What is the audio equalizer and how does it affect the music on your mobile

Since they stopped being simple tools to call, mobiles have multiplied their abilities. A very popular one is the music player. By also becoming a walkman, telephones have become the invention that many of us use to listen to music.

When it comes to using the mobile as a portable stereo, we find several limitations. The first has to do with the headphones we use. Another is related to the hardware and software of our own phone. This is where we can enhance the experience by using systems to equalize the sound.

What is equalization and what is it for?

Technically, equalization is the process by which sound is manipulated. Treble or bass frequencies are reduced and thus we achieve a more realistic, impactful or neutral listening. In short, we can enjoy an experience more adapted to our tastes. And what do we want this for? The answer is very simple. Good EQ can make a substantial improvement in audio quality. So if a song sounded too muffled (for example), after equalizing it, it can be heard more exciting and spectacular.

Improve music on a mobile using equalization

This is the crux of the matter. To know how to equalize the audio tracks on a phone, we must be clear about several concepts. The first is that frequencies are measured in hertz (Hz) and kilohertz (kHz). Since we are not looking to be professional music producers, we just need to know that the higher hertz, the higher the sound will be. Therefore, a 30 Hz sound is much lower than a 1 kHz sound.

Generally, your phone's equalizer marks roughly the Hz range in which each equalizer bar moves. Therefore, you do not need to know by heart what number of Hz corresponds to each sound. Still, this little guidance table can help you match each frequency range to its sound.

The second concept that we must know is the decibels. The decibel (dB) is the unit that measures the intensity of a sound. In other words, the dB are responsible for measuring the power of a sound. At higher dB, the song will sound louder.

If we take as an example the equalizer that Android includes by default, we can see that the minimum decibels is marked at -10 dB, and the maximum at +10 dB. For its part, each frequency range independently calculates the decibels at which it should sound. From this information, our objective will be to level the audio, so that neither the bass, nor the mids, nor the treble saturate the sound, or on the contrary, they are not heard with enough intensity.

Historically, the goal of stereos is to faithfully reproduce the timbre and sound of musical instruments played on recordings in order to mimic the real world. However, the very evolution of musical tastes and sound equipment has led us to reformulate these sacred principles.

Today, music fans, we are more interested in finding an experience that conveys emotions. Thus, although sometimes we do not hear the instruments with natural tones, we will not care, as long as the result is pleasant, shocking or exciting from our subjective point of view. For this we can use the equalizer.

The effect of equalization

In this same example of the Android equalizer, we see that the equalization pattern is in rock mode. If we pay attention to the frequency bars, we will notice that the sub-bass and treble are intensified, while the mid frequencies remain at 0 dB. If we were to listen to a rock song with this pattern, we would notice that the sound of the bass and kick drums would have more presence, as would the higher notes of the guitar or the cymbals of the drums. However, the mid frequencies within the frequency spectrum (voice, guitar, sax, etc.) will be heard lower.

As we said before, this information is very useful to guide us if we are new to EQ. However, to make your music sound better, these tips can be of great help. Experiment with your equalizer to find the best audio quality from your point of view. You will see how you will notice that the experience improves sometimes, while at other times the sound is not to your liking.

How to equalize different styles of music

Unfortunately, a single style of music is insufficient to explain the actual operation of the EQ. That is why we present different musical styles, all with their equalization pattern, in order to understand in depth how the equalizer affects our music.

However, we must take into account two very important data. The first is that, although the guidelines we indicate are for the styles of music that we propose, each song has an optimal equalization, which is isolated from the rest of the songs. This implies that, although the equalizations that we propose are not the perfect ones for each song, they are the most useful for each genre.

The other data to take into account is related to the voice. Unfortunately for us, the voice does not depend on a single EQ value. This is because each voice is different, and in each song, the voice moves in a different frequency range. That is why, for a correct equalization of the voice, we must recognize the frequency in which it is, and equalize it accordingly.

Pop music

In pop music, you generally like your midtones to sound clean and high. In these types of songs the voice, guitars and wind instruments gain presence. Therefore, to equalize pop songs it is good to raise the mid frequencies, while the high and low ranges should not have as much presence. The result is noticeable from the first moment. The instruments that lead the main melody will stand out above the accompanying instruments.

Rap and Hip-Hop

Both rap and hip-hop can be EQ with the same settings. As you can see from the image, the resemblance of this setup to that of rock music is overwhelming. However, the goal of such EQ in rap and hip-hop is to enhance the sound of the base. In this way, the rhythm set by the base will have a great presence during the songs, while the voice will be integrated into the music.

Classical music

Finally, we want to advise on the equalization of a much more complex style. Unfortunately, classical music is very difficult to assign a single setting. However, the equalization of the image is a middle ground for any piece of classical music that we want to listen to on our phone. This is due to the large number of variations in intensity and the play between frequencies of this style. Therefore, subwoofer and treble boost is our best option.

If we are fans of natural sound, all this will seem trivial to us. And it is that the true fan of live music prefers to spend more on the sound equipment and avoid equalizations that color the music. Those of us who belong to this group run away from the equalizer. We prefer not to correct the music producer who mixed each album and we follow the path of a realistic sound where the piano sounds like piano and violins like violins.