I recently bought a pair of DT700 Pro X thinking they would be a substantial improvement over my 2008 ATH-M40fs but I was kind of disappointed. They sound like crap to my ears without EQ (boomy, underwater, muffled). Then I came back to my old pair, also thought they sounded like crap without EQ (harsh, absent bass). I took the time to EQ the DT 700, then took some more time to EQ again the M40fs, and the DT 700 is not much of an improvement, not for the price paid. They sound decently good with an EQ, have a little bit better imaging, separation, soundstage, comfort etc. but I expected better stock sound for the price.
Maybe my expectations are unrealistic and I should up my budget a bit and get closer to real hifi instead of staying in the mid-fi class?
Personally no. I had a few headphones that sounds amazing out the box and never needed tuning
That being said. The new headphones coming out with their own personal EQs are quite marvelous and do make the headphones work better, but a lot of times these headphones with proprietary EQs usually sound muffled and tinny out the box. So EQs is a must to make them sound correctly.