EqualizerAPO equivalent for MacOS

[starfly]

What is the most straightforward (and preferably free) equivalent to Equalizer APO? There's a post on ASR that lists a whole bunch of different options, and after trying a few of them just now, none of them seem as advanced and straightforward as EqualizerAPO, or they ask a subscription of some sort, or it's a complicated setup of some sort.

Just looking for a way to apply a bunch of PEQ filters for measurements I took in REW. I go back and forth between my Macbook and Windows desktop in my office and would like the Mac output to sound just as good.

 

[Madlop26]

Free and good in a Mac, probably one that is hard to find, I use FabFilter Pro-Q 4, I know, quite expensive, $180 probably way overkill for my use but the interface is so amazing. bought it 4 years ago, no regrets.

 

[ceedee]

There are no free and straightforward equivalents in MacOS that I've tried yet. There is a free method using Blackhole software to reroute audio to something like AU Lab and then back out to your output, but it's rather complicated for just EQing the system audio output IMO.

I use SoundSource to manipulate the system audio, which for me is worth the $50 or so price. I already have several EQ plugins that I use for music production, so I use Fabfilter Pro-Q 3 which I've had for years. You could probably use one of the Audio Units that come with MacOS too. SoundSource also lets you import PEQ filters in text format to use with the built-in Headphone EQ. Using one of these methods you should be able to match the results of Equalizer APO and you don't have to fiddle with it much.

 

[kemmler3D]

I've been through the same saga (work computer is Mac, personal Win) and ended up using SoundSource after losing patience with Blackhole and the built-in AU host.

You can actually import the REW filters (almost) directly to SoundSource, no need for an additional EQ plugin. You just need to edit the TXT file to fit the formatting Soundsource uses for headphone EQ presets. It's a few tweaks and you're good to go. For some reason you can only define the filters this way using the "Headphone EQ" feature but it does work.

I can't remember for the life of me how I figured out the formatting, but here's an example to get you started, you need to remove all the comments and whatnot, and format the filter settings like this:

Preamp: -3.7 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 229 Hz Gain 18.0 dB Q 1.000
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 45.8 Hz Gain -21.8 dB Q 2.231
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 65.2 Hz Gain -11.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 87.1 Hz Gain -9.2 dB Q 3.478
...