Loudness Equalizer makes sound tinny/echoey

I recently got a new computer (Dell Vostro 3910 with Windows 11) and when I turned on my Loudness Equalizer (like I had in my old Win 10 Dell computer) the sound turned really bad. When it's off, it sounds rich and "close to the mic", but when it's on, it's like I'm hearing the sound in an open room. There's more distance in the sound and it sounds more hollow.

I should also note that I'm only listening through headphones and do not use speakers. I have a pair that plugs into the computer (which I use mostly) and then a bluetooth pair that I don't use as often when I need to be more mobile.

I've tried updating my sound drivers, but nothing seems to work. My particular model and OS comes with "Cirrus Logic High Definition Audio Driver" and "Waves MaxxAudio Pro Application". My old one had Realtek, as that's what my old computer had and it worked great, but that's not compatible with my computer (I've tried).

I've also installed FXSound which has some great settings, but I can't seem to adjust the hz levels correctly to make the sound quality match what I hear when the Loudness EQ is off.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Is there a trick to get other drivers to work/be compatible? Is there another app that can help? Are any of you familiar enough with FXSound to know what levels I should have them at?

Any help would be most appreciated! Thank you!

For what it is worth, you can use the free K-Lite Codec Pack, specifically the Mega variant. You can read about its Contents and download it from its Download Page.

However, if the above does not resolve your issue, we need more system information about your computer to better help you, so we would appreciate it if you could please do the following:

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Good luck!

"I can't seem to adjust the hz levels correctly to make the sound quality match what I hear when the Loudness EQ is off."

Isn't this the answer to your question ?  If it sounds better with equalisation off then leave it off ?

Generally speaking, drivers from one manufacturer will not work on another manufacturer's hardware but you have a couple of options. First, not all players are equal and there are any number around. I personally like VLC. Another option would be to add a better sound card, not all sound cards are equal !  This is an area of personal choice and preferences, you would need to do your research.

Audio is a very subjective area but I generally would not use equalisation. It can make a poor system sound better or at least louder but they do little for the overall quality of frequency response.

Chris Cosgrove

There are audio and video players, such as VLC Media Player, foobar2000, Winamp Legacy, MusicBee, MediaMonkey, and Windows Media Player (2022).

All the players above have an Equalizer feature, but as Chris Cosgrove already pointed out, I would NOT recommend using it either.

However, with all due respect, as a musician and audiophile, I do NOT use any headphones to listen to music, but I DO use two sets of stereo speakers.

One speaker set consists of two stereo table-standing midrange and tweeter speakers and a 120-watt RMS subwoofer and is called the CORSAIR SP2500.

The second set of speakers is an additional 120-watt PMPO (60-watt RMS) subwoofer, and overall, I have 180-watt RMS bass.

Good luck!

For what it is worth, you can use the free K-Lite Codec Pack, specifically the Mega variant. You can read about its Contents and download it from its Download Page.

 

However, if the above does not resolve your issue, we need more system information about your computer to better help you, so we would appreciate it if you could please do the following:

 

FIRST:

 

1. Please download, install, and run the FREE version of Speccy, or the portable version.

2. Then, go to File > Publish Snapshot

3. Click YES > Copy to Clipboard

4. Then please post the LINK to the report by pasting it into your next reply in this thread.

 

NEXT:

 

1. Please download and run MiniToolBox.

2. Place a checkmark in the following four boxes:

 

List the Last 10 Event Viewer Errors

List Installed Programs

List Problematic Devices

List Users, Partitions, and Memory size

 

3. Click “GO”

4. Please post the text results here by copying/pasting the full-text output directly into your next reply in this thread.

 

Good luck!

Thanks for this, and for your other post as well! I will look into all of that! Good to know about the built-in EQ features on those players (I have VLC). Thanks again!

"I can't seem to adjust the hz levels correctly to make the sound quality match what I hear when the Loudness EQ is off."

 

Isn't this the answer to your question ?  If it sounds better with equalisation off then leave it off ?

 

Generally speaking, drivers from one manufacturer will not work on another manufacturer's hardware but you have a couple of options. First, not all players are equal and there are any number around. I personally like VLC. Another option would be to add a better sound card, not all sound cards are equal !  This is an area of personal choice and preferences, you would need to do your research.

 

Audio is a very subjective area but I generally would not use equalisation. It can make a poor system sound better or at least louder but they do little for the overall quality of frequency response.

 

Chris Cosgrove

Hi! Thanks for the response.

Ideally yes, I would just leave EQ off and enjoy the better sound, but I have found that there's just so much volume variation from video to video that I have to keep adjusting the volume. First World problem, I know, but it drives me crazy and I'd love to find a fix for it that doesn't sacrifice sound quality. That makes sense about the drivers not being cross-compatible but I didn't know I could change out the sound card. That's something I will definitely look into, thank you!

I also use VLC and absolutely love it, but most of what I listen to is through my browser. I've tried different extensions but the only ones I've found are pretty much garbage.

Thanks again for your help!

In your last post you said -  "just so much volume variation from video to video"

T.he problem is that volume levels have nothing to do with equalisation. Equalisation is a means of levelling out bumps and dips in frequency response across the audible spectrum. An ideal frequency response across the audible spectrum would be flat within +/- 3dB across the range from say 50 Hz to 16KHz, this is seldom achieved and is usually expensive so to compensate you use equalisation to raise the volume at the low level parts and to reduce the volume at the high volume bits. The types of equalisation available on the - affordable - retail market are not particularly precise, at best you can tilt the ends of the spectrum up or down a bit. Ever seen a recording studio or pop concert audio deck  with all their up and down sliders ?  That's what they are for, equalisation on very narrow bands and each one individually adjusted.

For best sound ignore equalisation and resign yourself to having to waggle the volume control up and down. This is because different types of media are recorded at different levels and there is nothing you can do about that and video probably has more variability than either analog or digital audio !

Chris Cosgrove

In your last post you said -  "just so much volume variation from video to video"

 

T.he problem is that volume levels have nothing to do with equalisation. Equalisation is a means of levelling out bumps and dips in frequency response across the audible spectrum. An ideal frequency response across the audible spectrum would be flat within +/- 3dB across the range from say 50 Hz to 16KHz, this is seldom achieved and is usually expensive so to compensate you use equalisation to raise the volume at the low level parts and to reduce the volume at the high volume bits. The types of equalisation available on the - affordable - retail market are not particularly precise, at best you can tilt the ends of the spectrum up or down a bit. Ever seen a recording studio or pop concert audio deck  with all their up and down sliders ?  That's what they are for, equalisation on very narrow bands and each one individually adjusted.

 

For best sound ignore equalisation and resign yourself to having to waggle the volume control up and down. This is because different types of media are recorded at different levels and there is nothing you can do about that and video probably has more variability than either analog or digital audio !

 

Chris Cosgrove

I get what you're saying, but I guess I'm just confused with my experience with the "loudness equalization" settings I've had on various computers. On my Lenovo laptop, for example, I have the Realtek audio driver and I have the "Loudness equalization" option turned on. The quality of the audio is fine and the volume stays pretty consistent without the need to drastically change the volume. I'm not expecting the volume to stay at the exact same level at all times, just so that the super soft gets louder and the super loud gets softer like what Realtek does. I wish it was compatible with my Dell desktop and I haven't yet tried the K-Lite Codec Pack that was suggested earlier, but I'm hoping it will be able to recreate what Realtek does.