Equalizer for Headphones?

[doubledee]

My really cheap earbuds finally died last week, and so I replaced them with a $10 pair of Sony earbuds, but wasn't happy with the new ones. (Surprise, right?!)

Being the old-timer that I am, I have started to develop a hearing loss in both ears. (It is mild so far, but it got me to thinking that maybe I should invest in a much better pair of Headphones or Earbuds.)

Long story shot, I ended up getting a pair of Bose In-Ear Headphones.

The sound quality is *phenominal* and it's too bad that I didn't know about these before. (In the past, when I thought of Bose, I just thought of the $300 Noise-Cancellation Headphones which have always been out of my budget.)

------
So, anyway, on to my question...

When I am listening to MP3s in either VLC or iTunes, I can use the Equalizers in either of those apps to adjust the sound to something that works better for my aging ears. (Typically this means less bass!!)

All seemed well, until this morning, when I went to listen to a Streaming Radio Show...

The problem?

Well, it just occurred to me that when I listen to Streaming Audio, there is no way for me to adjust the sound, because the websites don't have Equalizers built into their website's player, and there is no way for me to use the Equalizer in VLC or iTunes because I am not using those apps like I do after I have created MP3s of these shows in Audacity for later use.

When I just listened to one of my weekly rock radio shows, there is too much bass!! (Okay for an hour, but if I listen to a 4-hour show like "Casey Kasem's American Top 40 - The 80s" then I will end up with a headache!!)

Is there some way I can adjust the sound to my Bose In-Ear Headphones in OS-X??

(I would want this for my old MacBook with Snow Leopard and my new MacBook Pro with Mountain Lion.)


Also, in an ideal world, if I adjust the sound for my In-Ear Headphones, I don't want that to screw up my capture of the Streaming Audio. (For example, these Bose In-Ear Headphones seem to throw more bass than I like, so I want to turn down lower frequencies. However, I don't want to adversely affect the original stream, because if I did, then if I listened to the captured stream later on another computer or my laptop with speakers, it might sound funny - if you follow me?!)

Hope all of this makes sense, and that there is a quick and easy solution, because while I love my new Bose In-Ear Headphones when it comes to MP3s, I'm not so sure I like how they sound when I listen to streaming audio from websites...

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

[NorCalLights]

http://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

 

[doubledee]

http://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

What in the world does that link have to do with my OP????

I don't need help recording audio. That is not what this thread is about...


Debbie

 

[BrianBaughn]

There's instructions on this page for using Soundflower and AU Labs to do what I think you want.

 

[Consultant]

What in the world does that link have to do with my OP????

I don't need help recording audio. That is not what this thread is about...


Debbie

You don't need to use the recording feature. The app can take any audio from your Mac, and let you apply your own equalizer setting (effect) to it.

But looks like Brian posted a tip using a free app.

 

[doubledee]

There's instructions on this page for using Soundflower and AU Labs to do what I think you want.

Has anyone tried this?

If so, what did you think?

That article looks interesting, but I'm sorta nervous about changing things system-wide.

I guess I was just hoping to have an Equalizer that would tie in to my Laptop's Speakers/Headphones.

That way, I don't have to worry about breaking how things *should* sound when I am recording with Audacity.

(Since I have a slight hearing loss, I am paranoid and don't trust my ears when it comes to changing the original sound/music that I am recording, if that makes sense?!)

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

[samh]

I have used the Soundflower trick to do system-wide EQ. It was a little convoluted to set up but it did work and allowed for pretty good EQ control once I got it going. I wrote a couple of very basic Automator scripts to turn it on and off since I used several different sets of speakers & amps in different locations.

Has anyone tried this?

If so, what did you think?

That article looks interesting, but I'm sorta nervous about changing things system-wide.

I guess I was just hoping to have an Equalizer that would tie in to my Laptop's Speakers/Headphones.

That way, I don't have to worry about breaking how things *should* sound when I am recording with Audacity.

(Since I have a slight hearing loss, I am paranoid and don't trust my ears when it comes to changing the original sound/music that I am recording, if that makes sense?!)

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

[NorCalLights]

What in the world does that link have to do with my OP????

I don't need help recording audio. That is not what this thread is about...


Debbie

Audio Hijack can equalize any sound generated by your computer on a per-application basis.

Soundflower might work too, but I've never used it.

 

[doubledee]

There's instructions on this page for using Soundflower and AU Labs to do what I think you want.

If I try this and don't like it, is there an easy way to "roll back" these System-wide changes??

Also, would I need to do this on my new MBP as well, or is there some built in way to accomplish what I want in Mountain Lion?

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

[samh]

If I try this and don't like it, is there an easy way to "roll back" these System-wide changes??

Also, would I need to do this on my new MBP as well, or is there some built in way to accomplish what I want in Mountain Lion?

Sincerely,


Debbie

Soundflower isn't really a "system-wide" change. You can easily disable it by just selecting a different audio output (e.g. headphone jack or external speakers or whatever).

Essentially what SF does is make itself available as virtual devices in the input and output sound menus. So you route your audio through SoundFlower, do whatever you want to do to the audio, then route it back to where you want the actual audio to come out (i.e. headphones). So to disable, you just stop putting sound out to it. It's not hijacking anything.

 

[doubledee]

Soundflower isn't really a "system-wide" change. You can easily disable it by just selecting a different audio output (e.g. headphone jack or external speakers or whatever).

Essentially what SF does is make itself available as virtual devices in the input and output sound menus. So you route your audio through SoundFlower, do whatever you want to do to the audio, then route it back to where you want the actual audio to come out (i.e. headphones). So to disable, you just stop putting sound out to it. It's not hijacking anything.

I have been using SoundFlower since day one (i.e. 2008) on my MacBook, so I can record radio shows off the Internet using Audacity.

What I am concerned about is downloading and installing the second ap mentioned in the article above, which is AU Labs...

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

[doubledee]

There's instructions on this page for using Soundflower and AU Labs to do what I think you want.

That is what I was afraid of...

I tried installing AU Lab, and following the link you provided, and when I opened up AU I go some really cryptic "document" window with no EQ, and when I fired it up VLC, I got this *horrible* feedback in my new Bose in-ear headphones. (Hope I didn't damage them?!)

That tutorial leaves out about 80% of what a person needs to know to use SoundFlower and AU - assuming that combination even works...

Ears ringing,


Debbie

 

[doubledee]

I totally can't get SoundFlower and AU Labs to work...


Debbie

 

[phoenixsan]

Me being too an audiophile.....

tumbles long time ago with an app called Hear. That app can control the sound coming out from the sound ports or card in your Mac. In this way you can control the sound coming from websites. One caveat is the changes affect all the sound subsystem....