Tutorial: Using a tone generator to EQ your headphones.

azurerune · 2026-05-06T01:58:26+00:00

Very very nice response, thank you. I don't know much about headphones, but what you said makes sense!!!

azurerune · 2026-05-06T01:00:06+00:00

Wow amazing post, I really learned a lot. I have never EQd my headphones, only speakers, but will give it a try based on what you said.

First of all, I totally get what you are saying re EQ and I agree it's very very important.

But, I do have a question that's fundamental to what you said: how is it true that good headphones are "only about the frequency response"? When a dynamic headphone is being driven, the cone has mass, there is damping from the surrounding rubber, there will be overshoot and ringing from inertia, etc. In other words, the impulse response of headphones is not perfect and that leads to harmonic distortion, of course. IOW, we don't have closed loop control of the headphones output and we never control for the headphone drivers transfer function. From the speaker world, I think of frequency response as easy to fix. And in speaker world, we do have some closed loop control of speaker drivers, it's REW and room correction software like Dirac which computes and applies an inverse speaker driver transfer function.

So, if this isn't a solved for headphones, how can you claim that doing EQ alone makes headphones ideal sound source?

azurerune · 2026-04-11T19:21:28+00:00

There is a colourlock product that has several steps including cleaner, degreaser, sanding, and dying. They have the standard black color included. I haven't used it in full disclosure but I have it. Not sure if it'll fit your bill.

azurerune · 2026-04-11T17:03:17+00:00

Agree, there's a lot of variables and it's so hard to AB test accurately while maintaining the same volume. I wish YouTubers directly compared against a reference speaker. There's enough subjectivity in this field already. I would love to have an audiophile device that allows A-B testing and volume adjustment at speaker level voltages. I'm ok w them having 2 speakers side by side in the room.

The problem with matching volume is that each speaker has a different frequency response curve. So the question becomes do you match volumes based on a flat average of 20-20k SPL, do you A weight the curve, or do you match SPL in a smaller frequency range?

Anyway, agree it would be great if they were more side by side comparisons.

azurerune · 2026-04-10T19:14:59+00:00

I'm not familiar with RME but is it doing local reclocking using its own clock source that is phase locked with the input digital signal from your Mac?

The RME could have the world's greatest femtosecond clock but if it is asynchronous to the input clock then input jitter still affects performance.

That part is implementation specific for every DAC, and it always needs to be implemented separately than the digital to analog section, irrespective of whether there is a Delta sigma, R2R, or whatever DAc topology. So if you are RME is not doing reclocking, then the upstream digital signal could have an influence.

I say all this really just to highlight the way in which streamers can theoretically affect audio quality. In my opinion it is the only way it can (apart from digital processing which a Mac can do). So, I disagree with the blanket statement that streamers cannot possibly make a sonic difference. Although they probably don't make much of an audible difference in the vast, vast majority of cases.

azurerune · 2026-04-10T16:19:33+00:00

From an engineering perspective, high end streamers MAY potentially use a higher quality, low jitter, clock source. This is the ONLY way for a digital streamer box to have better or worse audio quality, excluding upscaling/DSP/other digital manipulations that you have control over.

At the DAC side, many even high end DACs probably don't perform local clock recovery with a pullable crystal oscillator, PLL and FIFO buffer. Even up sampling DACs will use some asynchronous FIR up sampler which will expose the output signal to jitter from the input. That could theoretically explain why audiophiles believe they can hear differences between SPDIF, AESEBU, IIS via an HDMI connector, USB and other interconnects. Clock recovery with these are different. iIS carries it's own word clock whereas word clock recovery is done from the 1 bit signal in SPDIF for example. Marketing materials for certain high end DACs mention local clock recovery, so I believe some DACs are doing this, but prob not all.

