What is the best audio enhancer for Android?
An audio enhancer app is designed to improve the sound quality and audio experience on Android devices. These apps utilize equalizers, volume boosters, surround sound effects, bass boosters and other audio modifying features to enhance the listening experience, especially when using headphones or external speakers. There are several reasons why Android users may want to use an audio enhancer app:
– Improve sound quality from low quality audio sources like YouTube or Spotify by boosting certain frequencies. This can make music and videos sound fuller and more dynamic.
– Customize the sound profile to suit different genres of music or types of content. For example, boosting bass for hip hop music or enhancing treble and mids for podcasts.
– Increase overall volume beyond the max system volume, which can be helpful in noisy environments.
– Simulate surround sound effects like 3D, theater mode or live settings to add spatial audio for a more immersive experience.
– Preserve audio quality over Bluetooth connections, which can suffer from compression.
Built-In Android Audio Enhancers
Android has some basic built-in audio enhancement features that can improve the listening experience. One of the main features is an integrated equalizer that allows users to adjust the bass, mids, and treble (Source 1). The equalizer has presets like “Rock”, “Pop”, and “Jazz” that optimize the sound profile for different genres. There are also manual equalizer settings to customize the sound. However, the capabilities of the built-in equalizer are quite limited compared to more advanced audio enhancer apps.
Another built-in feature on some Android devices is Dolby Atmos support, which can provide a more three-dimensional, surround sound experience. However, Dolby Atmos only works when listening with wired headphones, not with the built-in speakers (Source 2). So the enhancement is limited compared to audio boosters that work with speakers.
While the stock Android audio features can help, they generally don’t offer the level of customization, presets, and effects available in third party audio enhancer apps. Many users will benefit from complementing the built-in tools with a more robust audio enhancement app.
Top Audio Enhancer Apps
There are many great audio enhancer apps available for Android that can improve the listening experience in different ways. Here are some of the top options:
Equalizer FX (https://en.softonic.com/top/sound-enhancer-apps-for-android) – This popular equalizer app allows you to customize the sound output with different presets and an intuitive graphic interface. It can boost bass, treble and volume for enhanced audio.
Equalizer (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devdnua.equalizer.free&hl=en_US&gl=US) – Another great equalizer with bass boost, 3D virtualizer effects and preset packs available via in-app purchase. It works system-wide.
Music Volume EQ – Features a 16-band equalizer, volume boost, virtualizer and bass booster effects. Has widgets and supports many music formats.
Bass Booster – As the name suggests, this app focuses on boosting bass in your music library. Also has an equalizer and preamp.
jetAudio HD Music Player – This isn’t just an audio enhancer but a full featured music player with a 20-band graphic equalizer, tag editor and many audio effects.
In summary, these apps provide customizable equalizers, bass boosting, virtual surround sound effects and volume boost to enhance your music and audio for a better listening experience.
Equalizers
Equalizers work by allowing you to adjust the volume levels of specific audio frequency bands. An equalizer splits the audio frequency spectrum into multiple bands – usually 5 to 10 bands – covering the full range of human hearing from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Using an equalizer, you can turn up or down each individual frequency band to boost or cut those particular frequencies.
For example, turning up the bass frequencies around 80-120 Hz will amplify the lower sounds and give more “oomph” to the bass. Lowering the midrange bands around 500 Hz-2 kHz can reduce muddiness. Boosting the high bands from 8-16 kHz can add more crispness and clarity to the treble. This allows you to customize the sound signature by ear and tune it to your preferences.
Graphic equalizers provide sliders to adjust each band visually. Parametric equalizers allow you to control the center frequency, gain, and Q bandwidth precisely. Using an equalizer preset can give you a starting point, and you can tweak from there. The ability to boost or attenuate specific frequencies is what makes equalizers a powerful tool for audio enhancement.
Volume Boosters
Volume booster apps like Volume Booster GOODEV are designed to increase the maximum volume output on Android devices. They work by overriding the default volume limits set by the operating system. While these apps can make media and audio louder, there are some risks to be aware of.
Playing audio at excessive volumes, especially for prolonged periods, can damage speakers and hearing over time. According to audiologists, safe volume levels are under 85 decibels for a maximum of 8 hours. Some volume booster apps allow volumes up to 200% or 300%, which can exceed safe levels.
