The use of audio equalizers becomes more important if you listen to music frequently. Each music type has its own settings of volume for the speakers. For example, pop music beats are different from folk. Audio equalizers will adjust the speaker settings to be in line with the type of music or audio you want to listen to. You can learn more about equalization from Wikipedia. Windows comes with its own audio enhancer settings. You can access it by following the steps below:
Equalizer APO (For Enthusiasts) Realtek HD Audio Manager (Mainstream) Viper4Windows FXSound (Editor’s pick) Equalizer Pro Boom3D (Best cross-platform including Windows and Mac) Breakaway Audio Enhancer Graphic Equalizer Studio Chrome Audio Enhancer Extensions EQ Audio Equalizer by DevAudio Audio Equalizer by DevApp
The enhancements provided by Microsoft are quite limited. That’s why we prefer to have third-party audio enhancers instead of Windows built-in tools. So here are our top picks for audio enhancements. Before we start there are a few caveats: audio enhancers can put more load on your CPU since more audio processing will be involved and sometimes the default speakers and cheap headsets may even fail to demonstrate the effect of audio processing. So you should select the software which is compatible with your CPU and your audio device.
Equalizer APO (For Enthusiasts)
Equalizer APO is a parametric/graphic equalizer for Windows. It is implemented as an Audio Processing Object (APO) for the system effect infrastructure introduced with Windows Vista. It’s our first Open Source entry. The strong footprint in the community makes it the best and easiest choice. The UI may seem too plain and all the options can overwhelm a new user, but you can also tweak that with downloadable UI’s. It’s the hallmark of the audio Equalizers since it’s completely free. Here are some of the features of Equalizer APO free sound equalizer.
Works on any number of channels. The low strain on CPU(0.48% in our case). Almost lag free. Modular graphical user interface. It supports VST plugins and community support for other notable applications.
Download Realtek Audio APO
Realtek HD Audio Manager (Mainstream)
You might be wondering how good this lackluster audio enhancer is. Firstly your experience can vary with this one since OEMs rebrand them and put extra enhancement exclusive to some machines anyways it is pretty basic but it’s pretty good for basic enhancement like boosting bass or treble and highlighting the vocals given that you know what frequencies you want to tune as it doesn’t have many useful presets but due to its simplicity and ease of availability, its worth a try. Download Realtek Audio Manager
Viper4Windows
Viper4Windows another open source entry means it’s completely free. One of the great things about the Viper4Windows is that it is built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts so it comes preloaded with so many effects and filters to begin with Plus there are also the standard enhancements offered by the other Equalizers. Viper4Windows also offers some features beyond tonal equalization. This includes:
Bass Boost: The app provides a customizable extra boost for low-end sounds. Distortion Control: You can choose between three presets or use the knob to change the control to decibels. Aftermath settings: Viper4Windows provides settings for controlling audio attenuation, density, bandwidth, cool down, and more.
Download Viper4Windows Editor’s note: Please note that this is an old utility and may not work with Windows 10 by default. You will need some additional steps to make it work. It was included here because it’s still very popular among people.
FXSound (Editor’s pick)
Formerly known as DFX audio enhancer it is a well-known audio enhancer its specialty is how it save the users from the complexity and lets the user tune their sound with simple tunable that are not difficult to understand however the downside is that it is not adequate for the pros or extreme audiophiles since it offers 10 bands ranging from 110Hz to 15KHz to be tuned for the use nevertheless its preloaded presets make up for the most average consumers who just want to enhance their audio experience. The downside of this Equalizer is that it costs 39.99$ and the demo version is very limited. The notable features are:
High fidelity sound. Volume Boost without distortion. A personalized listening experience.