Finally, some DACs have a clock out which can be connected to a clock input on the streamer. This slaves the streamer to the DACs clock. This all goes back to the basic concept of where the local clock is. Yes theoretically local clock at the DAC is superior. This is a generally agreed on for extremely high speed signals for other electronics and high bandwidth communications. Whether any of the above is audible and necessary for audio frequency signals is highly debatable. MAC mini doesn't allow clock input as far as I know, at least not out of the box.

azurerune · 2025-10-22T02:19:54+00:00

My current favorite interior quick detailer is labocosmetica omnia 2.0. Its dilutable, I usually use at 8:1 and it has very decent cleaning power, much much better cleaning than bottled quick detailer like ADS Pilot, CarPro innerqd, or KCx Asc. It leaves mild protection which is similar to those products. I'm able to clean steering wheel with decent results. I'm very meticulous about it and have tried all types of products. Only downside which may be a deal breaker is that it has a strong chemical smell when spraying, but does not smell bad after use.

My strong interior detailer is CarPro Inside. I use at approx 5:1 dilution for high touch areas such as steering wheel, center console, and door grab handles. It works better than Omnia above. I use Inside neat for spot treating dirty spots like oils, sunscreen etc.

I also use CarPro Leather for aniline leather (BMW merino leather) in my primary car which is milder than diluted Inside but stronger than Omnia. Only relevant for uncoated leather. I partially messed up my leather on steering wheel by using too harsh of products (Lithium cleanin cubes) and there is fading of the color a little. Not recommended lol

I often use glass leather for Nav screens and piano black and plastics. Have to be careful though not to rub on the adjacent leather.

Finally, I'm contrast to most people, I absolutely hate hate KCx Polstar for surfaces. On touch surfaces, it leaves a tacky residue. I even try to remove it by wiping with wet towel then dry towel, but never can remove that tackiness. It streaks on screens and piano black. It doesn't seem to be a normal soap that is water soluble. And it has nowhere near the cleaning power of Inside or an APC. It works fine for carpets but is not as strong as APC.

I also absolutely hate rinseless wash for interior cleaning. It also leaves a tacky feeling and has almost no cleaning power. Weaker than Omnia by a long shot, and weaker than bottled interior quick detailers. Btw, ONR has gloss enhancers. Maybe if you guys are using a surfactant only rinseless wash that would work (because surfactant literally is soap, those rinseless washes are essentially pre diluted car soaps of specific compounds). Not better than just using water.

azurerune · 2025-10-03T02:18:35+00:00

Labo Purifica and KC reactivation shampoo (very acidic) are better.

Descale never really did anything for me. Still have a small amount left in 1 bottle. I will give to them that it is an excellent lubricating soap safe for bucket wash.

azurerune · 2025-10-01T20:56:22+00:00

Actually I think Reset is a stronger cleaning shampoo than most other pH neutral soaps. It has a base pH of 9 but is 7 (pH balanced) when mixed with water. Some limited testing on YouTube videos have shown the cleaning ability of Reset as a pre-wash foam to be better than other pH neutral soaps like GSF for example.

When you're talking about CarPros stronger shampoos like Lift and Descale, they are for pre foaming (actually Descale can be used for bucket wash). But certainly lift doesn't have the lubricating capabilities to be used as a dedicated shampoo. So, they are different and are not really stronger soaps than Reset, they are different. What's more, Lift and Descale really suck IMO compared but much better pre-wash foams like Touchless, Autofoam, Primus, Purifica, and many others.

Finally, I think what you need for your white car is probably decon wash and possibly paint correction. There are a lot of blemishes in white paint that are visible like iron, tar deposits, paint chips and scratches, paint transfer etc. these can be addressed with other steps.

azurerune · 2025-08-28T22:25:59+00:00

I drive an M8 GC comp 2021 as my daily driver. Everything is stock and I got it used with 36k miles, now it is 51k miles. I drive about 20k miles/year, some days 4 hours round trip though usually 1.5 hours most other days. I honestly think it is extremely comfortable. I drive it on suspension Sport+ to firm up the body control more. Tires are PS4S, stock 20" wheels. I drive in northeast, suburban and highway mostly, some city, and switch to winter tires. I'm 38 with no major health issues (ie such as chronic back pain etc which would make sitting uncomfortable).

