Struggling to find a proper universal EQ for AirPods Pro 3

[Aneef]

Hey all,

I’m having a hard time finding a proper universal EQ setup for my AirPods Pro 3 on my iPhone 17 Pro Max (iOS 26.1). I’ve tried the usual EQ presets in Settings like “Increased Bass” and a few others, but honestly, I can barely hear any difference. I’m guessing it’s because of Apple’s built-in Adaptive EQ that keeps everything balanced.

I’m looking for something that works system-wide, and not app-based.
Spotify has its own EQ, Apple Music has a different one (I’m not subscribed at the moment), and YouTube has none at all. I don’t want to use Headphone Accommodations either because they make everything sound too bright for my taste.

Is there any reliable universal EQ method on iOS 26 that actually changes the sound across all apps? Or any recommended audiogram setups that don’t make things harsh? Any third-party EQ? I would love to increase the bass a bit more.

Would love to hear what other AirPods Pro 3 users are doing.

Thanks!

 

[MarineBand5524]

do you have Limit Maximum Volume ON or OFF?

I have Dolby Atmos Automatic

Audio Quality - Lossless Audio

I Have my EQ OFF

No Sound Check

 

[Aneef]

Reduce Loud Audio is OFF
Dolby ATMOS: I am unable to locate this is Settings > Apps > Music. There is nothing there related to Dolby.
Audio Quality: Same. Can't find it under Settings > Apps > Music
EQ: Set to Increased Bass.
Sound Check: Was ON but now turned it OFF.

 

[MarineBand5524]

Reduce Loud Audio is OFF
Dolby ATMOS: I am unable to locate this is Settings > Apps > Music. There is nothing there related to Dolby.
Audio Quality: Same. Can't find it under Settings > Apps > Music
EQ: Set to Increased Bass.
Sound Check: Was ON but now turned it OFF.

Turn off EQ.

Even if you're not paying for Apple Music those Settings should be there for Dolby Atmos and Audio Quality.
they are right above EQ.

Ah. so those settings are in fact for Music subscribers only.

Sorry about that.

 

[H_D]

Even if the APP2 and 3 are among the few IEs that actually sound pretty good out of the box with EQ, most I have ever used, wired or otherwise, sound much better when you can add your own equalizing profile. Just because different people and music genres have different styles you can apply. I personally am a bass head, loving the old V-shaped «bath tube» EQ setting with added treble and low frequencies. Most IEs can apply and store an individual EQ setting directly in the headphones DAC. And that really makes a difference.
With the APPs I use the 10-band-EQ on MacOS and the «Dance» Setting on iOS, which adds a bit of bass and treble, but it's not as good as forging your own profile.
It's odd, considering that Apple has great audio software at hand via LogicPro, the headphones have more processing power than some others do (if you can do heart beat measurement, EQ should not be that much of a task) and while I agree with Apple's «It just works» practice, to really shine the Max and Pros at least should have the option of a user based EQ,maybe in addition or as a direction guidance for the smart EQ that Apple does by «listening» to the music with the on-board mics and adapting the audio live.

 

[cynics]

Frequency response modifications needs to be done at the source (app). Some apps have frequency adjustable EQ's, some have profiles (like Apple Music) and others don't have anything.

The app themselves decode the audio data to PCM and processes it for normalization, developer defined EQ, user defined EQ, other app sounds, etc...

The OS then mixes and routes the audio to the appropriate source. This also includes compression for Bluetooth along with many other things like replacing a song from one app with another song from another and things like that.

Then the DSPs in devices like iPhones for its speakers and in the AirPod correct EQ for the physical constraints of the device (driver size and range, power).

Then the DAC conversation, amplification and then finally the driver.

A system wide EQ would require you to equalize for dozens of apps, dozens of sound types (podcast vs games, vs music vs notifications) and dozens of different output speakers all at once somehow. All but the most minute changes would cause one app with one speaker type to sound better for your preferences while making other ones sound worse.