DoveSonicEQ

Quick start (approx.3 minutes)

1. Install Equalizer APO when prompted if you want DoveSonicEQ to apply EQ system-wide to games, Discord, browsers, music, and your selected playback device.
2. Open DoveSonicEQ, pick your playback/analyzer source, and play normal audio you know well.
3. Start with the main graph: click to add an EQ node, drag left/right for frequency, drag up/down for gain, and use the mouse wheel to change Q/width.
4. Use Apply Changes and Bypass to compare your EQ against the original sound. Keep boosts gentle at first.
5. For a fast gaming setup, start with the matching factory game preset and adjust Improved Loudness to taste.
6. When you want more help, open Dove AI, Let Dove Listen, Audio Loops, Game AutoEQ, or Isolate freqs.
7. Save your final setup as a preset so you can swap per headphone, game, or target.

Controls & gestures

• Add / move bands: click the graph to add a node, then drag for frequency and gain.
• Change Q: mouse wheel over a node to adjust width.
• Delete: click the node delete control, right-click delete, or use Delete.
• Analyzer On / Freeze: watch live audio or hold the last strong frame for inspection.
• Apply Changes: writes the current EQ to Equalizer APO. Auto-apply can push edits as you tune.
• Bypass: instantly compare processed vs unprocessed sound.

Game AutoEQ

Game AutoEQ is the fast tuning window. Start with a preset when one fits, or choose a listening mode and play the sound you care about so DoveSonicEQ can turn that capture into an EQ starting point.

• Let Dove Listen: analyzes eight seconds of local game audio, uses transient and masking evidence plus factory-game patterns, and applies a custom footstep-EQ starting point.
• Frequency Analysis & Auto EQ: shows a short result graph, marks useful low/mid/high areas, then lets you pick target style and boost strength before applying.
• AutoSonic mode: uses the AutoSonic calculation to pick four game-focused bands automatically and apply them quickly.
• Target modes: useful starting points for footsteps, voices, clarity, and reducing distracting ranges.
• Boost strength: lets you keep the result light, normal, or stronger depending on your headphones and game mix.

Audio Loops

Play an included gameplay clip or choose your own local video or audio file, place two markers around the sound you care about, and repeat that exact section while you compare EQ changes. Your selected media stays on your PC.

Headphone Correction & AutoEQ

DoveSonicEQ also works as a headphone correction and target-matching tool. Search for your headphone, choose a target, and generate Equalizer APO filters to move that headphone toward the selected curve.

• Built-in Harman targets: includes one target for headphones and one target for in-ear monitors.
• Simple correction flow: pick your headphone, choose the matching target type, then generate the EQ.
• Optional custom imports: bring your own headphone measurement or target if you want to go deeper.
• Clean apply: generated correction replaces/applies as a fresh EQ profile instead of stacking mystery filters on top of old ones.

Frequency Isolation

Isolate freqs gives you a draggable “only hear this range” band on the analyzer. It is useful for learning what part of a sound is actually footsteps, voice bite, harshness, rumble, or ambience before you decide what to boost or cut.

• Drag the left/right brick-wall edges to narrow or widen the listening band.
• Use isolation gain carefully; narrow bands can feel quieter or unnatural.
• Turn it off when you are done analyzing so your normal EQ returns.

Loudness tools

• Improved Loudness: the recommended way to lift quiet footsteps and details. One percentage slider.
• Peak Control: lives inside Improved Loudness and gently catches sharp spikes from explosions or gunshots. It only turns peaks down, never boosts.
• Volume Lock: a separate final cap on overall loudness. Use it alone or after loudness lift.
• Classic / Custom: Classic keeps the original behavior; Custom opens quiet-floor, stop-boost, maximum-lift, and response controls.

Lower Own Gunfire (Beta)

Your own first-person shots are loud and centered, so they cover up the quieter sounds around you. This control turns your own gunfire and similar centered self-sounds down while leaving outer cues alone.

• Fire-aware: uses your chosen fire input (Mouse 1 or compatible controller right trigger) plus game audio together.
• Strength: controls how much your own shots drop. Start near 50%, then move it until shots feel strong but steps stay audible.
• Firing range: the built-in test uses the real active processing chain, so what you hear there matches the game.
• Pairs with: Improved Loudness for quiet details. Peak Control and Volume Lock are separate alternatives, not simultaneous additions.

Suggested workflow

1. For gaming, start with the matching factory game preset. These are the recommended first choice even when a headphone-tuned option exists.
2. Listen in your game and tell Dove what feels buried, harsh, bassy, or too loud. Dove can refine the active preset naturally.
3. If the factory preset does not suit you, try an available headphone-tuned version or use Let Dove Listen for a custom starting point.
4. Use Audio Loops, bypass, or frequency isolation to compare changes, then save the setup you prefer.

Presets

• Game EQ Presets By Headphone gives headphone-specific gaming starting points.
• Main presets are saved as Equalizer APO-compatible text files.
• Hide gaming presets keeps bundled gaming presets out of the main dropdown if you only want your own saved profiles visible.

Tuning tips

• Use smaller boosts first. Loudness tools plus heavy EQ boosts can stack quickly.
• For footsteps, avoid only boosting treble; many cues live in midrange transients too.
• Use headphone correction first if your headphone has a strong built-in coloration.
• For target matching, compare the result with bypass before deciding it is “better.” Targets are starting points, not laws.

Troubleshooting

• No EQ effect? Re-run Equalizer APO Configurator, enable your playback device, and reboot once.
• Analyzer moves but EQ does not apply? Confirm DoveSonicEQ is writing to the same playback device you are listening through.
• Game AutoEQ captures silence? Check the analyzer source and make sure Windows audio is playing during the capture.
• Correction target sounds strange? Try a lower preamp, fewer boosts, or a different target curve.