Is there a equalizer for Amazon Music?

Amazon Music is a music streaming service providing access to over 90 million songs. Available as web player, desktop/mobile apps, and smart speakers, Amazon Music offers features like personal recommendations, high-quality streaming, and offline listening. As with most streaming services, Amazon Music lacks a built-in custom equalizer.

An equalizer, often abbreviated as EQ, is an audio filter that allows users to adjust the amplitude of audio frequency bands. EQ enables boosting or attenuating bass, midrange, and treble frequencies to suit personal preferences and listening devices. Most modern music streaming apps now include some level of EQ control, as the prevalence of advanced headphones makes fine audio adjustment increasingly necessary.

This article explores the current lack of equalizer in Amazon Music, examines equalizer workarounds for Amazon Music listeners, analyzes the importance of EQ, and reviews why many users request this feature.

Equalizer Availability in Amazon Music Apps

Amazon Music’s apps for iOS, Android, and other platforms currently do not have a built-in equalizer option for users. Based on reviews on sites like Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonMusic/comments/10rpt2v/equalizer_missing/), the Amazon Music apps appear to have removed equalizer functionality over time without officially commenting on why.

Some users note previously having access to an equalizer in the Android app before it was removed (https://www.drmare.com/amazon-music/amazon-music-equalizer.html). The apps focus more on song recommendations and playlists rather than customization of the listening experience through audio settings.

Without built-in equalizers, Amazon Music app users cannot adjust frequency levels to suit different genres or audio equipment. This contrasts with competitors like Spotify and Apple Music which offer system-wide equalizers to tweak sound.

Equalizers in Amazon Music Hardware

Many Amazon devices that are capable of playing music from Amazon Music come equipped with built-in equalizers that allow you to adjust the sound to your liking. For example, most Amazon Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers have a setting called “Equalizer” in the Device Settings section of the Alexa app that lets you tweak bass, midrange, and treble levels (source).

Amazon’s Fire TV streaming devices also have equalizers built into their settings menus. From the Fire TV home screen, going to Settings > Display & Sounds > Audio allows you to set equalizer presets like Movie, Music, News, and Sports to optimize sound quality for different types of content. Fire tablets offer similar equalizer controls in their Accessibility settings menu.

Having these system-level equalizers integrated directly into Amazon hardware makes it easy for users to adjust sound profiles to their personal preferences. However, the options are relatively basic compared to more advanced graphical equalizers. Still, they provide helpful tools for improving audio playback that don’t require any extra downloads or third-party software.

Workarounds and Third-Party Options

Since the Amazon Music app itself does not have a built-in equalizer, some users have found workarounds by using external equalizers or audio tuning apps. For example, on iOS devices, you can install third-party apps like Boom, Equalify Pro, or Spotify to get access to EQ settings. On Android, apps like Wavelet, Poweramp, or USB Audio Player Pro can help tune the audio output.

Alternatively, connecting external powered speakers or headphones that have their own equalizer can compensate for the lack of EQ in Amazon Music. For instance, many Bluetooth headphones and speakers from brands like Sony, Bose, Beats, JBL, and others offer an adjustable equalizer in their companion app. So even though you lose the native integration, it allows customizing the sound signature.

According to users on Reddit and Amazon forums, these workarounds have helped improve the listening experience. However, they require additional apps, equipment costs, and don’t work across all platforms. Many users still strongly request a built-in equalizer within Amazon Music to simplify audio adjustments.

User Feedback on Lack of EQ

Many Amazon Music users have voiced frustration over the lack of an equalizer option in the service’s apps. Reviews of the Amazon Music mobile app on both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store highlight the absence of an EQ as a major downside. In a review on Android Central’s forums, one user noted that equalizers do not work when streaming Amazon Music to their Droid Turbo phone, despite being able to use an EQ with stored music files (Source).

There are also complaints in Amazon’s own customer reviews for their Echo and Fire devices that stream music. For example, one Amazon Fire TV Cube owner wrote, “Why in the world Amazon can’t manage to get a simple equalizer added to the music apps is completely beyond me.” Clearly, the level of customer dissatisfaction with the audio quality indicates a strong desire for equalization controls.

Amazon’s Stance on Adding EQ

According to a developer page on Amazon’s website (https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/amazon-music/understand-catalog.html), Amazon Music currently does not have any plans to add an equalizer option to their service or apps. They state that the focus is on delivering high quality audio recordings that reflect the artist’s or label’s intent.

