What is the Honest Target Curve?

dbstechtalk
Feb 19, 2023
10 min read

Updated: Feb 13

Target curves have become a kind of modern requirement in the audiophile world. Everywhere you look, someone has a graph, a preference target, or a “scientific” curve they believe represents the one true path to good sound. For a long time, I didn’t think much about creating one of my own. I’ve always relied on my ears, my reference tracks, and my experience with real instruments — not on measurement rigs or trend‑driven tuning philosophies.

But a target curve can be useful when it reflects the listener behind it. So I created one — not to follow the crowd, but to give you a clear window into how I hear.

My Honest Target Curve isn’t based on measurement gear, research papers, or copying someone else’s tuning. It’s a visual outline of the sound I consider neutral, natural, realistic, and emotionally truthful. It represents years of listening, thousands of hours with reference tracks, and a commitment to accuracy over excitement.

This curve isn’t about hype or trends. It’s not a rulebook, a universal standard, or a demand that every headphone or IEM match it exactly. Instead, it’s a compass — a guide that points toward the balance, tone, and timbre I associate with real instruments and lifelike reproduction.

If you understand this curve, you understand how I listen. If you understand how I listen, you understand my reviews.

Let’s take a closer look at what the Honest Target Curve represents — and just as importantly, what it doesn’t.

I am not a professional sound engineer, producer, musician, or vocalist. I haven’t conducted scientific research, taken measurements, or performed lab‑grade testing. My approach is built on listening — comparing, evaluating, and learning through real‑world experience. I’ve spent years around live sound in churches as an amateur sound‑booth technician, and that exposure shaped my understanding of natural tone and timbre.

The average human ear hears between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. We are most sensitive to the midrange (roughly 80 Hz–8 kHz), which is where the majority of musical fundamentals live. Our peak sensitivity sits between 2 kHz and 5 kHz — the region where vocals, instruments, and presence cues reside. And of course, hearing changes with age, exposure, and many other factors.

Before diving into the curve itself, here are a few foundational terms that guide how I evaluate sound:

Natural — Realism; reproduced sound that matches everyday, real‑life audio.
Neutral — Free of coloration that isn’t natural.
Air — A sense of openness around instruments and vocals, present across the entire spectrum, not just in the treble.
Detail — The reproduced images of the original sound.
Definition / Resolution / Focus — The clarity and precision of those details.
Tone — The actual note being played; is it in key and in tune.
Tonal Quality — The accuracy and correctness of that note.
Timbre — The recognizable character of an instrument; the quality that lets you identify it and follow it through a piece.

These concepts form the foundation of my listening philosophy — and they’re the reason the Honest Target Curve looks the way it does.

Before we dive into the curve itself, I want to acknowledge Stephen (HobbyTalk) for helping bring the Honest Target Curve to life and for hosting it on his target‑curve Squig link.

Honest Target Curve: https://hobbytalk.squig.link/?share=Honest_Target HobbyTalk: https://www.youtube.com/@HobbyTalk

Everything you’re about to read reflects my own honest thoughts, experiences, and listening philosophy. I’m not a professional sound engineer, producer, or musician. I don’t use measurement rigs or scientific testing. My approach is built on listening — years of comparing gear, studying real instruments, and learning through hands‑on experience with live sound and reference tracks.

The Honest Target Curve is simply a visual representation of how I hear neutral and natural reproduction. It reflects the balance of tone, timbre, air, detail, and resolution that I associate with real instruments and lifelike sound. Gear doesn’t need to match the curve exactly to sound neutral or natural — but products that share its overall flow tend to deliver the qualities I value most.

With that foundation in place, let’s take a closer look at what the Honest Target Curve represents.

To understand the Honest Target Curve, it helps to first understand how I break down the frequency spectrum. These are the same ranges I use when listening and evaluating gear:

Bass Range — 20 Hz to 300 Hz

lower bass: 20–80 Hz
mid‑bass: 80–150 Hz
upper bass: 150–300 Hz

Midrange — 300 Hz to 8 kHz

lower mids: 300 Hz–1 kHz
main mids: 1–5 kHz
upper mids (presence): 5–8 kHz

Treble — 8 kHz to 20 kHz

lower treble: 8–10 kHz
main treble: 10–14 kHz
upper treble: 14–20 kHz

A target curve is only useful if it reflects the listener behind it. Mine isn’t about trends or copying someone else’s tuning. As you wrote in the attached document: “It’s a visual representation of what I consider truthful, faithful reproduction.” I listen to my reference tracks and compare what I hear to the flow of my Honest Target Curve. I don’t use measurement gear — my reference point is real acoustic instruments, not tuning curves.

