PPA Reference EQs for the Opal Audio AM7

 

Four hand-tuned presets for the two included pad sets, plus a guided listening playlist.

 

The AM7 ships with both velour and sheepskin pads. Each material changes seal and tonal balance, so we created four complementary EQ curves:

  • Sheepskin – Reference Balance
  • Velour – Reference Balance
  • Sheepskin – EDM / Treble-Sensitive
  • Velour – EDM / Treble-Sensitive

Curated Listening Playlist

Use this Tidal playlist while A/B’ing the presets:

AM7 Demo EQ Reference — Tidal

AM7 Demo EQ Reference — Qobuz (some tracks missing)

 

Track Album What to listen for
“Look At Where We Are” — Hot Chip In Our Heads Mid-range intimacy; the 1 kHz cut in the Reference curves opens space between vocals and synth pads.
“Limit To Your Love” — James Blake James Blake Sub-bass extension; the descending sine sweep tests how the low shelf boosts without muddying mids.
“Purple Hat” — Sofi Tukker Dancing on the People Kick definition and groove; Reference curves keep kicks distinct while preserving clarity.
“Dancing in the Moonlight (feat. NEIMY)” — Jubël Dancing in the Moonlight Treble sparkle and female vocals; the high shelf adds air without sibilance.
“Brazilian Soul (Acoustic Bossa Version)” — Sofi Tukker & The Knocks Single Acoustic realism; the 450 Hz dip cleans guitar resonance and lets layers breathe.

Understanding the Graphs

Each EQ graph below shows gain (vertical) versus frequency (horizontal). The blue curve represents the total combined response. Peaks above 0 dB = boost; dips below 0 dB = cut. Because visual scales amplify tiny changes, even a ±2 dB tweak can look dramatic—these are subtle, broadband tonal refinements, not “V-shaped” extremes.

EQ Profiles

All four presets use a –6 dB preamp to maintain headroom.

Sheepskin – Reference Balance

Roon capture:

Roon EQ Screenshot — Sheepskin Reference

PPA visual model:

AM7 Sheepskin Reference EQ curve

Balanced, genre-agnostic; adds sub-bass foundation, clears mid warmth, restores presence and air.

  • Low Shelf: 75 Hz +3.0 dB (Q 0.70)
  • Peak: 450 Hz –1.5 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 1 kHz –1.0 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 3 kHz +2.5 dB (Q 1.10)
  • High Shelf: 11.5 kHz +1.0 dB (Q 0.70)

Velour – Reference Balance

Roon capture:

Roon EQ Screenshot — Velour Reference

PPA visual model:

AM7 Velour Reference EQ curve

Tuned for naturally brighter velour pads; lighter air boosts, less warmth cut.

  • Low Shelf: 75 Hz +3.0 dB (Q 0.70)
  • Peak: 450 Hz –1.0 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 1 kHz –1.0 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 3 kHz +2.0 dB (Q 1.10)
  • High Shelf: 11.5 kHz +0.5 dB (Q 0.70)

Sheepskin – EDM / Treble-Sensitive

Roon capture:

Roon EQ Screenshot — Sheepskin EDM

PPA visual model:

AM7 Sheepskin EDM EQ curve

Punchy, darker tuning for electronic / treble-sensitive listeners; strong low-end, rolled-off highs.

  • Low Shelf: 75 Hz +3.5 dB (Q 0.70)
  • Peak: 450 Hz –1.5 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 1 kHz –1.0 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 3 kHz +2.0 dB (Q 1.10)
  • High Shelf: 7.5 kHz –1.5 dB (Q 0.70)
  • High Shelf: 12 kHz –2.0 dB (Q 0.70)

Velour – EDM / Treble-Sensitive

Roon capture:

Roon EQ Screenshot — Velour EDM

PPA visual model:

AM7 Velour EDM EQ curve

Compensates for velour’s brighter balance; heavier bass lift, stronger HF reduction.

  • Low Shelf: 75 Hz +4.0 dB (Q 0.70)
  • Peak: 450 Hz –1.0 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 1 kHz –1.0 dB (Q 1.00)
  • Peak: 3 kHz +1.0 dB (Q 1.10)
  • High Shelf: 7.5 kHz –2.0 dB (Q 0.70)
  • High Shelf: 12 kHz –1.5 dB (Q 0.70)

How to Set These EQs

Roon

  1. DSP → Parametric EQ → Add
  2. Set Preamp –6 dB
  3. For each band, select filter type (Low Shelf, Peak, High Shelf) and enter frequency, gain and Q exactly as listed above.

Equalizer APO (Windows)

Download the preset file and paste into your Equalizer APO config.txt:

📄 AM7_EQ_Presets.txt

FiiO & HiBy Players

Both platforms support high-precision PEQ with adjustable frequency, gain and Q, so you can replicate these curves by hand on your DAP.

Driver Bandwidth & Distortion Management

Each EQ boost pushes the AM7’s transducer closer to its mechanical and acoustic limits. Because the AM7 is highly sensitive, the amplifier rarely clips first — the driver will deviate from linear behavior sooner if a boosted band forces excess excursion or diaphragm breakup.

The built-in –6 dB preamp restores digital headroom and indirectly protects the driver by moderating power delivery when low-frequency shelves or upper-treble boosts are engaged.

  • Keep boosts within ±3 dB when possible.
  • If you raise a shelf by more than +2 dB, lower overall gain (preamp or volume) accordingly.
  • Listen for early signs of strain — blurring, loss of texture, or a “papery” edge — which indicate driver distortion, not amp clipping.

These practices keep the AM7 within its linear excursion range, preserving low distortion and transient clarity at realistic listening levels.

Closing Thoughts

These four profiles reflect careful listening across both included pad sets. Use them as starting points; adjust by small amounts to taste. The Roon captures and PPA graphs make it easy to translate to any DAP or software EQ.

 

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