It’s recommended to use volume boosters sparingly and avoid maxing out volume. Monitor listening durations and take breaks. Also beware of distortions or clipping at very high volumes, which degrades audio quality. Overall, volume booster apps should be used responsibly with moderate boosts for short durations.
Surround Sound Apps
Surround sound aims to create an immersive listening experience by simulating sound coming from multiple directions, as if you were in the middle of the action. This is achieved by using multiple audio channels fed to different speakers placed around the listener. Apps can simulate surround sound using just standard headphones.
Some popular surround sound apps for Android include Music Player 3D Surround 7.1, which claims to provide a true 3D surround experience using 7.1 audio channels. It has presets for different types of headphones and allows customization of the sound field. Another option is Plantronics RIG 7.1, which is designed for gaming but can enhance music as well. The app has profiles tailored for different game genres.
These surround sound apps use audio processing effects like crosstalk cancellation, delay, and frequency shifts to simulate directional audio cues. This creates an immersive listening experience, especially for music and movies, by making it seem like sounds are coming at you from different directions. The apps work with any standard headphones, though surround sound effects are usually more pronounced on over-ear headphones compared to earbuds.
Bass Boosters
Bass boosting is a common feature in audio enhancer apps that amplifies the lower frequencies to give music and audio more thump and punch. Many users enjoy boosted bass for genres like hip hop, EDM, and pop music. The best bass booster apps offer adjustable strength levels and presets to elevate bass.
Some top bass boosting apps for Android include Bass Booster & Equalizer and Equalizer & Bass Booster. These let you customize the amount of bass to your liking with sliders and presets. For example, Equalizer & Bass Booster offers options like Deep Bass, Electronic, Latin, Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, and more. The app also displays an EQ visualizer so you can see the bass getting boosted.
Some key things to look for in a quality bass booster app include adjustable strength, presets for different music genres, compatibility with various music apps, and an intuitive interface. Testing different apps can help find your perfect bass level.
Presets and Customization
Many audio enhancer apps come with preloaded presets that optimize the audio for different use cases like music, movies, gaming, and voice calls. These can provide a quick way to improve the audio quality without having to manually adjust all the settings. However, relying solely on presets limits customizability compared to having full manual control over the audio parameters.
As noted on Quora, “Sound design offers a higher level of creativity and customization compared to using presets. When you design a sound from scratch, you can tweak parameters like EQ, compression, saturation etc. to craft the exact tone you want.” (Source)
On the other hand, creating customized settings requires more understanding of audio concepts and parameters. As one Reddit user pointed out when asking about presets for gaming/streaming, “I’ve tried both ‘clean’ and ‘voice enhancer’ effects, but they are not as good as I expected, my voice even sounds better without voice effects.” (Source)
Ultimately, the ideal audio enhancer app provides a range of thoughtfully designed presets combined with the ability to deeply customize the sound. As noted by FxSound, saving custom presets allows you to “reuse the adjustments you make to the Effects and EQ” while still providing presets as a starting point. (Source)
Additional Features
Beyond just boosting volume and audio quality, many audio enhancer apps come with additional useful features. For example, some apps like Extra Volume Booster Equalizer (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.music.sound.speaker.volume.booster.equalizer&hl=en_US&gl=US) offer customizable widgets that let you control the app right from your home screen. You can quickly boost volume or change sound profiles without opening the full app.
Themes are another common extra feature. Apps like Volume Boost (https://apps.apple.com/au/app/volume-boost-sound-enhancer/id1500458684) allow you to customize the look and feel with different colors, fonts, and icon styles. This allows you to tailor the visual experience to your preferences.
Some audio enhancers also include battery saving features that help minimize the app’s power consumption. This can help extend your device’s battery life, especially if you use the app frequently.
Additional utilities like metadata editors, playback speed controls, headphone safety monitoring, and alarm capabilities also show up in some premium audio enhancer apps. While not strictly audio effects, these bonus tools can add extra convenience and functionality.
Recommendation
The best overall audio enhancer app for most Android users is Equalizer FX (https://en.softonic.com/top/sound-enhancer-apps-for-android). This app provides a powerful equalizer with bass boost, virtualizer surround sound effects, multiple presets, and custom preset options to enhance your audio experience. It works with most music players and across Bluetooth devices. With over 100 million downloads and a 4.5 star rating, Equalizer FX is popular for good reason. It’s easy to use, customizable, and makes music, movies, podcasts and calls sound richer and more immersive. For boosting overall audio quality on Android, Equalizer FX is an excellent free choice.
