Very
good
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Equalizer – Power to the Music!
Tested version: 2.2.6
Latest version: 3.1.8
Requires Android: from 2.3
|
Summary
Ear-buds and ear-phones are not viable replacements for a proper stereo—and that goes double if you don’t adapt them to a specific musical genre you're listening to.
Amped up bass is just the ticket if you’re listening to dubstep, but not if you’re in the mood for orchestrated music.
So either you look into purchasing several headsets or you think about maybe using an equalizer to adapt music.
The latter of the two options is obviously the cheaper one—but the problem is that Android doesn’t come with an integrated equalizer.
That’s where apps such as PowerAMP come in... except that PowerAMP doesn’t run on a system-wide level and is thus not compatible with music players such as Simfy.
Equalizer, are you the one we’ve been waiting for? Find out in today’s review.
Features & Use
Section rating:
Test device: LG Optimus Speed / 2x
Android version: 2.3.4
Mods: Root
Please note: Equalizer doesn’t require root permissions, but the app will only run as of Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
It doesn’t matter how great or expensive your ear-phones were: sometimes the sound is simply rubbish when listening to certain musical genres. I’ve been using the Klipsch S4 In-Ear headset, which is in the mid-range segment. Music that doesn’t feature a lot of bass sounds is fantastic and very crisp, but anything that has more of a dubstep or metal vibe doesn’t sound as good.
I thought to myself ‘Come on, just deal with it,’ but after a few days the crappy sound quality started peeving me off and I decided to look around for a solution to this problem. This is when I came across the Android app Equalizer.
When you first start up the app you will se a bunch of default settings for a numbers of genres, all of which sound pretty good.
Here’s a list of the available default settings:
- Normal
- Classical
- Dance
- Flat
- Folk
- Heavy Metal
- Hip Hop
- Jazz
- Pop
- Rock
- Latin
Default settings can be set to activate automatically if the genre is recongised correctly using the tags; the preset auto-detection feature only works with music that has been saved locally.
If you decide to splurge for the pro-version which costs 1,50 €, you will be able to save your own presets that are matched to your headset. I decided to go for it and must say that I can really notice a difference in sound quality.
Use the 5 Band EQs to set if and which pitches are to be highlighted, but keep in mind that simply pumping up the bass will sound downright awful as the sound becomes very dull. If you want a lot of bass in your life look into getting the Bass Booster.
OK, I will admit that I am a bass fanatic, so I adapted the EQ and activated the Bass Booster as well. The booster’s power can be regulated—wicked!
Equalizer also comes with a ‘Virtualizer’, and, again, the 3D special acoustics can be regulated and aren’t bad at all.
Reverb default settings can also be activated.
If you’re keen to be able to access the Equalizer from within any other app, switch on the messaging in the status bar which will allow you to start up the app wherever, whenever.
A widget is also available for the homescreen; it displays the current Equalizer settings (but you can’t make changes to settings via the widget).
Another option is to create a shortcut from the homescreen to the presets, though only to one’s own default settings.
Bottom line:
Equalizer can really increase your audio pleasure and help you make the most out of your ear-phones, especially if you’re willing to take a bit of time to experiment with the app and figure out what settings suit what music best/to your liking.
Screen & Controls
Section rating:
Controls are pretty simple, especially for users who have used equalizers before. If you’re a newbie it may take a bit longer to get accustomed to things and find out how to get the most out of the settings, but that can’t be helped, every body has to start at the beginning.
The design isn’t half bad for an Equalizer app.
Speed & Stability
Section rating:
I recommend that you all try out the free version before committing to the full one. This is because Equalizer itself runs well, but it won't run as well as it could on less powerful Android devices.
Price/Performance Ratio
Section rating:
Equalizer is available for free, and there’s a pro version available for 1,50 € for those of you who want to save your own settings.
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Market Comments
Tiffany, Apr 18, 2012
Good up until it stopped working. Then you have to uninstall and then download it again.
Simon, Apr 18, 2012
Needs update Worked great before HTC's Android update to ICS. Now just doesn't work at all. HTC Sensation. Please update! My phone sounds rubbish without EQ.
Anonymous, Apr 18, 2012
¡¡¡¡Malo!!!! Tengo mucho utilizando esta aplicación y hasta hace poco, era excelente. Sin embargo, con la última actualización ya no funciona ni la reververación ni el aumento de bajos en mi Galaxy Note, cuando había estado funcionando de manera excelente. He instalado la versión anterior que tenía almacenada hasta que hagan la corrección de este error ¡¡Estoy molesto porque si funcionaba bien hasta la actualización!!
Milu, Apr 17, 2012
Great for HTC Really improved the quality on HTC wildfire s Thanks for keeping it free
Grubbers, Apr 17, 2012
Excellent. Does exactly what I need it to and does it very well. One thing I would really like is a 1x1 power widget that has the same icon displayed in the 4x1 widget. I just want to quickly be able to turn EQ on or off but use the minimum amount of screen real estate. Hope that helps! Great work.
Mandy, Apr 17, 2012
UNINSTALLING* I USED to love this app until I realized it has auto start and cannot be killed or disabled. Permissions required are questionable. I will find a better alternative that allows ME to decide when I want it to.run!
Hilal, Apr 17, 2012
Makes SGS 2 sound awesome! These are the best equalizers! They make my SGS 2 sound like SGS 1 with voodoo sound! I finally have good quality sound when plugging my device to my car.
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