Balanced Frequency Response → Overall Shape

The overall shape of my curve mirrors the balance I look for when listening: natural, neutral, and free of artificial emphasis. Each region plays a role in that balance.

Midrange — Natural Timbre (300 Hz–8 kHz)

The midrange is the heart of music. Most instruments and vocals live here, and this is where natural timbre is either preserved or destroyed.

A natural midrange should be:

clean and transparent
free of warmth coloration
accurate in note weight
natural in timbre
unobstructed by bass or treble

This is the midrange that reveals the soul of acoustic and orchestral instruments without adding thickness or forwardness.

Because natural timbre is so important to me, the midrange of my curve stays balanced and lifelike. No dips for fake clarity. No boosts that push vocals unnaturally forward. Just honest, accurate mids — because that’s where most music lives.

“True‑to‑life timbre… accurate harmonic structure… believable density and body… no plasticky or metallic coloration.”

That’s exactly what I listen for.

Bass — 20 Hz to 300 Hz

Bass should behave like real instruments: weighty, controlled, and textured — never bloated or exaggerated.

A natural bass response includes:

extension into true sub‑bass
tight, controlled behavior with no bloom
textured, physical notes with real instrument body
natural decay — not overly damped
zero bleed into the mids

This is bass that supports the music without overwhelming it. It adds foundation, not fog.

Treble — 8 kHz to 20 kHz

Treble should illuminate the stage, not spotlight it. I want clarity, not glare.

A natural treble response is:

smooth, extended, and natural
free of sharp peaks or forced “air”
airy and open without artificial brightness
crisp with real bite and edge
precise in attack but never harsh
harmonically complete, revealing upper overtones

This is a treble that illuminates the stage without spotlighting it. Realistic Staging → Preserving Spatial Integrity

A target curve cannot create staging, but it can absolutely preserve it.

My curve avoids:

treble peaks that create fake width
mid‑bass bloat that collapses depth
mid‑bass tucks that thin note weight
upper‑mid exaggeration that pushes everything forward

By keeping the spectrum balanced, the curve lets the recording define the space — not the tuning.

Dynamic Expression → Clean, Unmasked Spectrum

Dynamics thrive when nothing masks anything else.

My curve supports dynamic expression by avoiding:

bloated bass that compresses the sound
harsh treble that steals attention

The result is honest, unmasked dynamic performance.

Emotional Immersion → The Purpose Behind It All

Ultimately, my target curve is about connection. It’s the technical outline of my ideal sound signature:

Neutral
Natural
Realistic
Immersive

That’s the sound I chase, and that’s the sound my curve represents.

Song Examples — How I Test Each Region

These tracks aren’t just “good examples.” They are the best examples from my own playlist because they expose exactly what I listen for and align perfectly with my sonic identity: neutral, natural, realistic, immersive.

Bass Example — Otis Taylor: “Sunday Morning (A)”

Why:

exposes bass control, depth, note weight, and layering
deep, earthy bass reveals bloom or looseness instantly
natural, not synthetic — perfect for evaluating realism

Backup: Petra “Jekyll & Hyde,” Hans Zimmer “Lost But Won”

Midrange Example — Sinne Eeg: “We’ve Just Begun”

Why:

exposes vocal tone, timbre, depth, layering, imaging
sparse arrangement reveals midrange honesty
perfect for evaluating natural mids

Backup: Molly Johnson, Michael Bublé

Treble Example — Patricia Barber: “Code Cool”

Why:

exposes sibilance, harshness, upper‑treble issues
painful on poorly tuned gear
perfect for evaluating natural treble behavior

Backup: Christian Scott, Cher

Stage Width — Tool: “Chocolate Chip Trip”

Why:

extreme panning and spatial cues
reveals natural vs. artificial width

Backup: Dave Holland Quartet, The Eagles

Stage Depth — Sinne Eeg: “We’ve Just Begun”

Why:

clear front‑to‑back layering
vocal placement vs. band placement
subtle reverbs reveal depth accuracy

Backup: Michael Bublé, Ilhan Eshkeri

Layering — Dave Holland Quartet: “Conference of the Birds”

Why:

natural acoustic layering
each instrument occupies its own space
one of the cleanest layering tests available

Backup: Jethro Tull, Danish National Symphony Orchestra

Understanding the Honest Target Curve

What My Target Curve Is

My Honest Target Curve is a visual outline of the sound I consider natural, realistic, and emotionally truthful. It represents the balance, tone, and timbre that align with how I hear music in real life. This curve reflects years of listening experience, thousands of hours with reference tracks, and a commitment to accuracy over excitement.