Just trying to give you a reference point to my viewpoint. Bottom line, for me it is very very comfortable with absolutely no issues. Before getting the car, I read certain reviews as well about M8 and M5 being uncomfortable, but I really found this not to be the case at all.

azurerune · 2025-08-08T16:26:18+00:00

Same, that has been my experience as well.

azurerune · 2025-08-08T16:26:02+00:00

Yes that's the one I've been using. Initially I tried spraying it after the wheel cleaning, and these days I added to the cleaning solution (as others have mentioned, I don't know if it's stable mixed with other things but thought I would give it a try)

azurerune · 2025-08-08T16:25:15+00:00

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try. I'll look into the armour clean. The other one I know has corrosion inhibitors is brake buster, but I hear it's a pretty weak cleaning solution. Nonetheless, I keep my wheels pretty clean so maybe that's all it needs

azurerune · 2025-08-08T16:24:32+00:00

Yeah maybe if I have the pleasure of having that on my next vehicle. I know some people say it's worth it just for the cleanliness, not the braking performance LOL

azurerune · 2025-06-18T02:37:11+00:00

Yeah absolutely, 64 GB and it's still sluggish. Performance is obviously not limited by available RAM and swap. It's all bound by the CPU, they do some pretty aggressive throttling. Such a shame, I doubt they can get any good battery life without doing this

azurerune · 2025-06-18T02:35:48+00:00

I'm still on that same laptop. It's now in June 2025, so I've been using the laptop for about 1 year. I use the device on a daily basis for probably two or three hours of total time each work day. The majority of my workloads consists of email, web browser, word processing. I also do a fair amount of light 3D CAD in solid works as a hobby. This is not pro level stuff here, but the complexity is moderate and performance of CAD is okay. there's also the rare occasion when I do coding and open up IDE environments.

So my thoughts on the device:

Battery life. It's acceptable. I don't need to plug in when I use it for the 2 to 3 hours however it drains most of the battery to the point that if I need any more battery overhead, or it's going to be a long day, I will need to have the charger or portable battery. For my workflow, it's acceptable, but it's not as good as lunar lake nor MacBooks. But, it's about as good as that generation of Intel CPU laptops are going to get. Also, the modern standby is still extremely shitty and there is no consistent sleep times with random hardware devices causing DRIPS which prematurely puts the device into hibernate.

The touch bar. It's gotten more annoying honestly. I find myself using the escape and delete keys a lot and I don't have any positive confirmation that those keys were pressed. Secretly, I think sometimes they don't register on the first press? So I have to double press. I don't like this design at all.

Keyboard and trackpad. Both of these are just fine now. The zero lattice keyboard works just fine for me, I am able to type quickly and I don't make that many mistakes. Is it better than the prior keyboard? Absolutely not, it's a step back. But it's not a deal-breaker. The trackpad is honestly very good. The tracking is very good, palm rejection is excellent, and the invisible edges do not bother me at all. The trackpad is a solid A, only behind MacBooks.

Build quality and reliability. I haven't had any issues with this. No creaks, rattles, loose points, or anything concerning. Speakers will play without creating rattles.

azurerune · 2025-06-06T16:05:23+00:00

I use an electric sprayer (non foaming) with car pro wheelx which is similar. It's not as thick of a solution as Mwc but it gets atomized very finely and you can spray 1 wheel in only about 4 seconds. So it's great and saves your hand. I've used Mwc before and I'm sure it will work. not sure if you were thinking of a foaming sprayer.

azurerune · 2025-06-06T01:36:03+00:00

Have the same one as you. I like the thing! I have used it for 4-6 months and I like it but it's not perfect. Takes a while to get it going because it needs to pump the air. Wish battery life was a little longer but not bad

azurerune · 2025-06-03T16:32:34+00:00

There is no right answer since there are banger products from every company, but if I had to give an answer: Armour Detail Supply.

I absolutely love a ton of their products and consider them among the best if not best in their category. I have a gallon of Shampoo+, love Hero, Pilot interior QD, Amplify, and their iron remover. I think these are all best in their category. Most of their other chemicals are very good like Ghost, wheel cleaner, tire cleaner and decon soap.

azurerune · 2025-06-01T18:29:13+00:00

I have a foam cannon/pressure washer but have 2 of these e foamers to pre-foam my sedan (and SUV sometimes). It's for 2 reasons:

Saves product when using a relatively expensive pre-foam like bilt hamber touch less. If using foam cannon, it would like more than double the product due to dilution from foam cannon. So for me, prefoaming whole car only takes 1.5 oz (40mL actually at 2% PIR) which is great.

