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Unapologetic neutral is the way to go. Coloring is distortion.

Salvageable headphones include, but not limited to (I hope...) Sennheiser HD600 and Audio Technica ath-r70x.

Plus, should you decide you want some coloring, "neutral" (as close as one can get to it) is a better starting point. My neutral setup can have its bass boosted correctly more easily than a bass-boosted system can have its bass-boost removed.

If I know that I consistently like bass boost, it’s rational to buy headphones that are tuned that way by default.

You need to know know, not just think you know, first.

Extended use of a neutral setup is a requisite.

No it isn't. I think I have a pretty good idea of what I like from the million music-listening experiences I've had. Sure, maybe to get a perfect eq curve for my tastes I would need a perfectly neutral setup. But not really just to know that I like more bass than most people.

If somebody consistently turns up the bass when listening to Bose or Beats or something that's are known for being bass-heavy, do you really think they'd need a neutral setup to know that they like bass?

> Unapologetic neutral is the way to go. Coloring is distortion.

Sure, if it's axiomatic that distortion is always bad. My axiom is that my enjoyment is good. If EQ helps me enjoy music more, I don't care if it's distortion.

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