Unique Melody 2HT Terminator EQ settings
Parametric EQ correction for the Unique Melody 2HT Terminator, derived from measurements by crinacle. It moves the measured frequency response toward a neutral target.
How the Melody 2HT Terminator sounds before EQ
Measured against a neutral target, the Melody 2HT Terminator comes out bright. Treble sits ahead of the bass, which reads as detail at first and fatigue over time.
The lower mids region, warmth and the body of voices, sits about 2.1 dB behind neutral, so voices lose body and sound hollow. The treble region, cymbals, sibilance and sparkle, sits about 1.8 dB forward of neutral, so cymbals and s-sounds can sting.
The largest single move in the correction is 3.2 dB around 705 Hz, on top of a broad tilt of up to 2.1 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 bright 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 705 Hz the correction lifts the middle of the mids by 3.2 dB, over a broad band about 1.5 octaves wide.
- Around 8.4 kHz the correction cuts the treble by 2.6 dB, over a medium-width band about 0.7 octaves wide.
- Around 1.7 kHz the correction cuts the vocal presence region by 2.3 dB, over a medium-width band about 0.7 octaves wide.
The preamp of -3.2 dB offsets the boosts so nothing clips at full volume.
Parametric EQ settings
Preamp: -3.2 dB (headroom for the summed boost, not for any single row)
| # | Type | Frequency | Gain | Q |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Low shelf | 105 Hz | +0.5 dB | 0.70 |
| 2 | Peaking | 697 Hz | +3.7 dB | 0.96 |
| 3 | Peaking | 1.64 kHz | -3.2 dB | 1.50 |
| 4 | Peaking | 8.45 kHz | -3.1 dB | 1.27 |
| 5 | Peaking | 4.18 kHz | +1.7 dB | 1.86 |
| 6 | High shelf | 10 kHz | +1.1 dB | 0.70 |
| 7 | Peaking | 152 Hz | -1.3 dB | 1.30 |
| 8 | Peaking | 390 Hz | +0.7 dB | 1.79 |
| 9 | Peaking | 62 Hz | +0.5 dB | 1.57 |
| 10 | Peaking | 635 Hz | -0.4 dB | 3.24 |
This is the published correction for the Melody 2HT Terminator, unaltered, 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. These are the values to use: the numbers are not rounded off or simplified for the page, because changing them would change the result.
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 Melody 2HT Terminator 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.
Melody 2HT Terminator vs other Unique 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.
| Model | Signature | Bass vs neutral | Treble vs neutral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melody 2HT Terminator (this page) | bright | -0.2 dB | +0.8 dB |
| Melody 3D Terminator | bright | -1.9 dB | -0.7 dB |
| Melody 3DD-Ti | mid-forward | -1.1 dB | +0.7 dB |
| Melody 3DD-Ti Open | mid-forward | -1.2 dB | +0.7 dB |
| Melody 3X | near-neutral | -2.6 dB | -3.3 dB |
Headphones that sound similar
Closest matches across all 4,332 measured models, by distance between their deviation curves. Useful if you like how the Melody 2HT Terminator is tuned and want alternatives.