Grado PS500 EQ settings

Parametric EQ correction for the Grado PS500, derived from measurements by Innerfidelity. It moves the measured frequency response toward a neutral target.

How the PS500 sounds before EQ

Measured against a neutral target, the PS500 comes out dark. The treble sits well behind neutral, so detail and air are muted.

The sub-bass region, rumble and the weight under kick drums, sits about 5.0 dB behind neutral, so kick drums lose their weight. The treble region, cymbals, sibilance and sparkle, sits about 4.0 dB behind neutral, so cymbals sound blunted. The air region, openness at the very top, sits about 3.5 dB behind neutral, so the very top closes in (measurements this high up vary between test rigs, so treat the exact number loosely). The presence region, vocal clarity and attack, sits about 2.7 dB behind neutral, so detail and clarity soften.

The largest single move in the correction is 6.4 dB around 6 kHz, on top of a broad tilt of up to 5.0 dB. That is not subtle. This model benefits clearly from correction.

These figures are read from the correction itself: whatever the EQ lifts, the headphone lacked, and whatever it cuts, the headphone had too much of. The target is the community's neutral reference, and how far above 10 kHz you can trust any measurement varies by rig. More dark models.

The correction curve

The solid line is the full measured correction (all 10 filters). The dashed line is what Atrium applies: the same shape at 65 percent strength, capped at 6 dB per band, so the headphone keeps its own character instead of being forced flat.

What the EQ fixes

Summed across every filter, these are the changes the correction actually makes, largest first:

• Around 6 kHz the correction lifts the sibilance range by 6.4 dB, over a medium-width band about 1.1 octaves wide.
• Around 29 Hz the correction lifts the sub-bass by 6.4 dB, over a medium-width band about 1.3 octaves wide.
• Around 105 Hz the correction cuts the bass punch region by 4.0 dB, over a medium-width band about 1.5 octaves wide.

The preamp of -6.4 dB offsets the boosts so nothing clips at full volume.

Parametric EQ settings

This is the full measured correction in AutoEq format. It pastes straight into Equalizer APO or Peace on Windows, and into most parametric EQ apps. Enter every row, including the ones that cut. The fitting process is free to use large opposing filters that cancel down to a small net change, so a single large gain here does not mean a large change to the sound. The curve above is what the whole set does together.

How to use these settings

Manually: enter the preamp and each filter into any parametric EQ. On Windows that is usually Equalizer APO with the Peace interface. On a Mac, eqMac or SoundSource. Set the type, frequency, gain and Q exactly as listed.

With Atrium: pick your PS500 in the app and it applies a tuned version of this correction: 65 percent strength with a 6 dB per-band cap, which fixes the rough spots without erasing what the headphone does well. Atrium also measures how you hear with a short listening test and layers your personal hearing profile on top. Two people with the same headphones do not hear the same sound. Headphone corrections are part of Signature Edition; the app itself is free.

PS500 vs other Grado models

Bass and treble are each model's average distance from the neutral target in that range. Positive means more than neutral, negative means less.

Headphones that sound similar

Closest matches across all 4,332 measured models, by distance between their deviation curves. Useful if you like how the PS500 is tuned and want alternatives.

More Grado EQ settings