Shopping for headphones? You should know about the ‘Harman curve’

If you’ve shopped for high-end headphones recently, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve come across something called the ‘Harman target curve,’ or perhaps just the ‘Harman curve.’ Maybe you read a review that said a pair of headphones sound amazing because they’ve been tuned to said target. Or perhaps you saw an edgy comment suggesting headphones tuned to the Harman curve suck. But why exactly are more manufacturers, audiophiles, and reviewers pay