It serves as a guide — a way for me to evaluate whether a product reproduces instruments and vocals with believable tone, maintains a neutral and natural balance across the frequency spectrum, and preserves the spatial cues that create an honest soundstage. The curve highlights the qualities I value most: controlled and textured bass, lifelike mids, smooth and natural treble, and a presentation that lets the recording — not the tuning — define the space.

Most importantly, my target curve is a reference point for consistency. It keeps my impressions grounded, helps me identify deviations from natural reproduction, and ensures that every review is built on the same foundation of realism, neutrality, and immersion. It’s not a rulebook — it’s a compass that points toward the sound I consider honest.

What My Target Curve Isn’t

My Honest Target Curve is not a universal standard, a scientific measurement target, or a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. It isn’t designed to replace your ears, dictate what you should enjoy, or compete with established research‑based curves. It’s not a measurement‑driven formula, and it’s not meant to “fix” gear or force everything to sound the same.

This curve also isn’t about hype, trends, or chasing excitement. It doesn’t aim to create artificial width, boosted bass, or exaggerated treble. It isn’t a shortcut to good sound, and it isn’t a guarantee that a product tuned to it will automatically be great.

Instead, it’s simply a visual outline of how I hear, what I value, and what sounds natural and realistic to me. It’s a reference point — not a rulebook.

Why My Target Curve Matters for My Reviews

My Honest Target Curve gives you a clear window into how I listen and why I describe sound the way I do. Every impression I share — whether I call something warm, bright, neutral, natural, thin, or full — is based on how a product compares to this curve. It’s the reference point that keeps my evaluations consistent from one review to the next.

Understanding my target curve helps you interpret my impressions more accurately. If a headphone leans warmer or brighter than my curve, you’ll know exactly what that means in the context of my preferences. It also helps you decide whether my taste aligns with yours, which makes my reviews more useful and predictable for your own listening goals.

In short, the Honest Target Curve isn’t just a visual guide — it’s the foundation of my reviewing process. It keeps my evaluations grounded, honest, and aligned with the natural, realistic sound I value most.

📌 Understanding the Honest Target Curve: Flow, Not Formula

One of the biggest misconceptions about my Honest Target Curve is the idea that it’s something every headphone or IEM should match exactly. That’s not what the curve represents, and it’s not how I use it.

The Honest Target Curve is not a strict recipe, a preference signature, or a universal standard. It’s a guide — a visual reference for the flow of natural, believable sound.

Different driver types and configurations behave differently. Dynamic drivers, planars, BAs, ESTs, hybrids — they all have unique resonances, decay patterns, and acoustic behavior. Because of that, a headphone or IEM that sounds neutral and natural won’t always look exactly like my curve.

But it will share the same overall flow:

natural bass rise
smooth transition into the mids
proper note weight
coherent upper mids
treble that’s present but not sharp
no odd peaks, glare, shimmer, or resonances

The exact shape may shift, but the behavior of natural sound stays consistent. That’s what the curve represents.

📌 How EQ Fits Into This

I don’t EQ to force gear into my curve. I EQ to restore realism.

When I EQ, I’m adjusting to:

make note weight sound natural
refine impact, punch, and slam
remove unnatural shimmer, glare, or oddities
correct tonal issues that break immersion

My goal is simple:

I want the speaker, headphone, or IEM to disappear so the sound envelopes me as if I’m the only one present.

EQ is a tool to help the music feel real — not a shortcut to turn one product into another.

📌 The Curve Is a Map, Not a Destination

If you use the Honest Target Curve as a guide, not a template, you’ll notice something important:

Gear that sounds neutral and natural tends to follow the same flow, even if the exact line is different.

That’s the entire point.

The curve isn’t about matching a shape. It’s about understanding the behavior of natural sound.

And when you use it that way, the gear disappears and the music takes over — which is the whole reason the Honest Target Curve exists.

I am Dave the Honest Audiophile. Thanks for reading, and I will catch you in the next one. Don't forget to enjoy the music and that honesty is the BEST policy!

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The Honest Audiophile research/review process: https://youtu.be/UkSnoZZNyYc

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Recommended Gear:

Rosson Audio Design RAD-0: http://www.rossonaudiodesign.com/

Meze Empyrean: https://mezeaudio.com/products/meze-empyrean

Hifiman Ananda: https://hifiman.com/products/detail/290