myHRTF with Equalizer APO

Equalizer APO

Equalizer APO (Audio Processing Object) is a system-wide equalizer software for Windows that supports stereo and multi-channel sound reproduction. It filters all audio signals that you send to the audio interface assigned to Equalizer APO, thus supporting music, TV, movie, gaming and mixing. In addition, it supports automatic switching of sampling rates.

Equalizer APO can be downloaded for free and is the go-to solution for Windows users. However, switching between different configurations that are included in myHRTF Personalized Filters tends to be tedious in Equalizer APO. Hence, we strongly recommend to use it with the EACS software tool as described below. More information about Equalizer APO can be found here.

The software presented on this webpage has been tried and tested by us. However, please do note that it comes from a third party that is not connected to myHRTF in any way. Hence, we cannot guarantee that this software will work on your PC or laptop as described.

Installation of Equalizer APO

In case you intend to use an external audio interface, connect it to the PC or laptop first. Download the latest version of Equalizer APO here and install it on your PC or laptop. During the installation you will be asked to select the audio interface in the Configurator for which the filtering should be applied. Here, select the audio interface to which the headphone is connected:

Equalizer APO screenshot 1

From now on, all audio signals being sent to this audio interface will be filtered by Equalizer APO. Using Equalizer APO, the Windows sound system cannot be bypassed and this tends to raise concerns about sound quality. However, modern versions of Windows feature audibly transparent sound processing including high-quality sampling rate conversion as tests have shown (details), provided that the signal level remains slightly below maximum, and this is taken care for by myHRTF Personalized Filters anyway.

You can always change the audio interface assigned to Equalizer APO later by running Configurator.exe that can be found in the directory of Equalizer APO, ie. typically here:
C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\Configurator.exe
More information about the installation and troubleshooting can be found in the here of Equalizer APO.

EACS

EACS (Equalizer APO config switcher) is a neat little software tool that allows to switch easily between different configurations in Equalizer APO. EACS can be downloaded for free, but do note that it won't work alongside other configuration programs such as PEACE or the Configuration Editor that comes with Equalizer APO, i.e. only one configuration program should be running at any point in time. More information about EACS can be found here.

Installation of EACS

  1. Create a directory called EACS in the config directory of Equalizer APO that is typically located under
    C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config
  2. Download the EACS.zip file here and extract it to the EACS directory that you have just created.
  3. Replace the config-files folder that is located in the EACS folder by the config-files folder located in myHRTF for Equalizer APO that comes with myHRTF Personalized Filters.
  4. Copy and paste the myHRTF Filters and .cfg Files folder that comes with myHRTF Personalized Filters into the EACS folder.
  5. The next step will overwrite the existing config.exe hence you may want to save a copy beforehand if required.
  6. Run EACS.exe. Upon first start you will get a warning that your computer is under protection. If you trust EACS like we do, you may click More info and then Run anyway.
  7. You should now have the icon in your system tray, you can now left/right click on it to switch configurations.
  8. We recommed to run EACS on system startup. For this, create a shortcut to EACS.exe and cut it (right mouse click: Cut). Open the Windows startup directory as follows:
    1. Press the Windows logo + R keys.
    2. In the Run command field, type shell:startup and then press Enter key to open Startup folder.
    3. Paste the EACS.exe shortcut into Startup folder (right mouse click: Paste).

Configuration with EACS

EACS will show up in the system tray of the Windows taskbar. Click it to switch between myHRTF Personalized Filters as shown below. We recommend to untick Allow Multiple since this would sound awkward.

Equalizer APO screenshot 2

Configuration without EACS

  1. Click Configuration Editor on the desktop or run Editor.exe in the Equalizer APO folder typically located under
    C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\Editor.exe
  2. The next steps will overwrite the existing configuration file config.txt hence you may want to save a copy beforehand if required.
  3. Delete all configured filters: open the Edit menu, Select all and then Delete.
    4. Equalizer APO screenshot 3
  4. Press the green plus symbol, go to Control and then Include (Include configuration file).
    5. Equalizer APO screenshot 4
  5. Press the folder symbol and select the configuration file of choice from myHRTF for Equalizer APO folder that comes with myHRTF Personalized Filters.
    6. Equalizer APO screenshot 5
  6. Open the File menu and press Save.
    7. Equalizer APO screenshot 6
  7. You may close the Configuration Editor now since it is not required anymore.
  8. In case you want to bypass the myHRTF processing you may repeat step 5 but with the configuration file Bypass.txt. Do note that Bypass.txt attenuates the signal for proper level matching. In case you intend to switch to bypass often (e.g. for video calls etc.), we recommend to use a different audio interface for that application.

Signal clipping

Due to the pre-amplifier with 10 dB attenuation contained in myHRTF for Equalizer APO configurations, the clipping of audio signals is virtually impossible since the required headroom has been taken into account during the design of myHRTF Personalized Filters.

Latency

Latency is the time delay between start of a sound event and its output at the audio interface. Equalizer APO in combination with myHRTF Personalized Filters for TV and Gaming feature sufficiently low latency for movies, TV and gaming.

Sampling Rate

Using Equalizer APO with myHRTF for Equalizer APO configurations as described above, the filtering will be adapted to the sampling rate automatically. However, do note the supported sampling rates of myHRTF Personalized Filters as specified here.