of these have a huge dip in the midbass frequencies. This is done purposely to counteract the large midbass spillover from the two bass boosts and from the V-Moda M-100 headphones’ natural sound curve.
And there’s something else I forgot to point out: the M-100s naturally have a "bright" (i.e., boosted high-end treble) sound signature as well, so they less often need an extra treble boost to sound good.
When mentioning the percent volume level, this is the one on the iPod…while being played with the Cayin C5 amp gain set to maximum and its gain switch set to high. (The iPod’s "Maximum Volume Limit" is also set to +12 dB in the Rockbox sound settings.)
Well, the first 9 songs are ones that most Americans might be familiar with. Here they are…
------------------
Pat Benatar "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (1980)
(Original mastering, from her Greatest Hits album)
EQ preset used: "Hot Classic 10"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: -5.1 dB
125 Hz: -13.5 dB
250 Hz: -10.0 dB
500 Hz: -7.8 dB
1000 Hz: -6.0 dB
2000 Hz: -6.0 dB
4000 Hz: -10.0 dB
8000 Hz: -13.0 dB
16000 Hz: -16.0 dB
Wow,…electrifying! I can hear and feel every part of the music, and every movement of the guitars and drums as this classic pop-rock anthem surrounds me. Very crisp highs, balanced midbass and midrange with no coloration, and absolutely throbbing and pounding sub-bass that blends perfectly with everything and doesn’t drown out anything. I usually crank it up with the volume gain around 70-75%. (At 80%, it’s really hurting my ears.) Simply amazing and a spectacular tribute to a classic tune!
-------------------
ZZ Top "Tush" (1975)
(Original mastering, from their Greatest Hits album)
EQ preset used: "Cool Less Treble 6"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +18.0 dB
64 Hz: -2.5 dB
125 Hz: -7.5 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -2.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.5 dB
16000 Hz: -5.0 dB
A fun jam with a throbbing low beat that goes, "bump bump,…bump bump,…" along with clear highs, detailed classic guitar sounds, and no coloration of the midbass or midrange -- in spite of this being the original mastering from 1975. I also can really feel the tight vibrations of the tom drums during parts of the song, too. Volume cranked up around 55-60%, starts hurting my ears around 65%, and the beat causes the amp to start clipping around 75% volume. Great sound!
-------------------
Earth, Wind & Fire "September" (1978)
(Original mastering, from a special old compilation album of theirs called Let’s Groove)
EQ preset used: "Wicked Boosted Treble 9"
eq precut: 1.3 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: +1.3 dB
125 Hz: -8.0 dB
250 Hz: -7.0 dB
500 Hz: -4.8 dB
1000 Hz: -3.0 dB
2000 Hz: -3.0 dB
4000 Hz: -3.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.0 dB
16000 Hz: -3.0 dB
This preset takes one of the most obnoxiously-flat-sounding tracks in my whole music collection and spectacularly brings it to life! Back in my old car stereo days I used to max out the treble gain with this song, and that often still wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. Not so with a "Wicked" Rockbox! Crisp-sounding percussion and trombones, balanced mids without coloration, lively vocals that surround you, and smooth, throbbing sub-bass that blends well and adds to the vibe, too. Nice ‘n’ loud at 70% volume and starts hurting the ears at 75%. Fantastic sound -- especially for an original 1978 mastering!
At this point, some of you may be asking, "Why don’t you just download some remasterings that were done in the last 20 years?"
Well, I certainly could do that, but with my large music collection, this would be a tremendous project to undertake. And since we now have a wonderful new tool called Rockbox and DiscoProJoe’s EQ Presets,…who needs to do that, anyway?
-------------------
Madonna "Live To Tell" (1986)
(Version from The Immaculate Collection)
EQ preset used: "Ultra Lite Treble Out 7"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +21.0 dB
64 Hz: -13.5 dB
125 Hz: -13.0 dB
250 Hz: -7.5 dB
500 Hz: -2.3 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -6.0 dB
8000 Hz: -10.5 dB
16000 Hz: -15.0 dB
One word: soundstage! If there’s one word that describes what this serpentine-shaped preset does for this song, that would describe it like an understatement. This "Ultra Lite" setting dramatically reduces the excessive midbass and lower midrange that would normally result from boosting the bass in this song, and leaves behind no coloration whatsoever. The playback sounds like a concert performance in a huge room and a wide-open space. Absolutely amazing musical detail with strong highs, balanced mids, and a deep throb that dramatically supports and adds to the soundstage in the most awesome way. It makes me want to keep repeating this song again and again! Volume is cranked up loud around 70%.
------------------
Vanessa Williams "Save The Best For Last" (1991)
(From her album The Comfort Zone)
EQ preset used: "Lite Classic 3"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +9.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
Every part of the music comes alive in a soothing, wide-open atmosphere that seems to wrap all around you. Powerful sub-bass; balanced midbass with clear vocals, piano, and mandolin; a dreamy, spectacular orchestral arrangement; and decent, “airy” treble. It all comes together splendidly and with great detail to give you a truly unforgettable experience! The volume is played fairly loud at 45-55%.
