Is Poweramp equalizer good?
Poweramp is a popular music player app for Android that offers robust audio configuration options, including a powerful built-in equalizer. The app has been available since 2009 and is well-regarded for its excellent sound quality and customization abilities.
In 2015, the developer released a separate app called Poweramp Equalizer, which provides access to just the advanced audio processing features without the full music playback capabilities. This allows users who already have a preferred music app to still take advantage of Poweramp’s equalizer capabilities.
The equalizer itself provides a 10-band graphical EQ along with preset options to customize the sound signature. There are additional effects like reverb and stereo expansion to further tweak the audio output. Advanced users can adjust the audio processing parameters and save custom presets.
According to a post on Poweramp’s official forum, the equalizer itself does not generate audio, but simply adjusts the sound produced by the music player. By tweaking the equalizer settings, users can customize the frequency response to achieve their preferred sound signature, whether that means boosting bass, emphasizing vocals, or balancing highs and lows.
Sound Quality
The Poweramp equalizer provides extensive audio processing capabilities to enhance the listening experience. With 10 bands, users can finely tune the frequency response curve with precision down to 0.1dB increments. This allows boosting or attenuating narrow bands to isolate and adjust specific elements in the sound. For critical listening, the equalizer can produce a flatter, more neutral response compared to the built-in equalizers on most phones. According to redditors on r/PowerAmp, the equalizer makes a noticeable difference in audio quality when paired with high-end headphones and earphones. Users mention clearer vocals, tighter bass, and better stereo imaging after dialing in the right settings. With the ability to control left/right channels independently, the equalizer provides even more flexibility. Overall, the depth of adjustments gives users powerful sound shaping capabilities for enhancing music playback.
Ease of Use
The Poweramp Equalizer interface is designed to be very intuitive and easy to use, even for less tech-savvy users. The app uses a clean, minimalist layout that allows users to quickly access all of the key settings and controls.
The main equalizer screen shows sliders for all of the frequency bands, allowing users to easily boost or cut frequencies with just a touch. There are also handy presets available that optimize the sound signature for different music genres. According to one reviewer, “The interface is very good and easy to navigate and tweak to your liking.”
Swiping left or right takes you to other settings pages, like the pre-amp, stereo expand, and reverb/delay effects. Each page focuses on one particular audio parameter, so the interface never feels cluttered or confusing. As one Google Play reviewer stated, “Great interface and very easy to use.”
There are also some advanced features like channel balancing that are tucked away under “More” so they don’t overwhelm new users. But overall, the app strikingly balances simplicity and customization. As one reviewer on the Poweramp forums summed up, “I’m very impressed with how easy it is to use.”
Customization
One of the standout features of Poweramp’s equalizer is the ability to deeply customize the settings and presets to your liking. On the Poweramp Equalizer page, you can find an extensive collection of presets created by users that you can simply download and import into the app. There are presets available for many specific headphones and earbuds models, so you can likely find one tuned for your exact setup.
Beyond just using presets, you can create your own custom equalizer settings from scratch. Poweramp gives you control over 10 bands for the graphic equalizer and up to 32 bands for the parametric equalizer. This allows you to precisely tune the frequency response and tailor the sound signature to your preferences. Many users on the Poweramp subreddit discuss how to best use these customization options to achieve desired effects like vocal clarity or boosted bass.
With deep custom preset libraries and extremely flexible equalization controls, Poweramp provides more equalizer customization options compared to many other Android music players. Audiophiles will appreciate the ability to intimately shape the sound to achieve their ideal listening experience.
Audio Effects
One of the standout features of the Poweramp equalizer is the wide range of audio effects it offers to enhance your listening experience. Effects like reverb, bass boost, stereo widening, and more allow you to customize and tune the sound to your preferences. The app includes a 10-band equalizer as well as a parametric equalizer with up to 32 bands for precision tuning.
Additional effects include a compressor, volume maximizer, normalizer, and limiter. There are also preamp and balance settings to fine-tune playback levels. Users praise the range of adjustable parameters for each effect, providing detailed control over the audio processing. Overall, the Poweramp equalizer stands out for offering one of the most extensive sets of audio effects and enhancements among Android equalizer apps.
Audio Codecs
Poweramp Equalizer supports many popular audio codecs including lossless formats like FLAC, ALAC, and WAV as well as lossy codecs like MP3, AAC, OGG, and WMA. This allows you to play back music files in their native formats without any quality loss from transcoding. Support for FLAC is especially important for audiophiles who want to listen to high resolution music.
According to the Poweramp Equalizer forum, the app can handle and apply equalizer presets to most common audio formats. So you don’t need to worry about converting your music library to use the app’s powerful equalization capabilities. This broad codec support makes Poweramp Equalizer suitable for people with diverse music libraries containing different file types.
Platform Compatibility
Poweramp Equalizer works natively on Android devices running Android 5.0 and up. It’s optimized to work seamlessly with Poweramp Music Player, allowing users to enjoy the advanced audio processing features like parametric equalizer, bass boost, and more.
While Poweramp Equalizer is designed for Android, there are some workarounds to use it on iOS devices as well. Users report having success using the equalizer with apps like YMusic and VLC on iOS when routing audio through those apps. However, full compatibility is not guaranteed.
Support for additional music apps is expanding. According to Reddit users, compatibility now includes YMusic, VLC, and others. The developers continue working to increase the number of supported apps.
So in summary, Poweramp Equalizer has excellent integration with Android, partial compatibility with iOS, and support for an expanding selection of third party Android apps.
Price
Poweramp Equalizer offers a free trial version with limited features as well as a paid premium version. The free trial version allows you to try out the basic equalizer functions but limits the number of bands and presets.
To unlock the full capabilities of the equalizer, you need to purchase the premium version. This is a one-time payment that unlocks additional features like a 10-band equalizer, custom presets, stereo widening, and bass boost. According to the Poweramp website, the premium version costs $3.99 USD. However, the price may vary slightly depending on your country’s currency exchange rate.
So in summary – Poweramp Equalizer offers both a free trial and paid premium version. The premium unlocks the full equalizer capabilities and advanced audio effects for a one-time fee. This allows you to fully customize and tune the app to your audio preferences.
Alternatives
Poweramp Equalizer stands out among other equalizer apps in a few key ways. According to reviews on Reddit (Wavelet AutoEQ vs Poweramp built-in parametric equalizer?), Poweramp’s parametric equalizer gives fine-grained control over the sound signature and recognizes specific headphones well. It also has a robust set of audio effects and supports a wide range of audio codecs.
Some alternatives like Music Volume EQ (Best EQ apps) are free but offer limited functionality compared to Poweramp’s deep customization options. Wavelet is another Android EQ app praised for auto-EQ based on headphone profiles, but it may not have the same codec support or audio effects as Poweramp.
While other equalizers have merits, Poweramp stands out for its quality parametric EQ, extensive audio effects, wide codec support, and smooth integration with the Poweramp music player app.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Poweramp’s equalizer provides excellent sound quality and customization options that make it one of the best equalizers available for Android. The extensive audio effects like reverb, stereo expansion, and bass boost allow you to fully customize your listening experience. Support for hi-res audio codecs like FLAC combined with the 10-band equalizer gives you precise control over the sound. While the interface may not be as intuitive as some alternatives, the breadth of customization options makes Poweramp’s equalizer stand out. For Android users looking to take their audio to the next level, Poweramp’s equalizer is a top choice.
