Have you ever asked yourself, “what are the best equalizer settings?” after diving deep into the audio settings of your favorite music device, trying to understand how it works or trying to discover if there’s a magical configuration that gives you the best sound for your money no matter what speakers you’re rocking?
Well, you’re not alone.
In this article, we’ll help you understand a few things to help you find the perfect setup for your speakers and genres of music. Because no, there isn’t an ideal equalizer setting for everybody, no matter what other people think. The best settings depend on your hearing capabilities, the quality of your speakers, and even the type of music your listening to.
But first of all, let’s go over the basics, as you will need to know this information to keep up with the rest of the article.
What’s an Equalizer (EQ)?
An equalizer is a processor that allows you to boost or decrease certain frequency ranges to modify or enhance the sound quality. It usually works with frequencies between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which are theoretically the frequencies humans can hear, although, in reality, our range could be decreased by age and other factors.
Decades ago, equalizers were managed via a physical console where you could tune up and down levers to adjust your settings. Still, since most audio is consumed digitally nowadays, equalizers have been implemented in most devices, such as computers, smartphones, etc., to allow you to adjust your audio settings and get the most out of your speakers.
You can also find equalizers in most stereo sound systems, Blu Rays, Smart TVs, Car stereos, etc. An example of a digital equalizer is shown below:
What are frequency ranges?
Frequency in “audio” terms is the number of times a wave repeats itself in a lapse of time. Simply put, if you have a low-frequency sound, you’ll hear waves in the bass or sub-bass range. Low-frequency sounds require more power and bigger speakers, while higher-frequency sounds require less energy and smaller speakers.
That’s why you always see small speakers around your surround sound but a colossal bass speaker to give some punch.
Here is a breakdown of the frequencies:
- 20 Hz – 60 Hz: Super low frequencies on the EQ. Only sub-bass and kick drums reproduce these frequencies, and you need a subwoofer to hear them or a good pair of headphones.
- 60 Hz to 200 Hz: Low frequencies requiring a bass or lower drums to be reproduced.
- 200 Hz to 600 Hz: Low mid-range frequencies. You’ll hear this range of frequencies if you play the lower end of many musical instruments, such as guitars or a piano.
- 600 Hz – 3,000 Hz: Mid-range frequencies. This is the range we are used to hearing, and vocal sounds are located in this range. Most instruments, such as guitars and pianos, are played in this range.
- 3,000 Hz – 8,000 Hz: Upper mid-range frequencies. This is played in the upper range of instruments, such as guitars or violins. It’s a spectrum where you can enjoy the music if done well, but it can often be very annoying.
- 8,000 Hz and above: Theoretically, we can hear up to 20,000 Hz, yet most humans have limited hearing capabilities due to age and other factors. We need trebles to reproduce these high-frequency sounds.
Now that you understand the frequency ranges, you’ll see an equalizer, know how it works, and test some settings yourself.
It’s important to understand that usually, equalizers are set flat, so you can hear the sound as it was initially recorded. However, you can always improve your audio experience by tweaking the settings according to the genres of music you’re listening to and your speaker’s capabilities.
Here are some examples of the best settings according to some popular music genres:
Best Equalizer settings for Acoustic music
If you love hearing acoustic versions or enjoy the love of instruments without tons of bass or digitally modified sounds, this is an excellent way to set up your equalizer:
You’re going to be pumping just a bit the bass frequencies and the mid and higher mid frequencies, which works perfectly to boost people’s voices and the sound of most acoustic instruments without going overboard.
Best equalizer settings for Electronic music
If you love electronic music, you know the bass is super important, and since many times it doesn’t focus on vocals, you want to get the most out of digital sounds in the high ranges, which is why you can test a setting like this one and tweak it to your needs:
Best equalizer settings for Latin music
Latin music is all about bass and trebles, with solid vocals that generally don’t require to be boosted more. Check out this configuration and test if you like it:
Best equalizer settings for Piano and Classical music
If you love to hear Chopin, Beethoven, and other classical music authors, most sounds come from instruments such as pianos, violins, acoustic guitars, or a full orchestra. Try these EQ settings to get the most out of it:
Best equalizer settings for Pop music
Pop is mostly about vocals and mid-range sounds. We’re going to boost the mid-range frequencies more than anything else and also boost a bit the low-mid and high-mid frequencies, as shown in this image:
Best equalizer settings for Rock music
Rock is one of the top genres, and it focuses a lot on low-frequency sounds and high-frequency sounds made by electric guitars, etc. Test these EQ settings (classical Rock curve) that pretty much elevate everything besides the mid frequencies and enjoy your Rock songs like there’s no tomorrow:
Best equalizer settings for bass
Bass isn’t a music genre, yet many people are looking for this as they want to max out the punch sound of their bass. If you understand the frequency ranges correctly, you’ll end up with something like this:
You’re maxing out the lower frequencies up to 500 Hz and then leaving everything else flat. While I recommend using other settings according to the genre, some people want to maximize their bass, which is what works.
Remember, for this or any other settings to work and increase your music’s bass, you’ll need a decent woofer or subwoofer to reproduce the sound.
Conclusions
There you go. You can try many other settings to get better sound out of your music device. You can get started with any of those presets and then tweak it accordingly.
Make sure you reproduce some music while tuning your equalizer, as you will immediately see the difference when you apply the changes. From there, you can tweak up and down each frequency range and see what sounds better for you because, as we’ve said before, music is personal and what sounds best for you might not be the best for your friends.
Also, remember that your speakers are an essential part of this. You need a good speaker setup like a soundbar, a surround sound setup, or a decent pair of headphones to make the most out of an equalizer. You’ll only get cracks and audio distortion if you try to boost some frequencies in a cheap laptop with integrated speakers.
Once you learn what works better for your setup and your ears, you’ll discover more sounds in your songs that perhaps you have never heard before, and you’ll enjoy your music even more with the best equalizer settings for your favorite genres.
What will effect the quality of [email protected]?When I quiter down the volume with hinger up maximumise the Pre’Amp and use proper maximumise all the equalizer.In other with encoding the music.Such maximumise the bass tune balnce maximize the Equalizer.Try to heard all the preset of instruments @ music.What ensolution points view?
I’m not sure I understand your question.
You had to be doing that on purpose
Excellent article, just what I needed to set up my rather basic Dolby app settings in my laptop. Thank you.
Dear sir
I am listening Indian cinema music
And like metal type
Please suggest me how eq I can set?
Thank you regarding Taher
The rock profile should work for that.
Excellent response
Sir , I love Christian music.
So i love hearing the words or messages more clearer and also I enjoy hearing dynamics , and also i am a bass guy.
Thank you
those are conflicting so I would assume put it high on both ends in a U shape. (sorry the response is like 2 months late)
Thanks for helping other people in the comments, Tommy!
Can you please guide me with EQ settings for jazz piano on Korg PA 4X?
Somewhere like the “piano” settings could work for you.
I am mostly into playing distortion guitar solos over downloaded backing tracks. How do I make my solos merge properly with the backing track and yet stand out crisply.
Thks
when you do solo over backing track, you and audience want to hear solo rather than other tracks. So you better set the volume of solo track higher than others. But not too much because your music is going to sound unnatural. Using some reverb and delay help your guitar solo go easier with the music. Next thing is EQ. Cut bass a little boost hight or treble frequency to cut through the mix. If you use hardware effects and amp, engaging a boost pedal or overdrive pedal like tubescreamer can do it well. Hope it can help.
hi,article was so helpful.can I use the parts about equlizer settings on my instagram? I speak persian(Farsi) and I gonna translate it,so others can learn.I will give credits to.
thanks
Please give credits to our page and it should be good 🙂
For speech and human voice mid frequencies are important. Cut the bass before 150 to 200 Hz on eq. Cut very high frequencies as well because they are completely useless in this case and only make noise.
Hope it can help. Greetings from Tehran.
Hello hi playing games and would like o hear footsteps without to much background noise
Hi. That’s a tricky one, but assuming footsteps are low-frequency sounds the “Latin” or “rock” presets should help.
Thank you!
HELLO WHICH OF THE FIRST 3 BASS FOCUS QUILIZER IS BEST CHANGE SETTING FOR LETTING THE BASS GIVE OUT MORE RUMBLE PLEASE TELL ME!!!
Bump all the low-frequency bands and see if that helps.
wich could possible be the best to heard every kind of music or audio with high volume but good quality
I don’t think there’s a profile for every kind of music/audio. If anything I’d leave it flat then.
Sony speakers will work? , I think theyre pretty decent but idk.
Any speak can use an equalizer as long as it’s connected to a digital device.
I have been looking all over the place for a writer that could present these settings from a practical “listeners” standpoint. I am using an Audio Control DQDX in my 2013 Mustang. I have had the worst time finding settings that will not be “boomy” and vocals that do not sound like the singer is singing into a cup. I listen to alot of different music. I have hearing loss stemming from multiple combat deployments where heavy weapon fire and close proximity ordinance explosions have damaged my hearing as well as left me with serious Tinnitus (loud ringing in the ears)
I have rather eclectic music tastes. EDM, Trap, Electronic, Fusion Jazz, Synthesized classical music (Don Dorsey) and Rock/Metal music. You stated early that Perhaps it was best to leave the EQ “flat” when listening to a wide range of music genres. I am sorry but that is a rather “thoughtless” answer in my opinion. Leaving the EQ “flat” is a waste of money and defeats the entire purpose for having an EQ to begin with.
I like the article and have saved it to show others, but as for leaving things flat? Surely you can do better than that. Although I have struggled to find a happy medium, I am confident that I will find or learn settings that will help me to enjoy my music across all types of music while only making minor changes for each music type.
I hope you will consider going back and doing some testing in that area.
Flat really is the only medium I think as different music will have different bass/treble/pitch.
as a producer i can say that leaving the eq flat is the best possible advice to give to.
as every sound system is build different and have different settings, there isnt a best way to eq.
its all depending on how your subs, mids or highs perform on your sound system.
other than that this article helps the best way possible.
have a great one 🙂
What settings, if any, would you suggest for a song like Black Sabbath’s Paranoid?
I’m using the Dolby Atmos equaliser settings in a Galaxy S21 Ultra, if that makes any difference; they range from 63 to 16k, and the dB range is -10dB to 10dB.
(9 bars: 63 – 125 – 250 – 500 – 1k – 2k – 4k – 8k – 16k)
As is, in the custom settings, I’ve only bumped the 4k up to 3dB, and left everything else flat on 0dB.
Thanks for your time
Try the “rock” profile settings and see if you like it 🙂
hi how about trance/rock/pop ?
We have a profile for rock setting sin the article 🙂
What should he setting for hindi motivational songs
Good question. What music genre would that be?
What would the equalizer look like set to 432hz??
Any suggestions for setting for speech eg listening to radio plays?
Do you mean just listening to people talking such as a podcast or radio? The pop equalizer should work well for that.
Hi please I need a teacher, not just equalizers but mixers also, any teacher available?.
can someone help me set my equalizer..? i listen to nothing but new york drill and i’m looking to maximize the sound… please and thank-u…
Hi ,what setting should I use at a house of worship for vocals? Thnx DMick
Pop or something similar to boost the vocal frequency ranges.
hello. i mainly listen to movie soundtracks which are primarily orchestral. i wanted to hear the percussion, the strings and brass instruments more clearly. could you suggest a suitable equalizer setting for me?
Try the classical music settings for Orchestras.
Sir please make
Chipmunk beat chart
I have a really heavy classical music piece. More specifically Shostakovich’s 8th String Quartet, what’s the setting that there will be more bass but the strings will still be loud and clear
Hey,could you please send me the previous Eq setting which was named ‘perfect’.I loved it but got deleted accidently.
Please send it.
Hey, which EQ setting should I use for Vocal Percussion (Beatboxing)
Many Thanks
P.G