EQer—System-wide equaliser with hearing compensation

System-wide equaliser with hearing compensation

Requires macOS Sonoma 14.2 or later
Last updated: 2026-08-05

An 11-band equaliser that processes audio across your Mac in real time. Pick a preset, shape the curve yourself, or enter your audiogram and let EQer calculate a personalised listening curve.

Music, video calls, podcasts, and games all get the sound you choose, with smooth gain transitions that avoid audible jumps when settings change.

System-Wide

Every app gets its own real-time audio processing tap
Manual or Audiogram

Shape 11 bands yourself or compensate for measured hearing loss
Per-App Control

Override settings for individual apps
Output Control

Disable processing for individual output devices
Left & Right

Independent ear curves and headphone balance trims
Gain & Dynamics

Transparent gain, optional compression, and brickwall limiting

Equaliser

Interactive 11-band graphic equaliser (31.25 Hz–20 kHz)
22 built-in presets covering music, speech, bass, treble, and more
Preset auto-detection—shows “Custom” the moment your curve differs
Drag-to-adjust chart with settings preserved independently from Audiogram mode
0.5 dB snap grid for precise adjustments
±12 dB gain range

Audiogram

Enter hearing thresholds for 8 standard freqs (250 Hz–8 kHz)
Enter separate left and right ear thresholds in dB HL
Paste audiogram data as TSV, CSV, or Apple Health XML
Gains are calculated using the third-gain rule
Auto-calibrated compensation avoids peaks above +12 dB, with fixed percentage levels also available
Volume-aware compensation blends from boost with pre-attenuation at lower volume to cut-only at full volume
16 kHz and 20 kHz bands extrapolate from the highest measured 8 kHz threshold
A visual curve shows exactly how your audio will be adjusted

EQer adjusts playback EQ; it is not a replacement for hearing aids or clinical hearing care. Some corrections may reduce volume to preserve digital headroom.

Left & Right Ears

Optionally process each stereo channel using its own ear’s audiogram curve
Display both left and right curves in the EQ chart
Centre headphone playback with independent left and right trims from -6 dB to +6 dB
Keep per-ear processing off when you prefer one averaged curve

Per-App Control

See every app currently producing audio
Toggle EQ and compression on or off per app
Assign a different EQ curve to individual apps
Overrides persist even when the app isn’t running
Visual indicators show which apps have custom settings
Right-click to reset any app back to global defaults

Output Devices

Processing is enabled for every output by default
Turn it off for devices that already provide their own hearing accommodations
See each device’s kind, manufacturer, and processing status
Remember disabled devices when disconnected and show them as previously disabled
Automatically recreate audio processing when the default output changes

Output Gain

Raise the processed level transparently without enabling compression
Choose from 0 dB to +6 dB in 0.5 dB steps
See a headroom warning when the Mac volume is near 100%
Keep the final signal protected by the brickwall limiter when digital headroom runs out

Dynamic Range Compression

Optional two-way compressor boosts quiet audio and reduces loud audio
Enable compression globally or override it per app
A brickwall limiter at -1 dBFS protects the final output from clipping
Smooth 500 ms gain transitions help prevent artifacts

Menubar-only app—no dock icon, no window clutter
Ear icon fills when processing is active, outlines when bypassed
One click to toggle processing on or off
Control EQ and compression for the frontmost audio app
Jump straight to that app’s EQ curve from the menu
Launch at Login

Welcome & Settings

A first-run guide introduces hearing compensation, menu bar controls, and per-app processing
Sidebar navigation separates global settings, running audio apps, configured apps, and outputs
App views update automatically as audio-producing apps launch and exit
Reset an app’s overrides from its contextual menu

Real-Time Processing

Individual audio taps for every application producing sound
Smart process filtering excludes system daemons and services
Identifies responsible apps for child processes such as browser tabs and audio hosts
Supports stereo-interleaved and dual-mono audio buffers
Applies pre-EQ attenuation, 11-band biquad filtering, makeup gain, optional compression, and final limiting

Optimised

Only 464 KB app download size
Less than 30 MB base memory footprint

How It Compares

Here’s how this app compares to other similar apps.

	EQer	SoundSource	eqMac
Native Mac app	✓	✓	Hybrid
Menu bar app	✓	✓	✓
11-band EQ	✓	✓	✓
Audiogram compensation	✓	–	–
Dynamic range compressor	✓	–	–
Per-app EQ curves	✓	✓	–
Device bypass rules	✓	✓	–
App Store	✓	–	✓
RAM usage	30 MB	300 MB	40 MB
App size	464 KB	85 MB	75 MB

Where do I get my audiogram values?

You can take a Hearing Test in the iOS Health app and use the resulting audiogram. You can also enter values from a clinical audiogram provided by an audiologist.

EQer adjusts playback on your Mac. It is not a replacement for hearing aids or clinical hearing care.

Why is my volume lower when the audiogram is active?

Audiogram correction boosts some frequencies more than others. Digital audio has a hard ceiling, so EQer has to preserve headroom to avoid clipping/clicks and distortion.

If your Mac volume is already at or near 100%, there is no clean digital room left for extra boost. In that case EQer may reduce parts of the curve or limit the output. For stronger correction with less volume loss, lower the Mac volume and raise the volume on your speakers, headphones, amp, or audio interface.

You can also use Output Gain to raise the processed signal without Dynamic Range Compression. Very high Output Gain can still hit the limiter if the signal runs out of headroom.

My ears are different. Why do both channels sound the same?

By default EQer averages the left and right audiogram values, which is usually better for speakers because both ears hear both speakers in the room.

For headphones, turn on Separate Left/Right Ears. This applies the left audiogram to the left channel and the right audiogram to the right channel. If the stereo image still feels off-centre, use the Left Trim and Right Trim controls while listening to a mono source until the sound is centred.

Should I use Dynamic Range Compression?

Only if you want compression.

Dynamic Range Compression makes quiet sounds louder and loud sounds quieter. That can be useful for inconsistent sources, such as web videos or podcasts, but it changes the dynamics and can raise background noise. For transparent audiogram correction, leave it off and use Output Gain or your external volume control instead.