Have you ever seen it since? Upgrading some of the best high-end headphones, they still just sound ok Despite thisFlagship hardware? Sometimes, even though you’ve dropped a few hundred bucks, the difference between your headphones and the upgrade isn’t noticeable. And that’s even if you have a best-in-class music streaming subscription or a flagship phone with a high-end DAC to pair it with.
I felt the same way, but that was until I started using Wavelet. After using the Wavelet for an extended period of time, I thought the muddy bass and bass sounds weren’t an issue with the app, my Android phone, or my headphones. This was due to the audio processing that took place between them.
But with Wavelet, I was able to fix the audio processing. Not only that, but it opened up another whole dimension of audio tinkering on my phone that was previously only available on some high-end DACs costing hundreds of dollars.
- OS
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Android
- Pricing model
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Free (with in-app purchases)
Violet is a powerful, system-wide audio equalizer for Android that improves headphone sound quality. It includes over 5,000 auto-cue profiles, custom bass tuning, and virtualizer effects, allowing you to get high-fidelity audio across all streaming services without the need for root access.
Auto Eq
The magic fix that changed everything
This is one feature that made an immediate difference. AutoQ is an open source database containing frequency corrections for over 5,000 headphone models. These databases help to fix the “in-house noise” that most manufacturers use.
This home sound profile adds bass to make pop music more enjoyable. , or rolls the treble to hide cheap components or make the headphones more “flowy”. This profile is rarely accurate. AutoQ replaces this profile with the measured response of your specific model and correlates it accurately to a neutral standard.
Wavelet applies a filter designed to cope with the physical peaks and dips of your output hardware. You don’t have to manually tinker with multiple dials. It just works. But if you’re already deep down the high-res audio rabbit hole and own obscure gear, you can also import your own custom EQs into Wavelet.
Equally loud
Turns out the headphones weren’t faulty
The equal loudness feature helps us to solve the loudness issues with headphones. You may have noticed that music sounds powerful at high volumes but tinny at low volumes. This is called the Fletcher-Munson effect: at low volumes, the human ear loses sensitivity to bass and treble.
Wavelet solves this by actively monitoring your volume. When you turn down the volume, it gently boosts the lows and highs to compensate. The result? Your music hits just as hard at 15% volume as it does at 80%. This is a game changer for late night listening.
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Then there is also a virtualizer feature. Generally, 3D audio effects are just gimmicks that make the audio quality even worse. But Wavelet’s implementation is surprisingly subtle. It separates the stereo channels, a lifesaver for closed-back headphones that often feel claustrophobic, giving them a wider stage.
There are other behaviors
There’s more to Wavelet than just EQ and loudness. The app also includes quality-of-life features, such as a bass tuner and a limiter. These features not only add value to the app but also positively impact your overall experience.
Bass Tuner feels like a skull in the face of Android’s native “Bass Boost” feature that distorts everything. There are several modes within the Bass Tuner. If you listen to hip-hop often, I recommend Temporal mode. And if you’re binging movies, Retention is a great choice. But again, you can make granular changes and adjust the bass to your liking.
And then there is a limit. It acts as a protective net for your ears. It sets a volume ceiling to protect your ears from sudden loud sounds, such as ads and pop-ups, and protects the drivers and ears from blowing out.
It’s still just software
But this work ends
If you’re using a cheap driver, you can’t fix it even with the most premium DAC. Not to mention, many audio-tinkering apps’ EQs introduce phase shifts, which can severely detract from the experience with premium headphones. Many say that one should avoid software-based audio editing and leave the factory defaults as they are, as this can backfire.
These arguments are not entirely wrong. You can’t turn $10 earbuds into studio monitors with an app. But you are missing a point. For 99% of people the barrier isn’t the physical capacity of their headphones. This is a terrible default tuning.
Wavelet is lightweight, battery-efficient, and uses “automatic post-gain” to prevent digital distortion that plagues other EQ apps. This shows what your headphones are actually capable of.
Wavelet unlocks the hidden potential of your headphones
We are prone to hardware upgrades. We buy new phones and prior headphones hoping for a better experience. But it’s not always new hardware that fixes audio quality issues.
Wavelet proves that sometimes, the gear you already own is better than you think — it just needs the right set of instructions. It only turns flat with its free tire, while the Pro opens up more. These can give your headphones. I didn’t realize my headphones could sound this good until I used this app.