Complete Calibration Tutorial

Build A Headphone Curve You Can Actually Trust.

Hear Flat helps you create a personal correction curve by ear. You do not need a measurement microphone. You need your headphones, your DAW, and a careful step-by-step listening process.

Start The Tutorial Download Installer
Hear Flat main interface used for the calibration tutorial
Included with the installer: The editable HearFlat Tutorial DOCX is installed locally with the manual, readme, and license files under BlackBoxx/Hear-Flat.
Setup New Curve Pink Noise Calibrate Bands Frequency Map Confidence Fine Tune Save And Export Quick Start

Before You Start

Set Up For Honest Listening

The goal is not to make your headphones sound exciting. The goal is to make every frequency area sound more even so your mix decisions become more reliable.

01

Use a quiet room.

02

Wear your headphones the way you normally work.

03

Make sure the ear pads seal properly around your ears.

04

Use a comfortable listening level. Do not calibrate loud.

Step 1

Create A New Curve

Open Hear Flat, choose New Curve, and name the curve after your headphones. This gives that pair of headphones its own correction curve.

  • Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
  • Beyerdynamic DT770
  • Sony MDR-7506
  • AirPods Pro 2
Hear Flat Curve Library for organizing headphone profiles

Step 2

Start With Pink Noise

Choose Pink in the noise selector, then press Play Full-Band Reference. Pink noise is usually the best starting point because it feels more balanced across low, mid, and high frequencies.

Listen To The Reference, Not The Tone

The full-band pink noise is your reference. Do not try to make it sound good. Listen to its overall loudness and tonal balance so you have something to compare each isolated band against.

Step 3

Calibrate One Band At A Time

Click and hold a frequency node. Hear Flat temporarily isolates that part of the sound. Compare it to the full-band reference and ask one question: does this band sound louder, quieter, or about the same?

If it sounds louder: drag the node down.

If it sounds quieter: drag the node up.

If it sounds even: leave it near where it is.

Hear Flat graph editor with 24 calibration nodes

Step 4

Start In The Midrange, Then Work Outward

Do not start with deep bass or very high treble. Start around the midrange because it is easier to judge and anchors the rest of the calibration.

Midrange Low mids Bass Presence Treble Sub bass Air

Listening Technique

Use Short Listening Bursts

Use short 1 to 3 second checks, then release the node and return to full-band noise. Your ear adapts quickly. If you listen to one band too long, it can start to feel normal even when it is not.

Commit Often

After adjusting several bands, press Commit. Commit is safe. It acts like an autosave of your working copy and does not permanently overwrite your saved curve.

Frequency Map

What Each Area Usually Sounds Like

Use these ranges as listening clues. They are not strict rules, but they help you name what you are hearing.

Sub Bass

20 Hz to 66 Hz

Rumble, pressure, and low-end weight. Lower it if it feels too powerful. Raise it slightly if it disappears.

Bass

90 Hz to 221 Hz

Punch, thickness, and body. Lower it if it sounds boomy. Raise it if the tone feels thin.

Low Midrange

298 Hz to 735 Hz

Mud, boxiness, or cloudiness. Lower it if the noise feels congested. Raise it if it feels hollow.

Midrange

992 Hz to 1809 Hz

Vocal body and forwardness. Lower it if it sounds honky or nasal. Raise it if it feels distant.

Presence

2443 Hz to 4455 Hz

Bite, sharpness, and vocal edge. Small moves matter here. Lower it slightly if it jumps out.

Treble

6016 Hz to 10969 Hz

Hiss, brightness, and sibilance. Lower it if it feels piercing. Raise it carefully if it feels dull.

Air

14811 Hz to 20000 Hz

Openness and top-end sparkle. Do not over-adjust this area because ears fatigue quickly here.

Quality Check

Watch Curve Quality And Calibration Confidence

Curve Quality tells you whether your correction curve looks smooth and reasonable. Calibration Confidence tells you how much evidence Hear Flat has that your curve was carefully verified.

  • Revisit bands more than once.
  • Make small adjustments.
  • Use Fine Tune With Music.
  • Commit your progress as you work.
Hear Flat Curve Quality and Calibration Confidence indicators

Noise Choice

Use White Noise Only As A Check

Pink noise should be your main calibration tool. White noise is brighter and more fatiguing. Use it briefly if you want to check treble, and stop if it feels harsh.

Volume Rule

If the noise feels painful, harsh, or tiring, lower the volume or take a break. A rushed calibration is usually worse than no calibration.

Fine Tune With Music

Verify The Curve With Songs You Know

After the noise calibration feels balanced, turn on Fine Tune With Music and play familiar music through your DAW. Make very small moves, usually 0.5 dB to 1.0 dB.

Vocals too harsh Bass too heavy Cymbals too sharp Low mids feel muddy
Hear Flat settings for calibration and fine tune workflows

Compare

Use Flat Vs Current

Flat means the correction curve is not applied. Current means your correction curve is active. Switch between them while music plays and ask whether Current sounds more balanced, natural, and controlled.

If Current sounds better, keep moving carefully.

If Current sounds worse, undo the last adjustment or reduce the move.

If you are unsure, take a short break and compare again.

Find Problem Areas

Use Band Audition In Fine Tune Mode

If something in the music bothers you, select a nearby node and use Audition to focus on that frequency region. Use it to identify the problem area, then return to the full mix before judging the adjustment.

Example

If a vocal sounds harsh, check the presence or treble area. Make a small adjustment, then listen to the full song again instead of making the isolated band sound good by itself.

Finish

Save, Create Variations, And Export

When the curve feels balanced, press Save. You can reopen it later from the Curve Library, create variations with Save As, or export the correction to recreate it in another EQ.

  • 24-Band for exact Hear Flat mapping.
  • 10-Band for common graphic EQ workflows.
  • 5-Band for simple stock EQs.
  • Parametric for flexible EQ plugins.
  • Save As for variations such as Neutral, Warm, or Bright Check.
Hear Flat EQ Export dialog with multiple export formats

Ear Fatigue

Take Breaks Before Your Judgment Drifts

Your ears get tired, especially around 2 kHz to 5 kHz and 6 kHz to 12 kHz. If everything starts sounding harsh, stop and take 2 to 5 minutes of silence before continuing.

Better Slow Than Wrong

A careful calibration does not need to be finished in one pass. If your ears are tired, save or commit your progress and come back with fresh judgment.

Mindset

Do Not Chase Excitement

Hear Flat is for calibration. Calibration means making the headphones more even. After that, you can still make creative EQ decisions while mixing.

The Most Important Rule

Do not listen for what sounds best. Listen for what sounds equal. When no frequency band jumps out, your headphones are closer to flat.

Quick Start Summary

Run The Whole Workflow

  1. Create a new curve.
  2. Select Pink noise.
  3. Press Play Full-Band Reference.
  4. Start in the midrange.
  5. Click and hold a node.
  6. Drag down if the band sounds too loud.
  7. Drag up if the band sounds too quiet.
  8. Release to return to full-band noise.
  9. Work through all 24 bands.
  10. Press Commit often.
  11. Turn on Fine Tune With Music.
  12. Use Flat vs Current to compare.
  13. Make small final adjustments.
  14. Save the curve.
  15. Export EQ settings if needed.
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