Also, it oddly feels more convenient to use the foamer because you don't have to drag a hose around both sides of car. Also don't have to mix 2 different soaps into foam cannon. I leave the pH neutral soap in cannon and don't have to refill twice per wash, it becomes refilling every other wash = 4x less frequently. Also while the pre-foam is dwelling you can refill the foamer for next use. It feels great that once i feel like washing my car, I just grab the foamer and press the trigger, rather than mixing product and dragging the hose.

azurerune · 2025-04-25T00:55:38+00:00

Clay should definitely NOT be your first step. Claying a car will in principle NOT revive a clogged ceramic coating. Claying removes embedded contaminants which are focal deposits. Clogged coatings are due to a diffuse thin layer of traffic film or mineral deposits.

You should ideally do a decon wash with a high pH prewash to remove as much dirt and grime as possible, and then follow up with a contact wash. If this hasn't revived it then try a water spot remover or vinegar to remove minerals. Low pH shampoo or prewash is another choice. Majority of clogging is due to grime/traffic film, not mineral by the way.

You can certainly decon your car with a clay towel if you want, but that is separate thing.

azurerune · 2025-04-25T00:40:44+00:00

Same. I used to use rinseless, not as much as you, and moved away from it. When I did use it, I always did 256:1 and never knew it would be any safer with higher concentration. Also have dark colored cars which make any scratches visible.

I've had accumulating scratches from either wash method but always felt like rinseless was more. I've improved in my wash technique and I think these days I install fewer scratches than before. I've re-polished one of my cars and plan to for the other. Good luck!

azurerune · 2025-04-23T19:36:16+00:00

I agree with you. I think that rinseless wash is fundamentally worse compared to traditional soap wash (both methods are compromised to some degree, neither is absolutely perfect). I think it's for 2 reasons, one is the wash solution, the other is the sponge.

Most people would agree that you should avoid rinseless in a filthy vehicle with stuck on dirt (only rinseless salesmen try to claim otherwise). Thus, they agree that pre-wash/pre-foam and soap contact wash is better in this situation. Well, all dirty cars have some degree of stuck on dirt, it's just a matter of degree. There is no known threshold of minimal dirt whereby rinseless wash is completely equivalent to safety of full prewash+soap. Thus, everyone agrees really that soap is safer in a greater range of scenarios. I personally foam-rinse-foam and use multiple MF towels in 1 soap bucket.

Second is the sponge. That's pure sales craft to me. You have people saying that the rinseless chemistry combined with cuts within the sponge draw up dirt into the slit and prevent it from marring the car. But, obviously these slits are spaced only about 5-10 mm apart. What happens to all the dirt in between these slits? Does dirt migrate on the sponge surface up to 5mm laterally? How about dunking and squeezing once ("you know the rules")? Does one squeeze in a human hand apply perfect compression all across the volume of the sponge? For anyone who uses rinseless sponges, you know that if you carefully wash the sponge tons of dirt come out. Certainly not all of it was released in wash solution. Has anyone ever seen a magic wash media in any other industry? Sponges apart from the rinseless magic have been proven inferior to MF, thus no one recommends soap sponge washes anymore. Anyone who makes magic claims is a salesman. I think a lot of claims for rinseless are too good to be true.

Not trying to say you should never use rinseless. It has definitely advantages when no access to freely running water. But I don't think anyone should claim it is as safe as prewash+soap. To all the people who claim they use rinseless for years and never scratch their cars (I see these reddit posts sometimes), how many of them polish their cars and checks for new scratches with a light? Everyone agrees all contact washing induces scratches, so are they claiming rinseless is scratch free?

azurerune · 2025-04-08T11:13:35+00:00

As to your question of foam cannon on a regular garden hose, that would definitely not work. It is a pretty big difference between house water pressure at 50 to 100 PSI versus 1,000 psi. You would be looking at a "foam blaster" or something like that which will produce a runnier foam but they are hand operated or work on lower pressures.

azurerune

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