Virtual Headphones
Your headphone collection, virtualized.
About
Virtual Headphones is a project which consists of using both Wavelet and Poweramp (to be shown below, and why I used them) to simulate 469 different headphones in terms of sound signature/quality.
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I created this project to allow the listeners to indirectly listen to music through other headphones to get a good idea as to how they would sound like.
There are really good sound demos on YouTube that do just that, but the upside of this project is allowing you to to listen to any music with the simulation of any headphone (which further replicates the experience of trying another headphone before/after buying it) without added compression from the platform.
It is not a complete replacement to actual headphones; the disclaimer explains this in detail.
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Personal experience
I've compared the same simulated headphones against the actual headphones with my daily driver (JBL Tune 770NC) and the simulated counterparts actually manage to capture most of their sound characteristics, dare I say even better than the sound demos found online, which are technically more complex to set up and calibrate than just tweaking the sound profile to Harman and replicating different sound profiles with EQ. My sample is not big (less than 10 different headphones) and there could be some differences with other simulated models against the actual models, even if I hypothetically tried hundreds of headphones, due to the reasons that I laid further below.
Why I used Poweramp
Poweramp allows me to export presets, which in this case, are headphone presets. It also offers a parametric equalizer, which is essentially a more advanced way to tweak sound compared to the graphic equalizer, which has fixed bands. Thanks to the flexibility from the former, it allows me to replicate different sound profiles with more precision, as I can properly place the peaks and dips of each center frequency and adjust their bandwidth.
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Why I recommend Wavelet
Wavelet offers a feature called AutoEQ, which compensates over 5000 models according to the Harman Target Curve, which results in a tonally balanced sound. This allows you to listen to the simulated headphones as accurate as possible (I currently use the built-in EQ that came from my JBL headphones to achieve the same goal).
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I also use its graphic EQ to convert from Harman OE to IE (or viceversa) which is essentially a +/- 5dB bass shelf depending on the headphone type. If you're simulating an in-ear with an over/on ear, use Wavelet's graphic EQ and EQ as follows:
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31Hz: 5dB (if you use a 10+ band EQ instead of Wavelet)
62.5Hz: 2.5dB
125Hz: 1.0dB
250Hz: 0.5dB
500Hz: 0dB
1kHz: 0dB
2kHz: 0dB
4kHz: 0.5dB
8kHz: 0.5dB
16kHz: 0dB
If you're wearing IEMs or earbuds and you're simulating the rest of headphone types, just reverse the numbers from above (2.5dB to -2.5dB, 1dB to -1dB, etc).
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You can also use the graphic equalizer to compensate if your headphones fit somewhat loose on your head, which can harm sound quality (especially the bass range) and the accuracy of the simulation. How? Press your headphones against the sides of your head as if the headphones have a secure fit, then stop pressing and EQ based on how it sounded when pressed. Turn off the EQ and repeat the process until the EQ sounds similar to when you press.
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On a side note, if you have a headphone that has a companion app with built-in EQ (as previously mentioned) and you know how to make your headphones sound closer to the Harman Target, Wavelet may not be that necessary as it's a third party app (unless you're simulating IEMs with an over-ear or viceversa), which generally isn't entirely reliable.
​To make sure it's close to Harman I recommend matching the built-in EQ to the AutoEQ of your headphones from Poweramp (save the preset to quickly switch from it to default preset for easier matching. Use Preamp if the volume with the matching EQ is too low or high compared to the AutoEQ)
Disclaimer
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The simulation is relative, not absolute, it's done for comparative and/or enjoyment purposes only. It means it will not be 100% accurate, as we do not all perceive how real headphones will sound in the same way, due to factors such as ear shape, fit, seal, positioning, harmonic distortion, measuring, unit variation and headphone type, which indicate that you will not get the same experience.
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AutoEQ is not entirely accurate, especially if your headphone has a peaky sound profile. Your experience may vary depending which headphone you use.
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I do not own any measurement rig to prove the accuracy of the simulation (on my case because your mileage may vary due to aforementioned points), this is just an idea that I wanted to share with the world.
How do I set this up?
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Download the presets, I recommend you do it from Wavelet + crinacle.com + RTINGS.com.
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Download Wavelet if you haven't.
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Go to Settings and enable Legacy mode. Follow this step as well if you're using MusicFX in Poweramp and it's not working properly.
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Turn it on and enable AutoEQ. Make sure your headphones are connected, otherwise it won't show up.
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Go into it and then press where it says headphone model. There will be a search icon.​
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Download Poweramp if you haven't. If you plan to use it for a long time you must pay the Poweramp Full Version Unlocker (I'm currently working with "poweramp-settings" files, if downloaded you should instead go to the settings, then press import settings/data to select the downloaded file. In this case, the tutorial ends here, unless you're a Poweramp EQ user)
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Press the equalizer icon. Press the presets button and press and hold any preset.
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Go to "Import" and select the downloaded .json file. Notice that each headphone preset has an acronym at the beginning.
C: Closed-back
E: Earbuds
H: Hybrid
I: In-ear
O: Open-back
S: Semi-open