This indicates that Amazon wants listeners to hear the music as the creators designed it, without any additional audio adjustments. While many users request the ability to customize the sound with an EQ, Amazon has not announced any timeline for potentially implementing this feature.

The developer page does note that some Alexa-enabled devices may have their own equalizer settings to tweak. But the Amazon Music apps themselves are unlikely to add EQ capability unless Amazon shifts their perspective on preserving the intended quality and characteristics of the audio.

Equalizer Benefits for Listeners

A key benefit of a music equalizer is the ability for listeners to customize the sound to their preference, which may enhance the music listening experience. According to this article, equalizers allow you to “boost bass, tweak treble, and more to tune your audio”. For example, an equalizer enables boosting low frequencies to add more bass and fullness or accentuating certain treble frequencies for more sparkling highs.

An equalizer’s bands let you increase or decrease volume at specific frequencies. This allows enhancing or subduing particular elements in a track – for instance, boosting the vocal range for clearer vocals or reducing harsh high frequencies. With the flexibility of key frequency adjustments, listeners can essentially shape the sound characteristics to better suit their ears and preferences.

Furthermore, room correction is possible by using equalizers to counteract unwanted peaks or dips in the listening environment acoustics. Equalizers give consumers more control in compensating for frequency response issues in headphones, speakers or rooms that may otherwise negatively impact sound quality.

EQ Importance for Genres

The optimal equalizer settings vary across different genres of music. Applying the right EQ presets can enhance certain frequencies and instruments that are signature to each genre.

For example, rock music tends to emphasize instruments like electric guitars, drums, and vocals. The best EQ settings for rock boost the high mids around 2Khz to 6Khz to accentuate the bite of electric guitars. Boosting 100Hz to 250Hz can also strengthen the kick drums. Vocals usually sit in the 2Khz to 5Khz range.

Hip hop and rap rely on solid bass and beat-focused tracks, so the ideal EQ settings aim to pronounce the low end. Boosting 48Hz to 100Hz accentuates the bass and kick drums. The vocals and lyrics also take center stage, so consider boosting 1Khz to 4Khz.

For classical and acoustic genres that utilize more natural instruments, the priority is clarity over colored or enhanced frequencies. A light boost between 2Khz and 5Khz can pronounce violins and vocals. But overall, fidelity requires a flatter EQ profile.

EQ Presets for Common Settings

Many listeners want an equalizer to tweak the sound to suit their preferences and fit the type of music they enjoy. Some of the most common EQ presets include:

  • Bass boost – boosts the lower frequencies to emphasize basslines for genres like hip hop, EDM, and pop.
  • Treble boost – boosts higher frequencies to bring out vocals and higher instruments for genres like classical, jazz, and acoustic.
  • Vocal booster – cuts some bass and trebles while emphasizing vocal frequency ranges. Great for podcasts and audiobooks.
  • Flat/Reference – aims for an accurate frequency response that matches the original recording quality. Preferred by audio engineers and music producers.
  • Customized – many equalizers allow you to create your own EQ curve by boosting/cutting specific frequencies. Tailor it to your listening preferences.

EQ presets like these allow listeners to quickly change the listening experience to suit the genre or content they are enjoying, boosting sonic aspects they want to emphasize. The ability to personalize and tune the sound with an equalizer is important to many listeners across musical tastes and types of audio.

Summary and Conclusion

To summarize, Amazon Music currently does not offer any built-in equalizer or EQ settings across its mobile, desktop, or web apps. This also applies to Amazon Music Unlimited, the premium subscription tier. Additionally, Amazon’s Echo and Fire TV devices that can stream Amazon Music do not have EQ capabilities or settings to adjust the sound signature.

While there are some workarounds using third party apps or hardware EQs, most Amazon Music listeners are disappointed with the lack of a native equalizer option. Many users, especially audiophiles, feel that having a customizable EQ is an essential and standard feature that’s missing.

Amazon has not officially commented on whether they plan to add an EQ in the future. Given strong and consistent customer demand, there’s hope they may prioritize releasing EQ presets or sliders down the road. However, they likely wish to keep a consistent default sound signature optimized for their devices rather than enabling custom tweaks that could negatively impact tuning.

In conclusion, equalizers remain an integral way for listeners to personalize and enhance their music to suit their preferences and equipment. Music services that fail to offer EQ customization put themselves at a disadvantage against competitors. While Amazon Music has strengths in other areas like exclusive content and smart assistant integration, the lack of EQ gives audiophiles a compelling reason to look elsewhere for a more customizable and superior listening experience.

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