The Arctis Pro + GameDAC takes the best - in - class design of the original Arctis and pairs it with a digital - to - analog converter, which allows you to enjoy Hi - Res audio files and
tweak EQ settings to your heart's content.
Though you can
tweak EQ settings with an Asus software package (more on that in a second), by default it's a warm and convincing soundstage.
When
you tweak the EQ or add bass / treble the adjustments are quite profound.
If you prefer the vocals to be on top of the production you can of course just
tweak the EQ settings.
The bass is a little on the powerful side, but if you find it overwhelming, there's always the option to
tweak the EQ digitally.
Tweaking the EQ for more bottom end yielded slightly meatier — if not also slightly distorted — bass response.
They're not terrible, and
tweaking the EQ settings via the companion app can improve things — especially with the bass, but they sound no better than a cheaper pair of wired headphones.
Not exact matches
For sound
tweaking and customization, the stereo offers six preset
EQ settings as well as basic bass and treble controls.
There are numerous different sound profiles that come pre-loaded, or you can
tweak with the
EQ to your heart's content to get everything perfectly tuned to your liking.
There was no big ups or downs, as if the
EQ settings were simply
tweaked to be level across the board.
Would I have loved to have
EQ settings and
tweaking the sound to how I prefer?
Usually the wider a surround space sounds, the more it lacks clarity, but with some clever
EQ tweaking the PX4 suffers none of that.
HTC figured some would be, and so rather than an
EQ app — you can download a third - party example from the Play store if you prefer — there's a Personal Audio Profile which, after asking a series of questions about what types of music you listen to and playing you samples, automatically
tweaks the frequencies for what it believes will be the most rewarding sound.
I do think the UE Boom slightly edges out the Google Home when it comes to overall sound quality for music; Google's speaker is a bit on the bass - y side, even with recent app updates that let you
tweak a basic
EQ.
The Google Home app for iOS & Android has some basic
EQ controls to further
tweak the sound.
While their sound is not as flat or true as an over-ear pair of headphones might get, these balanced
EQ tweaks help reduce listener fatigue for extended listening.
We found that for some tracks, it was just better to keep Extra Bass off and
tweak the sound through the
EQ on the phone.
One thing we didn't cover in our Real Audio Review, Samsung's
EQ tweaking is a convenient way to tailor playback for folks who are into that kind of thing.
Jaybird partner app features a range of adjustable
EQ settings, and
tweaking the supplied soundstage is essential if you want to get the best from the Run.
Even its «flat» profile (no
EQ tweaks) produces really natural sounding audio with well - balanced mids and highs.
Turtle Beach's iOS app is nicely designed, and allows plenty of
EQ preset -
tweaking if you want to take things further than jabbing at buttons.
Usually the wider a surround space sounds, the more it lacks clarity, but with some clever
EQ tweaking the PX4 suffers none of that.
Tweaking a digital
EQ could help make the earbuds sound better, especially when the lows don't need to be bolstered as much, but there isn't much to complain about.