Set a Custom EQ for Your AirPods in iOS 27

[KVet1979]

Nothing Ear 3 sound better than AirPod Pro due to a great EQ, albeit ANC is worse. You can download EQs setup by others with more time than me. You can try them out, switch if necessary. Sound, like taste, is entirely subjective. Why Apple won’t allow this is mind-boggling. I’ve been Apple Eco-System since about 2006. I might be about to leave.

 

[GtrDude]

Oh wow…we get a three band eq.
Not 9, 7, or even 5 but a whole three bands of eq.

 

[J71]

EQ on Mac OS?
Where? 🤔

I have been using a third-party EQ for a few years, eqMac. There are a few license tiers including a lifetime of $40. You can try out the pro features before you decide.

 

[eveluvsrainbows]

I don't know how useful this thing is because there already was an equalizer for apple music and I just don't know.

There is an EQ for the Music app, but it only has predefined presets. It doesn't allow you to customize the lows, mids, or highs on a somewhat granular level like the new AirPods equalizer does. So it will likely be more useful to people than the predefined presets. Plus, the AirPods equalizer applies to all apps, not just Apple Music or one's local library. So that by itself makes it far more useful than the EQ setting in Music settings.

I can't count the number of times Apple has suddenly released a new feature that's been available for ages on competing products or systems. It's one of the reasons I'm sticking with Windows, Microsoft Office, Google Maps, and others.

Respectfully, why does this matter? Also, you can use what you want but not everyone is you nor do they have the same mindset as you. Not everyone likes to use Microsoft or Google products, so to have the alternative add features that other things have, makes it easier.

 

[Rychiar]

I’ve never trusted myself with an EQ and was always happy to let apple handle it

 

[davidg4781]

I guess I’m in the minority but I don’t feel a need for this at all. I’ve heard what people do with EQ settings and it’s normally not that good.

And it’s tied to the AirPod? So if I use that same AirPod on my MBP, ATV, or AW, it’ll keep the same profile but possibly have different source material? That might not sound how I like it.

 

[Ameer_1]

Why not the AirPods Pro 1

 

[nickbatz]

This is a welcome and overdue feature that I've been clamoring for, and it's unfortunate that uses the chip on the headphones so you can't use it with older AirPods (such as the very expensive AirPods Max). And I disagree with the grumbling about this equalizer only having three bands, or that a 12-band graphic equalizer like the one in the macOS Music program would be better for this application. You don't want lumpy frequency changes for this application, you want smooth, subtle tweaks.

But in the meantime there are two workarounds for the missing EQ buried in Accessibility-> Audio & Visual -> Headphone Accommodations, both of them options in the Audio Tuning area. This is in iOS 26 on iPhones, and I assume earlier versions as well.

You can select Vocal Range (an upper midrange boost) or Brightness (higher than the vocal range), and both have a slider for Slight, Moderate, or Strong. The other option is to take a hearing test and then use the Audiogram setting to compensate.

Neither of those options is as good as an equalizer, but they're still pretty good. And the fact that you can use an Audiogram would make me believe there's a back door here. The phone couldn't tell the difference between an inverse curve generated by a hearing test app and an EQ curve created by a hacker.

 

[Johnstrass2]

I don't know how useful this thing is because there already was an equalizer for apple music and I

Anyone remember the iPod? That device had an equalizer and it’s top menu.

I don’t know why it’s taking apple a decade and a half to finally get an equalizer again….

 

[Astuces iOS]

Anyone remember the iPod? That device had an equalizer and it’s top menu.

I don’t know why it’s taking apple a decade and a half to finally get an equalizer again….

Hell it’s not even compatible with every AirPod !

 

[Astuces iOS]

There is an EQ for the Music app, but it only has predefined presets. It doesn't allow you to customize the lows, mids, or highs on a somewhat granular level like the new AirPods equalizer does. So it will likely be more useful to people than the predefined presets. Plus, the AirPods equalizer applies to all apps, not just Apple Music or one's local library. So that by itself makes it far more useful than the EQ setting in Music settings.

Respectfully, why does this matter? Also, you can use what you want but not everyone is you nor do they have the same mindset as you. Not everyone likes to use Microsoft or Google products, so to have the alternative add features that other things have, makes it easier.

Yeah a bit, not huge deal tho