Based on preference, listeners adjusted the relative bass and treble levels of three music programs reproduced through a high quality stereo loudspeaker system equalized to a flat in-room target response. The same task was repeated using a high quality circumaural headphone equalized to match the flat in-room loudspeaker response as measured at the eardrum reference point (DRP). The results show that listeners on average preferred an in-room loudspeaker target response that had 2 dB more bass and treble compared to the preferred headphone target response. There were significant variations in the preferred bass and treble levels due to differences in individual taste and listener training.
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https://aes2.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=17042
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