Download FXSound
Equalizer Pro
Equalizer pro doesn’t interfere with your system sound rather it provides all the enhancements for the media players and other installed applications out of the box in a clean UI other features include around 20 presets for the soundtrack and 10 band equalizers that again are not much for hardcore audiophiles but the 20 presets and bass booster makes up for the most average consumers. Preamp volume control allows you to tune a single band to amplify low notes by tuning each band individually. The equalizer Pro can cost you 19.95$ however you can also give it a test run using the 7-day trial. The highlights of the Equalizer Pro are:
Bass boost effect 20+ equalizer presets Preamp volume control Simple and Easy to use UI
Download Equalizer Pro
Boom3D (Best cross-platform including Windows and Mac)
Boom3d is also a paid audio enhancer of which the preloaded presets are its strength but it does it very cleanly and with a modern UI so you are less likely to be found lost while finding the best tune, however, the audio equalizer specializes in producing rich spatial sound so it is highly recommended for the folks with surround sound headphones or speakers it works system wide so you can also control the volume of apps individually. Here are a few features of Boom3D:
Magical 3D Surround Sound. 31-Band Equalizer and Presets. Volume Booster. App Volume Controller. Advanced Audio Player. Intensity Slider. Radio Stations.
With Boom3D you get advanced audio players and access to around 20,000 international and local radio stations. Boom3D will cost you 19.99-39.99$ it also comes with a 30-day trial so you can try it out before you can make a purchase. Download Boom3D
Breakaway Audio Enhancer
Breakaway Audio Enhancer is not an ordinary audio enhancer but a pro tool that has the potential to enhance audio, videos, web browsers and games. Multi-band dynamics processing restores spectral balance to your music library and multiple look-ahead peak limiters provide distortion-free transient control, making tunes sound louder and punchier sound while bringing out subtleties you never knew existed. One of the highlighting features is that it can automatically adjust volume dynamics and spectral balancing also can correct song-to-song volume shifts and overdrives. Breakaway Audio Enhancer can cost you 29.95$ before you can try it for free for 30 days. Here’s a summary of its features
Multi-band dynamics processing. Multiple look-ahead peak limiters. Makes tunes sound louder and punchier. Automatically adjusts volume dynamics and spectral balancing. Corrects song-to-song volume shifts and overdriven speakers. The same professional technology is used by DJs, radio stations and webcasters.
Download Breakaway Audio Enhancer
Graphic Equalizer Studio
Our last option is also a paid offering but this is a more professional grade application it along with real-time audio processing also provides a comprehensive graph that helps further tune the sound moreover it can turn sounds of different sources more consistent Graphic Equalizer Studio allows you to watch minimum and maximum amplitudes. Varying the “Q-Factor” changes the overall tone quality so you can create a softer, finer, more blended sound. Graphic Equalizer will cost you 49$ but it also comes with a 30-day trial so you can try it. Here are the highlights of the Graphic Equalizer Studio:
Correlations Meter. MP3 Player / Refresher. Q-Factor for fine-tuning separate configurations. Sync to loop feature for specific evaluation of Digital Audio files. Programmable Frequency selection with independent Band Calculator Programmable. Q-Factor for fine-tuning separate configurations. Sync to loop feature for specific evaluation of Digital Audio files. Programmable Frequency selection with independent Band Calculator Programmable.
Download Graphic Equalizer Studio
Chrome Audio Enhancer Extensions
The above-mentioned software is for complete system audio enhancement but there are Google Chrome extensions which can do the job if you want to enhance the audio of online sound like Youtube or browser audio etc. We list down some of the most famous audio equalizers for Google Chrome. These can be useful if you encounter low volume while watching Youtube videos.
EQ Audio Equalizer by DevAudio
This Chrome extension will enhance the audio of your online videos and audio. Some videos tend to have very low volume when played online. If you encounter this problem, just install EQ Audio Equalizer and it will enhance the sound quality of your online audio more than the maximum volume provided by the system. Install EQ Audio Equalizer for Chrome
Audio Equalizer by DevApp
This is a similar Chrome extension which will let you control the volume beyond the system volume controls and comes with presets like a bass booster, vocal booster, high-frequency amplifier, etc. Install Audio Equalizer for Chrome I hope this has been a useful list for you and you can now choose the best audio equalizer software for your specific requirements. Which audio enhancer did you select? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