-------------------
Mariah Carey "Anytime You Need A Friend" (1993)
(From her album Music Box)
EQ preset used: "Lite Less Treble 7"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +21.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -2.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.5 dB
16000 Hz: -5.0 dB
Mesmerizing and spectacular soundstage. Lively gospel-choir vocals that surround you in what feels like a large concert hall. Balanced main vocal and midbass without coloration, good highs and perfectly-matched sub-bass that totally adds to the soundstage and breathes life into this passionate song! A volume level of 45-50% plays this tune pretty loud.
Back in March 2015 when creating the original set of EQ presets, Mariah Carey’s Music Box album was one of the main ones I used to craft the original "Optimized" category that eventually became the inspiration of more-complex subsequent EQ preset versions. After purchasing my pair of V-Moda M-100 headphones in January of that year, I was quite disappointed with how the Music Box album sounded through them. Too often the main vocals, upper midbass, and lower midrange sounded much too colored and unrealistic, and I needed to choose the "Bass Reducer" setting on the iPod’s Apple-firmware EQ to fix this problem. But then I’d be left without sub-bass, and had to settle for less.
So with these later EQ-preset overhauls, of course, these "Optimized" categories have been hugely expanded, reorganized, and given different names to encompass my entire music collection, so…that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
-------------------
Ciara & Missy Elliott "1, 2 Step" (2004)
EQ preset used: "Lite Treble Out 3"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +9.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -6.0 dB
8000 Hz: -10.5 dB
16000 Hz: -15.0 dB
A fun "basshead" groove that’s lots of fun to crank up with this serpentine-shaped preset! The song recording has way too much high-end treble, so it’s been drastically attenuated here in order to emphasize the midrange and create a good soundstage. (The highs still sound nice and crisp, though.) But the biggest part of the fun of this jam should be obvious: DA BASS!
This preset works like magic in this song to eliminate and smooth out any excessive, loud, "boomy" midbass while really bringing up the ultra-low-end sub-bass to kick your head with a big, tight hit! But as hard and as deep as it pounds, it still blends perfectly with the rest of the music and doesn’t drown anything out -- not even during the bridge. You can enjoy a highly-detailed sound with a good presence and a massive beat that really thumps. Lots & lots & lots o’ fun!
I enjoy this groove the most with the volume around 55-65%. The beat starts clipping the amp at 75% volume, and at that level it is seriously hurting my ears. Surprisingly, I don’t need to use an additional EQ precut with this song. The only slight distortion I can notice is in the recording of the song, and not from my equipment.
-------------------
Rihanna "SOS" (2006)
EQ preset used: "Lite Treble Out 4"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +12.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: -6.0 dB
8000 Hz: -10.5 dB
16000 Hz: -15.0 dB
Rihanna’s "SOS" is another super-fun basshead jam, and this one makes my headphones shake constantly throughout the whole song! But there’s a huge catch: this "Lite" preset completely alters the type of bass that this track was meant to project, and makes it sound awesomely better.
The recording was basically meant to make this song go, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" with loud midbass that can easily drown out the midrange and vocals and kill off the soundstage. Some bassheads may prefer that, but not me! So I took this recording and made it go, "Throb! Throb! Throb!" instead -- with breathtaking presence, depth and musical detail to go with it. Incredibly powerful sound with crisp highs and lively vocals that seem to wrap all around you. Minimal "boominess," no coloration, and as solid-sounding as ever.
I typically crank this jam up to around 45-50% volume and it gets the job done. The throbbing sub-bass makes the amp start clipping at well-above 70% volume, and by then, that’s hurting my ears so much that I refuse to find out where it starts to distort.
-------------------
Passenger "Let Her Go" (2012)
EQ preset used: "Lite Classic 8"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
(A small EQ precut of 6 dB is needed on this track to prevent distortion. After you’ve selected the "Lite Classic 8" preset, you can conveniently and easily set this precut by going into the "EQ precut adjust" folder that’s located inside each and every subcategory folder. Choose the one that says "6 dB.")
Unbelievable warmth that brings out the “power” of the acoustic guitars in this song like you’d never imagine. Talk about presence! Strong midbass that isn't overpowering and doesn't sound colored, along with balanced mids, plus crisp highs all work together to give the acoustic guitars the most detailed and unforgettable sound signature imaginable. And of course, that good ol' supporting sub-bass can be felt underneath the song, and especially in the kick drum throughout. This sound also features clear, pronounced vocals without any lower-midrange “bloat.”
I can't fathom how this song could sound any better! Volume played pretty loud at 55-65%, and the sub-bass starts clipping the amp at about 70% volume.
