The convenience of having wireless headphones is unparalleled: we can listen to music and watch streaming movies without the need to have a hanging wire, which can disturb when listening or watching. Unfortunately, on some models of wireless headphones the audio quality is not the best, due to an audio conversion chip not up to the situation. If the sound of our wireless headphones leaves something to be desired, in this article we will show you how to improve the sound quality for wireless headphones, both from PC and smartphone, by acting on the equalizers (available in the operating system or as an app to add ).
At the end of the guide we will also show you some amplifiers with integrated DAC, which can significantly improve the quality of the audio thanks to a dedicated sampling system, which acts completely independently of the equalizers present on phones or computers.
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The guide is suitable both for those who have headphones with Bluetooth technology (the most used) and for those who use more advanced headphones with dedicated wireless connection.
Improve headphones sound on Windows
To improve the sound of the wireless headphones on any version of Windows, we connect the headphones via Bluetooth to the system, then click on the bottom left of the Start menu and search for "Headphones", so we can select the Manage audio devices item.
Select the headphones from the devices on the Playback tab, then click on the bottom right of Properties .
In the new window that we will see, let's go to the Enhancements tab and activate one of the items shown to improve the audio output from the headphones:
- Bass Boost : allows you to improve the bass performance for headphones;
- Headphone virtualization : allows you to create a specific surround effect for headphones;
- Loudness Equalization : allows you to adjust the intensity of the sound on all frequencies.
For each improvement we can customize the effect obtained by clicking at the bottom on Settings, in the Enhancements Properties section and modifying the available items, until we are satisfied with the result.
To confirm the changes, click Apply and finally OK; it may be necessary to resume playback or disconnect and reconnect the headphones in order to appreciate the differences.
On some PCs the Realtek HD Audio Manager program is also available, able to act on the integrated audio chips in order to apply a customized equalizer or a sound effect of your choice.
If we don't find this program installed on our computer, we can remedy it by updating the audio driver and installing the Realtek audio management program, available here -> Realtek High Definition Audio Drivers.
Improve headphone audio on Android
If we use a smartphone with Android operating system, we may already have an integrated equalizer available, so as to improve the quality of the sound output from the headphones.
What we need to do is connect our headphones wirelessly to the phone, then check in the Settings -> Audio (also called Sounds and Vibration on some systems) app if there are voices dedicated to the equalizer or sound improvement; alternatively we can check that there is a Headphones and audio effects, Equalizer or Sound effects voice among the advanced settings items.
We will be able to activate the optimizations based on the type of headphones and also set up a comfortable equalizer, so as to obtain a sound that is up to par.
If the section for audio effects is not available for the smartphone used or is not available for the headphones connected via Bluetooth, we recommend using one of the following free apps:
- FX Equalizer: one of the best apps to activate the equalizer and sound effects on all Android devices.
- Bass Booster: if we are passionate about music with strong bass, we can try this app, which emphasizes the low frequencies to get quality audio on any Android phone.
- Headphones Equalizer: equalizer designed for those who use headphones, so that they can recreate the ideal audio and also increase the output volume.
Improve the sound of headphones on iPhone
If we want to improve the quality of the audio on our wireless headphones when we use an iPhone, simply connect the headphones via Bluetooth, go to the Settings -> Music path and scroll until we find the EQ item.
From this new menu we can choose one of the recommended profiles to improve the audio when playing music with the Music app.
For headphones we recommend trying small speakers, bass amplification and acoustics right away, definitely the equalization profiles that give the fullest and most engaging sounds (obviously a lot also depends on personal tastes).
If we want to apply an equalizer even when we use other apps besides Music (for example Spotify), we recommend trying one of the free apps below:
- Equalizer +: Adds a full equalizer and sound effects to any audio app, improving the sound quality for wireless headphones.
- Equalizer - Music Player: another audio player with a much more advanced equalizer than the one integrated in the Music app.
- Bass Booster: the best iPhone app that can increase the intensity of the bass, so you can hear music and videos with a decidedly more immersive sound effect.
Headphone DAC amplifier
If we cannot get the quality audio with the advice we have provided, we can bypass the problem by amplifying the signal with an amplifier with integrated DAC, working both via cable and via Bluetooth.
Using this small accessory (which acts as an intermediary for headphones) we can improve the sound through hardware conversion and dedicated equalization functions (available on any operating system).
The best headphone DAC amplifiers can be found below:
- Fiio - A1 (€ 31): small and elegant amplifier, excellent for increasing the quality of wired headphones.
- FiiO Q1 Mark II (€ 99): excellent amplifier to obtain unparalleled audio, thanks to dedicated algorithms and support for the Hi-Res Audio protocol, which significantly improves quality at all frequencies.
- Creative Sound Blaster E5 (€ 119): the top of the range of amplifiers, also compatible with Bluetooth technology. We can choose the source and later how to connect the wireless headphones, so as to improve the audio considerably.
If we are looking for a guide to increase the volume of the PC audio, we refer you to reading our dedicated guide below.
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