Why does everyone call the Yincrow X6 warm/neutral?
I might have chosen a slightly provocative title, but I will try to explain myself. As always, sound is subjective, and to some extent so is "neutrality."
First, I really like the Yincrow X6. The pair pictured has seen a couple of years of on-and-off use, and they’re currently my go-to flatheads at the office. However, I find its mids and lower mids far too scooped for it to be called neutral. On the other hand, it has prominent and well extended bass compared with other similarly priced sets, which makes it a very good candidate for EQ.
From the frequency responses I have seen, this is not something that affects only the Yincrow X6. I see a similar peak around 2 kHz and scooped mids in the Faaeal Iris, which I have not personally heard, and the Faaeal Snow Lotus, which I own. The same general feature also seems to appear in some considerably more expensive flatheads. I assume this might be, to some extent, a limitation of the flathead form factor and single driver, but personally I find that emphasis around 2 kHz quite unnatural sounding.
I am making this post because I am curious to hear other people's opinions. I am often surprised to see people boldly recommending the Yincrow X6 as a "neutral/warm" sound signature. To my ears, it simply is not neutral.
With all that said, here is the EQ profile I use with my Yincrow X6. To my ears, it tames this issue without fundamentally changing the character of the earbuds:
Preamp: -1.7 dB
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 80 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 0.7
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 330 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 0.7
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1800 Hz Gain -3.3 dB Q 1.4
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3300 Hz Gain 4.5 dB Q 1
Filter 5: ON HS Fc 7000 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 1
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 8175 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 4
You may want to omit Filter 6 if you do not hear a harsh peak around 8 kHz. You can also remove the 7 kHz high shelf, Filter 5, if you prefer the original darker tonality.
Now you are free to disagree with me...
As a side note: The cheapest flatheads I know of with the main ear gain peak shifted more towards 3 kHz are the NiceHCK EB2S. For this reason alone, they sound considerably more natural out of the box to me. Whether you prefer more bass, less bass, warmer treble, etc. is another matter and much more dependent on personal taste.