------------------------------------
That’s all of the well-known American (or British) pop songs I’ll present for now. Moving on,…the next track is a very nice classical-music-style tune:
Tim Zibrat & Nika "River Flows In You & Kiss The Rain" (2010)
EQ preset used: "Lite Classic 2"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +6.0 dB
64 Hz: -8.9 dB
125 Hz: -10.0 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
Sounds like you’re in a symphony hall witnessing a breathtaking performance. The instruments sound very-well placed on the stage, and you can feel the keys on the piano being pressed. No coloration of the upper midbass nor lower midrange is present, and the "infrasonic interference" in the recording is kept to a minimum with this EQ preset. Makes for a wonderful orchestral rendition of Korean pianist Yiruma’s two most popular songs. (I usually play the volume between 40 and 50% on this track.)
This is one song that my M-100 headphones can’t play very well without an EQ. Prior to Rockboxing my iPod, I had to settle for the "Bass Reducer" setting in the Apple-firmware EQ on tracks like this, and would be left without a "low end." It sure is nice to have it all now!
--------------------------------------
Well, these final two songs are ones that everyone in China knows really well. Here they are…
Fenghuang Chuanqi "Ziyou Feixiang" (2007)
（凤凰传奇 “自由飞翔”）
(Phoenix Legend "Fly Freely")
EQ preset used: "Cool Classic 2"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +6.0 dB
64 Hz: -2.5 dB
125 Hz: -7.5 dB
250 Hz: -6.0 dB
500 Hz: -1.8 dB
1000 Hz: +0 dB
2000 Hz: +0 dB
4000 Hz: +0 dB
8000 Hz: +0 dB
16000 Hz: +0 dB
(A small EQ precut of 6 dB is needed on this track to prevent distortion. After you’ve selected the "Cool Classic 2" preset, you can conveniently and easily set this precut by going into the "EQ precut adjust" folder that’s located inside each and every subcategory folder. Choose the one that says "6 dB.")
An incredible soundstage with a massive low throb and infrasonic rumble throughout the entire song…is exactly what you get with this EQ preset when you crank up this mega-popular Chinese tune! You can feel the breath of the rapper and singer coming through the mic, the orchestral arrangement sounds like it’s in a large concert hall and wide-open space, and everything blends well together with a sound signature that you’ll never forget. Just pump up the volume on my iPod at 45-55% for an awesome experience!
-------------------
Zhang Yusheng "Wo De Weilai Bu Shi Meng" (1988)
（张雨生 “我的未来不是梦”）
(Chang Yu-sheng "My Future Is Not A Dream")
EQ preset used: "Cool Boosted Treble 9"
eq precut: 0 dB
40 Hz: +24.0 dB
64 Hz: -5.5 dB
125 Hz: -10.5 dB
250 Hz: -9.0 dB
500 Hz: -4.8 dB
1000 Hz: -3.0 dB
2000 Hz: -3.0 dB
4000 Hz: -3.0 dB
8000 Hz: -3.0 dB
16000 Hz: -3.0 dB
Electrifying,…mesmerizing,…"shot through the heart"…would characterize the amazing sound signature of this preset with this late ‘80s power ballad! Feels like a live performance of a gnarly, rad ‘80s rock ballad in a huge arena with instruments that seem to wrap all the way around you, combined with a deep-throbbing bass that supports the whole beautiful structure and matches it perfectly. Volume turned up around 55-65% to put me into a sea of absolute awesomeness.
-----------------------------------
Well, we're getting close to the end, now.
You'll be totally thrilled to know that there is a 43-minute ***video***, detailing my EQ presets and portable headphone system!
You can view it on Vimeo at...
This video was made in June 2016 and showcases a previous version: Version 4.0.
(On the Vimeo page, click the tab under the video that says, "Read more," to view all the web links, etc. These links should be clickable.)
There's also a short, 4-minute follow-up video from March 2018, announcing the last version: Version 5.0:
(Version 5.0 was almost identical to the current Version 5.1, except without the “Rumbling Noise Reducer” feature that’s present in the “Wicked” midbass category.)
Now if you're in China, you also can watch this same 43-minute video on the Chinese video site YouKu by clicking here, and can view the 4-minute follow-up video at this link.
(On YouKu, the description text underneath videos has only been showing up on smartphones...by touching a ">" tab on the screen. This text may not appear on PC web browsers at this time.)
-----------------------------------
Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, that's it for now. I truly hope you can thoroughly enjoy these amazing, awesome, dramatically-inspiring EQ presets to happily brighten your days now and forever. Get a taste of these splendid wonders and hear what heaven truly sounds like. Wow,...what a difference!
-----------------------------------
P.S.: I had a great time on my visit to the U.S. back in June 2017 while attending Head-Fi's New York Spring Meetup. (Click here for photos of the event, and of the table where I showed off the dual-listening setup of my portable headphone system with Version 4.1.)
Everyone who had a chance to hear it was really impressed -- including Jude Mansilla!
------------------------------------
P.S.S.: I had a good time on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at the Rosson Audio Head-Fi Meet in the Los Angeles area, where I showed off the dual-listening setup with Version 5.1. You can view photos of the event at this link.
Last edited:
