Quality EQ apps for ipod/iphone/ipad

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

well i have now converted back to using "eqalizer" because he released a parametric update, which also alows you to enter specific values for gain, q, and frequency via the ipod keyboard.
 
it is much easier to use your fingers to manipulate the values than on equ.
the values via keyboard is what really got me though. you can be totally precise.
also it has the "precut"gain slider.
im finding that it is more stable and must use less resources or something too, because "equ" skips a lot and "equalizer" does not.
the display and UI are easier to work with on equalizer as well.
 
 
 

I'm using Equalizer more too...I like having the option to play with both of them, but if I was choosing just one, it would be Equalizer.They are both very effective though.

 

[Audioforge]

Hi there,
I am the developer of Equalizer and just stumbled upon this thread today.
Great read!
I am consistently updating Equalizer as it is an app I use daily myself.
So is there something that you would deem to be important and great to have that I might be totally missing?
 
As mentioned in the thread, I am focussing on the audio engine and a true to the sound equalization. The next update will include a 'frequency lock' so once your control points are at the frequency you want them, you can engage the lock and only work on the gain/cut and Q without risk of changing your frequency. Of course typing-in frequencies still works.
 
So I just wanted to introduce myself. Feel free to contact me here (PM) or on my site.
Regards,
Tibor

 

[Br777]

Quote:

Hi there,
I am the developer of Equalizer and just stumbled upon this thread today.
Great read!
I am consistently updating Equalizer as it is an app I use daily myself.
So is there something that you would deem to be important and great to have that I might be totally missing?
 
As mentioned in the thread, I am focussing on the audio engine and a true to the sound equalization. The next update will include a 'frequency lock' so once your control points are at the frequency you want them, you can engage the lock and only work on the gain/cut and Q without risk of changing your frequency. Of course typing-in frequencies still works.
 
So I just wanted to introduce myself. Feel free to contact me here (PM) or on my site.
Regards,
Tibor

welcome!  i was hoping you and the EQU guy would join the community... you will undoubtedly get lots of feedback and suggestions to improve your app.
 
as you can see it is much appreciated!
 
by the way, i dont know the ins and outs but i think you will be required to contact an admin so you can register yourself as a member of the trade or something, rather than just a plain head-fier, since you are selling a product.  
 
keep up the good work!

 

[Br777]

the #1 feature i would recommend is a spectrum analyzer.  this way i can use my sine wave file and have a visual reference for what frequency it is playing... this is an essential feature for properly EQ ing headphones.   EQu  has one. 
 
more # values on the frequency graph would also be very helpful.. as many as possible.  20k 30k 40k 50k.. etc...all the way up... the more the better
 
fast forward, rewind and or a slider that allows skipping forward and backward on the main page would be great.
 
i always think that keeping the overall UI as close to the original IPOD app is better than redoing it, but this would probably be a lot of work.
I just feel the overall layout needs a some tweaking.  having the default screen be the equalizer can be a bit awkward.  it would be nice to have a more centralized screen that defaults to album art, and song controls, but allows a one tap switch to the eq.
for example on the normal ipod app you default to album art and song control, with the little box in the upper right that takes you to the playlist.. this format works great.. now if there was say, another little box somewhere that fliped you back and forth to the eq.. that would be perfect.
 
and one more   if you could somehow give the app a way to be accessed by the bottom tapping when the ipod is locked.. which allows music access without unlocking... that would be epic...
 
although i am preferring equalizer, EQU has you beat in some of its ease of use and layout.
 
anybody else with suggestions?  we could help make this app perfect!

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

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more # values on the frequency graph would also be very helpful.. as many as possible.  20k 30k 40k 50k.. etc...all the way up... the more the better
 
 

20 - 50 kHz? Is this feature for your dog or something?

 

[Br777]

Quote:

20 - 50 kHz? Is this feature for your dog or something?

oops... that was supposed to say hz, not k....    i was trying to start from the bottom and say the more markings all the way up to 20k, the better..

 

[Br777]

can anyone confirm that these apps still work with a line out?
 
thanks

 

[ExpatinJapan]

 
 
I tried it with an iphone 3G and line-out/LOD it worked.

 

Only tried Equalizer App though, (EQu doesn`t work with 3G iphone).

 

*multi thread post, sorry.

 

[Br777]

awesome! thanks!

 

[Audioforge]

Thanks for all your suggestions.
 
I am currently working on a more centralized play screen. similar to the iPod app but still different enough (Apple does not want other apps to recreate their functionality too much, so it is a fine line I am walking).
as for the values: I had more numbers on the screen but it looks quite cluttered. however, the fine lines are at 20,40,50,60,70,80,90 100 and multiples of 10 of those. Because they are so close together, I would suggest you use your ears or just enter the frequency with the keyboard (tap on the frequency display top left and type in the number you want).
In the next update, I'll have a frequency lock function so you can lock the frequencies of the control points and just move gain up and down, like sliders.
 
As for the spectrum analyzer: Equ has one because they are using a fourier transform to equalize the music. Equ is not a parametric equalizer (they never claim it is).
This is also the reason why you observe leakage, as was noted by yuriv here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/528724/quality-custom-eq-apps-for-ipod-touch-and-iphone-they-exist/30#post_7230787
Equalizer on the other hand is a real parametric equalizer and very accurate using industry strength algorithms.
So Equ gets a spectrum analyzer for free (CPU wise) while if I implement a spectrum analyzer, it will tax the CPU and break my 3G support for sure. And I want to support as many devices as possible.
I know that iPhone4 could handle a spectrum analyzer easily so I have it on my todo list to add one for newer device. But it will not be in the next update.
 
I am still working on improving the audio engine as there is some room for improvement. (did I mention that I use Equalizer every day myself?)
 
So thanks again for all the comments and suggestions. I am following this thread very closely.

 

[Achmedisdead]

 
Quote:

Thanks for all your suggestions.
 
I am currently working on a more centralized play screen. similar to the iPod app but still different enough (Apple does not want other apps to recreate their functionality too much, so it is a fine line I am walking).
as for the values: I had more numbers on the screen but it looks quite cluttered. however, the fine lines are at 20,40,50,60,70,80,90 100 and multiples of 10 of those. Because they are so close together, I would suggest you use your ears or just enter the frequency with the keyboard (tap on the frequency display top left and type in the number you want).
In the next update, I'll have a frequency lock function so you can lock the frequencies of the control points and just move gain up and down, like sliders.
 
As for the spectrum analyzer: Equ has one because they are using a fourier transform to equalize the music. Equ is not a parametric equalizer (they never claim it is).
This is also the reason why you observe leakage, as was noted by yuriv here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/528724/quality-custom-eq-apps-for-ipod-touch-and-iphone-they-exist/30#post_7230787
Equalizer on the other hand is a real parametric equalizer and very accurate using industry strength algorithms.
So Equ gets a spectrum analyzer for free (CPU wise) while if I implement a spectrum analyzer, it will tax the CPU and break my 3G support for sure. And I want to support as many devices as possible.
I know that iPhone4 could handle a spectrum analyzer easily so I have it on my todo list to add one for newer device. But it will not be in the next update.
 
I am still working on improving the audio engine as there is some room for improvement. (did I mention that I use Equalizer every day myself?)
 
So thanks again for all the comments and suggestions. I am following this thread very closely.

I use both your app and EQu, but one big advantage of yours is that the screen will go to sleep as you listen....so Equalizer uses much less battery power, from what I have seen. The only issue I've had so far, was when I tried to add every song on my device to the Equalizer playlist to shuffle....and 3,500 songs was too much for it. After a few attempts, I removed some songs from the device, and got the app to load up so that I could clear that huge previous playlist.  With smaller playlists, it works very well, and soundcheck still seems to be working in shuffle mode....that is not the case with EQu. So at this point, when I shuffle(and listen for longer periods of time), I use Equalizer, and for one album listening, I use EQu. (I bought both apps, might as well find a way to use both, right?)

 

[Br777]

 
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Thanks for all your suggestions.
.......

Thanks for all the replies.  very informative.  Makes me want to stick with "equalizer" all the more.
 
I understand the clutter with adding too many frequency #'s, but even a few more that are evenly spread would be very helpful.
 
everything else sounds right on track! 
keep up the good work!  I'm sure this site and your interaction will drive up your sales!

 

[yuriv]

Since the topic has been brought up again, here are some measurements:
 
RMAA's spectrum analyzer for an iPad playing a 1 kHz tone:

 
 
The same thing, but with linear frequency scale up to 1.4 kHz:

 
EQ is turned off for the iPod app, but the "Flat" preset has the same spectrum. Equalizer and EQu are set to their flat presets, but I adjusted the gain to match levels. The built-in iPod app plays the cleanest signal; the data here is for the iPad at maximum volume. When EQu plays a pure 1-kHz tone from a file, the signal coming out of the iPad doesn't just have energy at 1 kHz, but also at ~915 Hz and ~1085 Hz, about 50 dB down.
 
Something strange is also going on with Equalizer--something 30 dB higher than what EQu or the iPod app outputs at low frequencies. I can duplicate these results using another spectrum analyzer and my own test tones (instead of RMAA's). If anyone is interested, I can post more pics. At first I thought that it could be related to a DC offset, but the measure function of my scope says otherwise. I'll double-check this result later.
 
In any case, it's very hard to hear the results of these artifacts and music sounds just fine on all of these apps. Nobody else has complained about the audio thus far. But now that I've put forth some suggestions, a few of you may start imagining things that you're not really hearing.

 

[Achmedisdead]

 
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In any case, it's very hard to hear the results of these artifacts and music sounds just fine on all of these apps. Nobody else has complained about the audio thus far. But now that I've put forth some suggestions, a few of you may start imagining things that you're not really hearing.

Not me....my ears have been cryogenically treated!

All kidding aside, thanks for sharing the RMAA results....I know they're not very popular here at Head-Fi.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

 
 
I have had a few days playing with it, and enjoy both.
 
EQu, I like how I can see the music playing behind my adjustments, and can easily keep adjusting the control points with no time limits.
 
Equalizer. This is probably my favorite, It seems more accurate.
*Sometimes the control points seem to freeze or lock on their own accord after a few songs. I can`t just continually free adjust them it seems.
*Why not have two apps on the store?, one for those of us on 4G and have a separate one for 3G support, I do feel it is a loss for us and you the developer.
I don`t know where 3GS would fit best.
*Or have the Spectrum Analyzer included in one general update but set to off, or 3G locked out from it.
 
Using with a ipod Touch 4G.