KamiKaze
And that’s the exact difference between consumer headphones and reference gear.
You’re saying “they sound surprisingly great” but that’s subjective enjoyment, not objective accuracy.
Yes, Apple, Nothing, Sony, etc. all use DSP to compensate for non-linear, colored drivers, and yes, it works well for casual listening. But in a studio context, that’s useless. You don’t want the headphone to “sound good” you want it to sound honest, even if that means dull, flat, or even harsh.
The fact that you don’t have an issue with DSP correction is fine: because you’re not using them for reference work. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us should accept that kind of flawed signal path for critical audio production.
If only Focal headphones are reference-level in your world, you might want to look into the Sennheiser HD600/650, Beyerdynamic DT series, AKG K701, Audeze, and even Neumann. All of them are reference-class and require no DSP to deliver a flat and consistent response.
So no not “everyone” does it. Just the ones who are prioritizing enjoyment over truth. And that’s fine just don’t confuse the two
And I think you may have misunderstood my original topic: what I personally miss with the Nothing Headphone One is precisely the ability to choose whether I want to listen with filters/colored sound, or switch to a “studio mode” to plug the headphones into a mixer and create music without any processing i.e., a clean, unfiltered signal.
In my opinion, a feature like that would’ve been incredibly powerful and unique from Nothing and KEF, and I honestly think a lot of music creators would love it. The idea of having both your casual headphones and your studio headphones in one and the same device would be amazing.
